If you are a business owner, you understand the importance of branding and how it is crucial to your business success. We all know that there are many companies in our industry with similar products or services, so why should customers choose us? Your brand is what sets you apart from the competition. It’s not just about following trends—it’s about making your company stand out in a crowded marketplace.
As you grow and evolve, your business needs change, and so does the needs of your customers. Similarly, your brand should evolve as well. As you grow, you might find that your original logo, tagline, slogan, or color scheme no longer represents the company. You should want all of your marketing materials to build a cohesive and consistent message, and reflect your current company values.
In this article we want to explore a few reasons why you should consider rebranding your business, and when it is appropriate to do so.
What is rebranding?
Rebranding is essentially the process of changing the logo, tagline, slogan, and/or color scheme for a business. In doing so, you would be updating all aspects of your brand with a goal to either improve its image or make it more competitive online among other companies offering similar products or services. It is also helpful in acquiring new customers, especially if your company name is very easily recognizable.
Here are a few common reasons why business owners consider rebranding:
- To refresh or revitalize an image that could be outdated in today’s world -Improve marketing efforts through digital channels like social media sites, blogs, and email newsletters
- Make branding more memorable by changing colors or fonts on logos and website graphics
- Increase online visibility via SEO considerations when naming products or services
- To achieve higher rankings among competitors in search engine results pages (SERPs)
Rebranding can encompass anything from branding materials like logos, brochures, packaging to redesigns of physical spaces such as stores.
You might be wondering: “Could this really help my business?” The answer is yes! A business’s brand says a lot about what type of company they are to customers – and staying updated on branding is integral for retaining that positive image.
Communicate Your Current Business
Rebranding is necessary for any big change in a company. This could include big changes like mergers and acquisitions, or just an increase in business resulting from the launch of new product lines or business activities that affect your branding strategy. Whatever it may be, re-evaluating what image you want to project as well as how this fits with all aspects of your brand will allow you to attract more customers who are interested in purchasing products they believe represent their values.
Rebranding is important for a company to stay relevant when changes happen. It’s been proven that by changing your logo or slogan, consumers are more likely to view the brand as “current” and continue buying products from you because they see them as in touch with the current trends.
Having a logo that is outdated can even be detrimental to your business. Research has shown that consumers are more likely to remember an old company’s image, but feel less inclined to purchase from them because of the belief that they’re no longer in touch with current trends and products.
A rebranding campaign will allow you to project a new image for your brand so it stays relevant while not losing existing customers who still recognize their original identity. To create this strong connection between the consumer and the company, make sure everything – including packaging materials, website design, social media sites such as Facebook or LinkedIn- matches up with what you want people to think about when they hear your name!
Getting Serious About Your Branding
Like many companies, you may not have done your branding correctly to begin with. Itís often hard when you first get started to fully grasp your customers and your unique position in the market. As you start to grow, you may feel like youíre lacking a strong brand identity compared to major players in your niche, but now is the time to develop one.
If you don’t have a distinct brand identity, you could be in trouble.
Your company needs to have a competitive edge otherwise, it will have trouble finding new customers or generating more business. Your website design will look just like every other site on the internet; your packaging materials will blend together with what competitors are doing too, and no one will know who you are even though they may want whatever it is that you offer!
If this sounds familiar, there’s good reason: many businesses don’t take branding seriously enough when they first start up their companies. They think of branding as an optional luxury rather than as an essential investment in maintaining success over time.
Connecting with a New Audience
Companies often re-invent themselves in order to reach new audiences. In the process of growing into a new segment, your needs as an organization will change and so too should your branding strategy. Reassessing what you’re meeting unmet needs for is critical because now you are conveying those messages on behalf of this target market instead of yourself alone.
You may decide that your business is no longer a good fit for your target market and need to find new ways to make the product or service you are offering resonate with them.
To rebrand is not just about changing logos, but also identifying what underlying issues there might be that have led to lack of engagement, such as an outdated value proposition, out-of-date website content, clashing visual identities from departments within the company – which can often happen without anyone noticing.
In order to bring things back on track, it’s important to think about what the needs and desires of your target market are, while also taking into account your own strengths. Find the things that resonate with your target market and make them the cornerstone of what you are selling.
