Nike. McDonald’s. Coca-Cola. Apple. Do you know what these companies have in common? They’ve all stood the test of time, resonating with consumers and staying relevant regardless of how long they’ve been in business.

At the start, a business might only provide one service or product – for Nike, it was track shoes, for McDonalds, it was hamburgers, a soda fountain refreshment for Coco-Cola, and a circuit board for Apple. But ask any successful entrepreneur and they’ll tell you: there’s no growth in the status quo.  The only way to grow and stay competitive and connected is to adapt. That means offering more goods and services, reexamining the ideal client, researching new revenue opportunities. In short, it means evolving the brand.

Here’s how to adapt and evolve your brand in order to stay up to date and reflective of the time.

Review your brand frequently. Business owners are constantly reviewing and reworking company processes and procedures. Branding should have that same consideration. Revisit your branding on a regular basis to ensure it still reflects your company and how you want it to be perceived. Don’t try to do too much. “The more, the better” might work for butter on your popcorn, but it doesn’t work for branding. Small changes will happen naturally, especially as your industry and technology evolves. And while small changes are good, be careful about the big changes. You don’t want to change so much that people don’t recognize your business anymore.

Listen to feedback. The most important people you need to listen to are the customers, even if the feedback is critical. How else will you learn how they perceive your brand? Negative feedback might feel discouraging, but it’s the best roadmap to guide you to revamp a product or service that’s not working for the customer. If recent history has taught us anything, it’s that we can’t predict the future. We can’t predict what our customers will need in five years, five months, or even five weeks. The only thing we can do is be open to new ideas.