Often businesses with an outdated brand image or poor reach think about rebranding. But they don’t think through the process and don’t know where to start. And when they don’t really know about how to execute the whole rebranding process, they are again caught into the same loop of branding, rebranding, and re-rebranding. Excuse the pun, but rebranding is only effective for the first time. So to save you from all this rebranding hassle, we bring to you – The ultimate rebranding guide.
Time to rebrand your business.
Rebranding is one thing, and understanding the urge to rebrand is another. The urge is to be understood and not to be felt. There are certain instances or situations that you need to relate to your company and then decide on rebranding.
- You and your competitors are generic.
Initially, when you started your current business and did not know the difference between being generic and unique as well as authentic, it was breathable. But now that you have evolved and your business is getting the exposure that it needs, you need to let go of that generic name.
The problem with generic branding is that it has loads of stock art and that makes for a low reputation. As you are using stock art for your logos and design, your competitors can do this too, creating a confusion of mismatch among your customers. To differentiate your company from these generic competitors, you need to rebrand with a more authentic and genuine approach.
- Outdated reputation.
You built up your business in the 90s from scratch, you were online then you are online now. Comic Sans font, sober color themes, and websites that ran on Flash were a charm then, but in the up to the minute world, these things are outdated and seem useless. Maybe that’s why millennials are running to that brand-new site. The solution to this problem is none other than rebranding. Hire some experts to build you a new website with updated SEO, updated color scheme, catchy taglines, and see the magic of rebranding yourself.
- You have a stubborn past.
Is your company still judged for what happened two years ago, and it was a minor mistake? Are your all clients running away to your competitors? Do you want to move on to your financial goal? Because, hey, everybody deserves a chance. Then only rebranding can give you a fair chance at this. Start rebranding at this very moment to stop that bad reputation from munching your sales.
- Your business is growing.
Now you might be wondering, why do you need to rebrand if your business is at a good pace? But this one’s for the companies who have a niche/product/service/location centered branding to their name. Now, these companies have added more feathers to their hats, and have outgrown their original financial goal. So as not to box a company’s growth, these companies should rebrand to excel in their reach.
Rebrand your business without losing your audience.
One major thought that keeps pressing on the minds of people who want to rebrand their business is – will they lose their audience? Well, yes, if you don’t rebrand properly, you will. But there’s a way to rebrand and not lose your audience.
- Know why are you rebrand.
You can refer to the points above to see what is the reason you are rebranding. You shouldn’t rebrand because you are bored or want to pass some time. Once you know the right reason, you can use it to back your rebranding.
- Communicate.
Most unsuccessful rebrandings are the ones where the company doesn’t communicate with their audience. When you are planning to rebrand, you need to tell your audience/clients why the changes are happening. People are not too open to changes, and like stability, well who doesn’t? You need to communicate with them through videos, blogs, Q&A sessions, and infographics.
Make sure that your clients understand your reason for rebranding and it is a reason that justifies such a big change.
- Extensive publicity.
Apart from interacting with your community, you need to publicize your business on a global level. You need to dominate the market of your niche with your rebranding advertising and tell more people about your new brand.
- No compromise policy.
No matter how much you tell your customers about your rebranding and the toll it’s taking upon you, you need to serve your existing clients exceptionally.
While rebranding, it’s a complete hassle in the business, but the clients should not compromise for that.
Following these ways, you will not lose your existing audience and will rebrand successfully.
Rebranding Checklist
Following is an easy step by step process to rebrand your company.
- Know the reason to rebrand.
- Tell your clients about it.
- Don’t make your clients compromise because of hassles due to rebranding.
- Look for authentic brand names for sale.
- Choose a name that’s simple and easy to spell.
- Redirect your old website to your new one, if you are making a new website.
- Update all content, newsletter, notices, and other marketing literature with your new brand name.
- Promote your new brand.
- Get a new creative kit – new logo, color theme, livery, business cards with the updated name and branding theme.
- Get new and relevant domain names.