A company’s brand goes beyond an eye-catching logo and a captivating slogan. A brand is a connection—a personal, emotional relationship between a business and a consumer. A successful brand consistently delivers a specific service or need that continues to build on this relationship with its target audience to increase business growth.
Often, for various reasons, a company might require a rebrand to sustain growth or regain trust with its target audience. Despite being in a global pandemic, now more than ever, is an opportune time for businesses to consider a rebranding.
Perhaps it’s a good time to revisit your customer relationships with fresh eyes, especially for businesses coping during this challenging time. A company may also consider rebranding if they have experienced a change to their target audience, to keep up with competition or marketing a whole new service or product.
So, how do you successfully execute rebranding to your company in a way that promotes growth, connects with your customers, appeals to your target audience, and maintains your company values?
Here are five questions to ask yourself as you navigate the idea of rebranding your company:
What is Rebranding?
Rebranding is a marketing strategy that includes crafting a new business name, logo or related visual assets (i.e. marketing materials) to create a new brand identity.
Rebranding can be a highly effective tool in helping companies modernize, to differentiate between their competitors, and can even help carry a brand through a global pandemic. In the last couple of months, we’ve seen many companies step up to the plate and make changes to their messaging, overall business approach or alter logos to meet the needs of consumers during the pandemic.
A great example is Coke, which used the iconic Times Square billboard to promote its updated logo, which consisted of each letter being spaced apart to promote social distancing.
When Should a Company Consider Rebranding?
The decision to rebrand does not indicate a weakness in your strategy. Recognizing the need for a rebrand is a reflection of a successful company that is willing to adapt accordingly to meet the demands of its customer base or to help carry a brand through a global crisis.
However, identifying the need to rebrand is just the first step in the process. To rebrand in any capacity is a complicated decision that introduces many risks and costs. It’s important that a company understands how rebranding might benefit, and to understand the changes that need to be made. This could be the difference between updating your company’s visuals or hitting the reset button on the entire business model.
Other reasons a company may rebrand include:
- A Change in Leadership: Under new leadership, a company may see minor changes such as a change in its mission statement or larger changes, such as switching the company’s entire direction.
- Ever-Changing Market: In a market that is constantly evolving, a successful company must also evolve to meet its customers’ needs. This is a great way to retain your target market while attracting new customers.
- Competition: Solidifying your company’s brand identity and messaging helps differentiate your company from competitors. For companies that struggle with staying ahead of the competition, investing in a rebrand is an effective strategy to stay in the lead.
What is your Brand Identity?
A brand’s identity is how a business presents itself to prospective and current customers. Through the use of visual elements, such as bright color, captivating design and a recognizable logo, a brand’s identity is how a company presents itself to the public, and differentiates their business from competitors.
Many companies have been faced with the need to rebuild or solidify their brand identity during the pandemic. Keeping in mind that some budgets won’t allow for a total rebrand, some easy ways to refresh your brand identity include giving your company’s visuals an update or educating your customers on what you’re doing to ensure their safety and wellbeing during this time.
How to Rebrand Your Company?
So, you’ve decided to rebrand your company. Here are four steps to help get you started:
- Build Your Foundation: Before a company can rebrand, it’s important to first understand what the mission, vision, and values of your company are. Assess what makes your company unique and how you stand apart from competitors. Determine your brand voice, and match this tone across all messaging. You will need a strong foundation of knowing your brand inside and out before you can consider rebranding.
- Keep Your Existing Strategy in Mind: While it might seem easy to toss out your old branding strategy and start fresh, not every company can afford the restart. If a company chooses to do a partial rebranding, it’s important to consider existing brand assets in place. A rebrand in this scenario would combine new and old strategies to provide a new approach.
- Consider Your Audience, Market, and Competition: It’s important to conduct a thorough analysis of your target market – what do they like and how will a rebranding affect your audience? Scope out your competition – how do you compare to competing brands and what are your competitors doing? With budget in mind, we recommend talking to your top three clients and conducting an analysis through this discussion.
- Brainstorm With Your Team: The decision to rebrand your company is a big one. Include voices across every department in your company to gather feedback and insight from the people who will be implementing your rebranding strategy.
Are You Ready to Rebrand?
If you think that rebranding is a good fit for your company, let’s talk!
Our team of experts at Jennasis can help identify your target audience, establish your company’s core values to drive internal and external communication, and can conduct a competitive analysis of your leading competitors.
Interested? Connect with Jennasis & Associates to learn more about rebranding your company to promote growth. To get started, simply email us at digitalmarketing@jennasisassociates.com or fill out our contact form.
