Rebranding your Business

Rebranding your company usually involves changing its brand image. While numerous entrepreneurs and business owners think that a business’ brand is its logo, a brand is more than just the business name and accompanying logo. However, the name and logo are key components of a brand and as such, it’s important for them to be strong and relevant.

To put it simply, the sum total of your communication and experiences with your users and prospective customers. A strong brand communicates the company’s mission and values. It also helps establish trust and credibility for your users and prospective customers. Companies and brands evolve over time and eventually, many businesses, even successful ones decide its time for a rebrand.

When should a company even consider rebranding?

How do you know when it’s the right time to rebrand your company? Here are some ways you can know when the time is right. If your company name is broad and almost the same as a lot of other businesses in your niche, you are definitely not helping your brand and need to consider a rebrand.

The same thing goes for a generic logo or using stock art in your branding and marketing materials as these could be easily picked up by competitors or even companies outside your niche. This will hurt your brand and rebranding can help solve this problem by helping your business stand out by showcasing your own value propositions and the things that make you better than your competitors.

Companies also rebrand to make old and outdated branding look more modern. It’s possible that your ComicSans font-based website is now dragging your brand behind because it’s outdated, it might still look fine but have you considered the possibility of it no longer resonating with your users as your brand grows? The answer to all these questions is to rebrand.

Businesses that rebrand do so because they understand the importance of a good design. And they know that this can make or break your business particularly if the business has outgrown its initial mission. It could be that you have diversified your business products or offerings or have even included more services. You need to update every point of contact with both inside and prospective users to communicate this new information. A business rebrand answers this.

A company that has somehow developed a bad reputation should consider rebranding to outgrow it. If you find that your business is fighting against a negative reputation, a rebrand will help customers, prospective and current alike, see you in a better and fresh light. Sometimes also, a business finds a new market to break into. At this point, in order to communicate effectively all your offerings and ensure that your new customers can connect with your brand, rebrand your company.

How to rebrand successfully

For starters, identify and understand your company’s mission and values. Why does your company exist? What makes it special? What essential values does it have that are worth communicating? Answering these questions will help you better understand how what you currently have matches what you have in mind. Next, develop a rebranding strategy that incorporates your existing branding. Rebranding doesn’t necessarily mean you have to go too far away from your existing branding and communication. It is important to still maintain consistency in your new branding as it does three things:

• It increases the overall value of your company by reinforcing your market position
• It helps to attract better customers with higher retention rates
• It helps raise the perceived value of your products and offerings

On the other hand, inconsistent branding just leads to distrust and confusion about what you stand for.

Competitors

Another thing to do is to consider your niche and competitors. Before starting a rebrand, you need to do your homework. Research what your competitors do, identify where you differ from them, and what your true value proposition is. While it’s important to keep your new brand looking fresh, it shouldn’t be so on-trend that it quickly goes out of style. Remember, you don’t want to confuse people.

Team effort

Also, work with your team to rebrand. A business’ brand is a very important asset and should therefore reflect the people that are helping grow the business. Include ideas and feedback from the people of the company on the rebranding plans. When an effective plan has been set in place, make sure to manage the rebranding process properly and set deadlines and risk mitigation strategies.

Final note…

Launch your new brand properly. You could make the best rebrand plan in the world but if you don’t launch properly, it is all wasted. Consider a launch strategy that minimises the risk of customer confusion. Your launch should tell the proper story behind the rebrand.

Key Takeaways

A rebrand says a lot about a business’ commitment to upward growth. Change, while uneasy, will do you good. Answer these questions to know whether to rebrand your business:

• Do you want to set yourself apart from the competition?
• Do you want to renew outdated branding?
• Do you want to outgrow a negative image?
• Has your business evolved and diversified?

If you answer yes to these, then consider rebranding your business.