Companies Believing Rebranding is Not Important, Think Again or You Might Lose Out
Before a business could begin its operations, it must have at least an identity for consumers to make the connection. For starters, a company logo and a tagline would do the trick. Then the experience of buying and services by the company imprints, as the brand for customers. Most of the time, this works until it doesn’t. Rebranding a company is vital for survival.
Tweak or Change
A rebranding is part of the company’s marketing strategy. Tweaking the brand depends on how much the companies have evolved. If a company lingered in the market for the longest time, there is an urgent need to rebrand. One example is that the audience and target market may have changed over time. As much as the consumer demographics may remain the same, technological advances may have played a vital role in leading the company slightly off its vision. Rebranding may look at the need to tweak the company’s vision, objective or mission statement. Thus, it will lead to changing or tweaking the company identity to suit the updated objective and its target audience.
Goals of Rebranding
Before you contact that prestigious corporate identity designer to discuss your rebranding, take the time to analyse the goal of your company’s rebranding exercise.
Possible Goal 01
Stand out from the crowd. It is possible at the beginning of your business that you were the only that customers identify with the products. But, soon you have competitors coming from all sides, and that has pressured your business. A rebranding exercise will be good for your company to stand out again from that crowd. Differentiate your company than the rest, and you should be able to sustain and succeed.
Possible Goal 02
Update your company identity. You may think your brand logo design and tagline (if any) is up to trend. But, as with all trends, it will come to pass. The initial brand logo would have passed as trendy and acceptable during your business inception days. But, as times have changed, so has trends. Keeping it simple and memorable will be the best design to adopt for your company brand identity.
Possible Goal 03
Renewing vows. In business terms, that would mean replacing company mission or objectives. While the business was booming, the business owner may not realise the brand identity has swayed from the original purpose. Maybe after someone points it out, rebranding is necessary when the company has to change its corporate mission for potential markets.
Possible Goal 04
If your company has had disastrous experiences in the past, then a rebranding diagnosis is necessary. As a company, people will remember the terrible experiences to a tee. Bad experiences spread like wildfire and thus, ruining the reputation you have build up over the years. So to reform experiences in consumer minds, adopting a rebrand will help renew faith and hope in current and new customers.
Possible Goal 05
There is a possibility that a company may want to stay the same even for generations ahead. But eventually, the business will evolve and be better in other markets. For example, a family-owned business that sells infamous traditional sweets could possible connect with local consumers. But, the traditional sweets branding may come across as offensive in other parts of the world. Hence, rebranding for the sake of expanding the business into export markets is essential.
Action Plan
Now that you have possibly figure out why your company needs a rebranding, next is to layout the plan. Rebranding is as an engaging process. The following are essential points to take note:
- Collaborate with your team. If your company has gotten this far in the market, it is thanks to your team. They have embodied the brand identity but are ever ready to take the company to new heights. Once you have everyone on board, you are better off with more ideas than one to begin the rebranding strategy.
- Understand your mission and objectives. Your vision may stay the same, but the way business is carried out is different. Clarify and verify your company’s mission and goals to further strengthen your objective of rebranding.
- Next, you must consider your competitor. So maybe you are the only in the local market. But there are competitors across the globe. In the globalisation age, anything is possible. Such as potential consumers comparing your company with another from the side of the world. Do a comprehensive study of the best brand identity and apply the necessary to your action plan.
- Strategise to work with existing brand identity. Rebranding is engaging but laborious. Most company will define what brand elements to keep and which to trash. This way, customers can still make the connection, only with renewed perception.
- Manage the rebranding. The action plan must be carried out piously to ensure the rebranding becomes a reality. Otherwise, it will be a waste of time and energy for all involved. A rebrand is like a new hope for everyone, especially for those who are close to the company.
- Tell the world. Once you have rebranded, you need to tell the world. It does not have to be grandiose, but the news should spread to almost every corner of your market and potential market. There is a social media network for this purpose. Once you have rebranded, you need to share on why the rebrand is significant.