When a company feels its brand has fallen behind, the first request is usually visual: a new logo, other colors, another typeface. That is understandable, because what you see is what you can point at.
The question that comes first
Can you say, in one sentence, why a customer should choose your company and not the closest one?
If the answer takes a while, the problem starts before the design.
Form without function
Choosing colors, symbol and typography before defining what the brand needs the customer to understand means deciding the form without knowing the function. Without a positioning decision, visual choices follow taste, trend or imitation of the competitor, and there is no criterion to say one option is better than another.
Once the decision is made, the criterion appears: the option that makes the positioning easier to perceive wins.
Two problems that look like one
The first is a problem of expression: the positioning is defined and the brand communicates it badly. In that case, a new identity can solve it.
The second is a problem of positioning: what to communicate has not been defined yet. A new identity does not solve that one, it only dresses the problem better.
When to go straight to the visual
Some companies have a clear positioning and the identity really is the bottleneck. For them, it makes sense to go straight to expression. Turning every visual request into consulting would be as automatic as ignoring strategy.
If the answer took a while, tell me where your company is now.