Rebranding a business is a marketing strategy wherein a new name, design, concept, term, symbol, and combination of these elements are created for a brand. The aim is to develop a differentiated and new identity in the minds of consumers, competitors, investors, and other stakeholders. If the execution of business rebranding is done poorly, you might end up suffering extreme consequences.
Below are the important things you need to keep in mind when rebranding your business:
Know the Very Purpose of Rebranding Your Business.
Determining your objectives and criteria in advance will make you more focused. Why are you rebranding your business? Do you want to shed the timeworn company image? Are you trying to recover from a bad image? Rebranding is one way to overcome the odds of a partnership breakage or a bankruptcy, showcasing the good points of your business.
Be Clear on What Your Brand Is All About.
Remember that your brand is more than your business logo. It is the total sum of customer interactions, experiences, and messages with your products and services, as well as your people. It’s important to know what qualities you want other people to think about your brand. Rebranding your business should result in a totally new and promising experience for your target audience.
Here are some helpful points when measuring the branding work you do:
- Express the best brand story your business can tell.
- Allow your brand to be meaningful and telegraphic.
- Always balance emotional rewards and functional benefits.
- Create tangible and visible associations in your design.
- Provide a great platform for existing and future services.
- Assure your existing clients and invite new prospects or potential customers to learn more about you.
Champion Your Brand and Engage With Your Brand Ambassadors.
The best person who can champion your brand is you and your employees. Develop an effective internal campaign when launching a new brand. Make it a company-wide celebration, and make sure that the announcement is loud, fun, and big. Install your new business logo on your website, your building, uniforms, and stamps. Don’t allow your old business logo to linger anywhere.
Practice and Maintain Full Control of Your Rebranding Process.
The first thing you have to do in order to maintain control of your rebranding process is to set strategic objectives. Grounding your brand in an effective strategy that recognizes both the origins and future marketplace will help you attain your goals.
Next, research your competition, so gaps are identified, as well as areas of opportunities and your competitive advantage position. Always have an open mind. Remember those small ideas could become big while big ideas could diminish in the long run. Also, identify equities that won’t change.
Keep Your Brand Fluid.
It is a major risk to change your brand because it could result in a disruptive and expensive failure. This is why it’s important to realize your business potential before rebranding by consulting a forward thinking brand agency like Noop.
You can add flexibility to your brand by not violating previously established values and equities. Create relevant and broad brand positioning that is adaptable and can stay applicable in the future. When transitioning your brand, it should be done in a flexible manner. Your business can fend off competitors by adding benefits to new and multiple fresh brand expressions.
It’s crucial to reassess your brand because the economy is unpredictable. Create a more resilient brand so it can survive any economic cycle. For instance, the explosion of the digital age has turned many traditional business processes upside-down. Today, consumers are fully armed with online information and are bombarded with plenty of choices. This is why every business has to adopt digital business trends, such as when engaging with customers through social media and in doing business transactions, like e-Commerce.
Consider The Possible Company Changes.
Expect considerable changes when rebranding and follow guidelines to establish a smoother rebranding process. It’s not practical to rebrand your business if you don’t have a solid plan. Make sure to implement correct preparations to avoid future problems.
Here are some examples of guidelines you can set in place when rebranding your business:
- Organize an internal company poll to get valuable ideas and suggestions from your employees that will greatly benefit and influence your company.
- Select a few of your employees who will take part or be in-charge of your rebranding. Early involvement will greatly make future transitions smoother.
- Get feedback from your clients to help you determine the things that work in your favor and those that negatively impact your business
- Consult a marketing professional to conduct a research-based survey on your current products and services.
Your New Brand Should Tell a Uniform Story.
When rebranding, it’s important that your business logo, tagline, design, and typography should tell a uniform story. Give the important people in your organization due credit and never forget their contributions.
Treat your brand as a hero. Even with a new costume, make sure that your brand tells one story. Carry the best practices and qualities of your old brand to make your new brand even better, stronger, and more successful.
Be Consistent In Promoting and Supporting Your Brand.
Successful brands see to it that they have a good presence in the online marketplace and try to establish a tangible relationship with customers. However, it is difficult to support a brand in its downtime than its boom.
Consistently support your brand during a down cycle to gain higher sales, and make sure to give back or share when your business is booming. Because the business world is always accelerating, you have to take a good brand snapshot to maintain its meaning and relevancy. Invest in digital marketing strategies so you can easily promote your brand and track your performance.
Be Ready With Advanced Technology.
Rebranding a business also means being ready to adopt modern and advanced technology like Customer Relationship Management or CRM software. Unlike traditional methods, advanced technology can help your business run in a fast, smooth, and more straightforward manner. Adopting advanced technologies is also a great way to show your customers that you’re on top of the game. If you want to attract more customers and retain your previous ones, CRM is one way to achieve your business goals.
CRM can help you build a good relationship with your customers by creating customer retention and loyalty. By adopting this company-wide business strategy, you’ll improve profitability and reduce production and operations costs. Having a CRM software set in place improves customer communication, as well as sales and marketing management.
Another result of advanced technology is the use of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). VR creates an artificial environment through simulation, while AR provides an enhanced version of reality. Both use advanced computer technologies, and can be applied to your sales and marketing campaigns.
Conclusion.
Rebranding is a lengthy process, so making the right decision is crucial. You have to take a lot of important things into consideration for a successful business. Know your rebranding purpose, set clear goals and criteria, implement effective strategies, and measure and track results.
