7 Rules to Follow When Rebranding Your Company
Sometimes, what your company needs in order to make its next developmental leap is a solid rebranding. Maybe your audience is different than you expected or maybe you want to honor a new demographic that has become interested in your brand.
Maybe you finally have the cash on hand to get a professional marketing team to go over your business and give you a fresh new look. Whatever the reason, rebrands can be a leap forward for a business – but only if you follow these 7 rules.
1. Know Why You’re Rebranding
There are many reasons to rebrand your business. Knowing why you’re doing it, and why you’re doing it now, is crucial to doing it right. There are many examples of businesses that have tried to rebrand – Gap and Radio Shack are just a couple of examples – and both had to backtrack or saw no change. Rebranding is too expensive to mess up, so having a clear understanding of your goals can help you avoid it.
2. Rebranding Is More Than Skin Deep
Many companies think of rebranding as changing their logo and moving on. In many situations, rebranding should start at the company mission and move outward. Understand what your company needs to change, why, and how is critical. This will make sure that your company’s rebrand is more than just cosmetic.
3. Focus On The Bigger Picture
When you’re rebranding, it’s easy to start focusing on which font to always use or what color will be best for the cover of your brochure. While details are important, they are not the be-all-end-all of your rebranding mission. Remember to constantly focus on what will best intrigue and engage your audience. They are, after all, why you’re doing this. Which leads to:
4. Make Sure You Know Your Audience
Before you undertake a rebranding, it’s important to know who you’re rebranding for. Is your target audience not responding? Do you know why? Are you looking to attract a new audience? If so, are you taking the right approach to engage them?
Rebranding can draw different eyes to your product and work, but if your work itself is unsatisfactory, then you’re not going to get the results you want. Make sure the product you’re selling is 100% ready before you start worrying about how you’re selling it.
5. Plan To Update Everything
Sometimes companies design a new logo or get a new look on their webpage, but decide to keep using the old products until they run out. This is a terrible idea. Customers can already become easily overwhelmed by deviations from the norm. If they’re getting a mix of your old identity and your new identity, they may lose trust in your brand.
What’s worse is that they may not even realize this is what’s happening; they may simply find your competitors more attractive. So when you update your products, make sure you get everything updated, right down to your shipping material and packages.
6. Follow A Budget
Rebranding can be exciting. You can plan out a web design, new logos, brochures and marketing materials that reflect your new identity, and many other things that will make a difference to your business. It is possible to go too far with your rebrand, however.
If you’re redesigning products you currently use and on which you get a good return, great. If you’re adding a bunch of new products to your marketing line, be careful. Rebranding can actually be a good time to see what you have that’s working and phase out materials and ideas that aren’t giving you a good return on your investment.
7. Communicate Changes
Your customers are used to a routine. They may say they want something new and exciting, but that won’t stop them from being startled when they go to your website and see a brand new design. One way to minimize their potential reaction is to communicate the upcoming changes.
Do an email blast about a new look on your website, or have a temporary pop-up on the website that points out that you’ve put on a fresh face. In a brick and mortar location, have signs that address the new look – especially during any renovations that are occurring – and suggesting that they approach staff with any questions.
Rebranding your company can be the right option to take your company in an exciting new direction. By rebranding, you can refocus on the best possible audience, convey a new or refined brand mission, or create a unified appearance if you have been picking up pieces here and there as you’ve built your company. But to successfully rebrand your company, you have to know what your desired end result will be.