Changes in the Competitive Landscape
The competitive landscape changes every day. If you’re not careful, your competition might overtake you in the blink of an eye! Just look at what happened to Blockbuster Video and Kodak Cameras–now they’ve gone out of business completely because their competitors were able to respond quicker with new innovations than those companies could keep up with old products that had been on the market for decades.
Of course, this doesn’t mean it’s time to give up just yet; there are still plenty of ways a successful company can re-brand itself without needing more money or resources beyond its current arsenal: like by establishing partnerships through social media (think about how Apple has partnered with Disney), adding online retail sales channels such as Amazon Prime Pantry which offer discounts to customers, and focusing on digital communications with millennials.
If there are new players in the market, or your current competition seems more powerful than before, you may need to introduce a new product or service that is relevant to what consumers want now so it can stand out from competitors who also offer something similar.
It’s always important to stay on top of the competitive landscape. The game is constantly evolving and new players are popping up all the time. If you want your customers to recognize what makes you unique, then it might be time for a re-branding strategy that sets your company apart from competitors in ways both big and small!
Your Rebrand Can Help You Earn More Money
You can make your company more profitable by rebranding. After a brand renovation, most companies are able to report an increase in their earnings which makes them more appealing to investors. Some companies are even able to report a higher valuation after undergoing this process thanks in part to potential investors being more confident about their decision when they see how strong the company is on paper.
A redesign can really boost your bottom line by making it easier for customers or clients to recognize what makes you stand out. When you strengthen your brand identity, you’re also strengthening your company.
A Strong Brand Can Improve Your Company Value
It can be difficult to put a price on branding, but it should never be overlooked in terms of how valuable it is for your company. A strong brand will help the value of a business increase and make it more appealing to potential buyers or investors.
The rebranding process is not just about your company identity; it’s also a way for customers or clients to make an emotional connection. The more in tune you become with your customer needs and wants the better chance they have of developing loyalty that can translate into higher earnings down the road.
You might not think that updates to things like logos, color schemes, fonts, and slogans would have much impact when trying to sell a product or service…but they do! When people are looking at buying something from you these little changes could go that extra mile to show them what sets you apart from everyone else out there so they’ll want to buy from you instead! This results in greater earning potential for your company.
How Do You Know It’s Time to Rebrand?
A successful rebrand can make a brand stand out in an increasingly competitive marketplace. It’s important to first assess your company and determine whether or not it is time for you to consider taking this step with your branding strategy. Here are some things that should be considered:
- What are you trying to convey with your branding?
- Who is your target customer base and how does it compare with competitors?
- Do customers view you as innovative, trustworthy, or reliable?
- How has media coverage shaped public perception of your company’s image (i.e., have articles portraying negative aspects of your company been published)?
Here are a few more indicators that it may be time to rebrand:
- When there is a change in what consumers want from products/services
- You’re expanding into new markets and don’t want to carry the branding from your old line of work.
- You feel lost and disconnected from your business. You have difficulty attracting clients with the current branding style.
- Your business’s branding is not attracting the right customers or business partners
- If your business is in a changing industry, shifting markets, or competing with new and more popular brands than you used to be, it may be time for an update.
- It is time to upgrade your company branding when you are seeing a decline in profit or revenue.
- You want to expand your business to a new segment of the market
- If you didn’t put much time or thought into your business branding at the beginning, it might be time for an update.
Rebranding begins with an understanding of your business needs and goals. Once you have a clear idea of the direction you want to take your business, you will have a better idea of HOW you should rebrand your business.
Now it’s your turn!
If you’ve undergone a rebranding for your business, how did it go? What changes (positive and negative) did your business undergo as a result of your rebranding? Share your experience with us in the comments below!
- How has your business presence changed since you updated your brand?
- Have you ever considered building on a preexisting brand name?
- What were the consequences of failing to change your company’s branding and how can it be avoided in the future?
- Is there anything else anyone should know about branding their business online or from a traditional perspective if they’re looking for a job change?
- What made you want to rebrand your company and what was the experience like in general (on an emotional level)?
