Do you express feelings and emotion often with your customers? Are you aware of the ways you are losing brand attention? Perhaps you should consider rebranding.
Well, remember this: the more feeling and emotion you express, the more attention to your rebrand. And the more influence it can create. Not rocket science is it? But without it, you will be losing brand attention.
As long as it’s positive, there is no such thing as too much brand attention. If you play your cards right, you can roll all of that great attention into growth for your company. Here are some of the mistakes businesses make with their branding and the best and most creative steps to get people to notice you and your brand.
Your brand forms the core identity of your business. It’s more than simply the name of your company, but a fusion of all the values, standards, ideals and characteristics that are embodied by your organization. A brand, indeed, is your business’s personality.
However, sometimes, even the most well-known and beloved brands need to revisit and reinvent their personality.
Perhaps it’s simply because the times have moved on, and what was once a winning brand identity no longer speaks to its audience in the same way that it used to. In other instances, the reasoning may be more complex.
Whatever the reasons are, however, rebranding is, in fact, a very common business move that companies have been doing for years.
From a consumer’s perspective, a rebranding often appears to be just a subtle transformation – perhaps we might notice an updated logo, for instance.
However, although this may appear not to be a particularly big deal, what it indicates is a company’s intent and commitment to evolution and growth.
Other times, the rebranding is a much more substantial and considered effort, designed to actively shift consumer perception of a brand in no uncertain terms.
Either way, the time will eventually come for all organizations when their brand identity is no longer up to scratch. The epiphany may come for some reasons, and below we’ve outlined 10 of them.
New product or service launch
The launch of a brand new product or service is very exciting, and will no doubt have been actioned in response to consumer demand and changes in the market.
However, companies must make an effort to reflect this update in their branding.
You want your new venture to be firing on all cylinders, and a strategic rebranding campaign will help draw the attention that you’re after.
Customer engagement is waning
Nothing lasts forever, and, as time moves on and more competitors move into your market, it’s not unusual to find that your once-loyal and engaged customers have started to look elsewhere.
If you start to notice a drop-off in consumer engagement, then perhaps it’s time to assess whether your branding needs an overhaul.
Rebranding in these circumstances may be your one true chance to rescue your company from paling into obscurity.
Bad reputation
If a brand, for whatever reason it may be, starts to gain a bad reputation, then the impact on business operations can be crippling.
Rebranding, in this case, is the only option to mitigate and hopefully dispel (eventually) any negative associations that are routinely being made with the brand.
It’s important, however, that it’s not just exterior alterations that are made (to your logo, for instance), but that the changes are also affected by all aspects of the company.
Remember, a brand is not just a name or a logo, but a representation of all the values, standards and principles that your organization stands for.
Mergers and acquisitions
Changes in company ownership will often trigger a rebranding as a matter of course.
For instance, in the case of demergers, the company that has split off will be obliged to develop its new brand to make it clear and apparent that it is no longer part of the organization.
There is slightly more flexibility in the cases of mergers and acquisitions. There is an opportunity here for the new company to completely rebrand, though sometimes the name of one of the companies is kept.
However, even in this instance, a rebranding will normally take place even if the name of the company remains the same.
Differentiation
Competitors are a part of every company the world over.
The moves of a rival will trigger a response within your walls, and, as such, your competitors are directly responsible for effecting critical decisions you make every day.
Whatever the strengths of your competitors, your own company will, of course, hold its very own USP – and that needs to be communicated through your branding.
However, some of your rivals may have a very similar brand message to your own, in which case you need to make efforts to differentiate through rebranding.
You need to be unique to avoid client confusion, for if people have bad experiences elsewhere, you don’t want to absorb any negative press through perceived, albeit false, association.
Expanding to international
Expanding into the international market can often mean that you need to rebrand. In some countries, for instance, a brand name may have unfortunate or negative associations.
Values, of course, are not necessarily international either, and although the image you portray may curry domestic favor, research needs to be conducted to ensure that this is carried across into other countries where you wish to operate.
Another reason for rebranding may be because you may have a geographical location in your company name. In this instance, you will need to rebrand without emphasis on location.
Change in leadership
A new CEO will often want to breathe new life into an organization, and a rebranding will quickly follow the appointment. Successful leaders will have a clear direction in which they wish to take the company and will want to reflect this in its branding.
Wider audience appeal
If you’re not reaching your intended audience – perhaps you’re only attracting people in their senior years when you want to be targeting a younger demographic – then it’s time to reassess your branding.
The rebranding will help you engage with new audiences and win new customers from key demographics you are looking to target.
Lack of brand clarity
A new company might start as one thing, but over the course of time transforms into something else, perhaps with a completely different focus and set of values.
The branding needs to be updated to reflect this. Otherwise, there will be a jarring inconsistency in the image it portrays.
In other circumstances, a company may acquire different services from different consultants along its journey, and some of these may have strayed off-brand. Again, there is a clarity issue, and this needs to be addressed with rebranding.
A particular product or service is becoming dominant
Sometimes, brands that offer multiple products or services may find that they become known for one above all the others. This may or may not be desirable, but, either way, a rebranding will be needed. If you think that your business can survive off just a single line, then rebrand accordingly.
If you want to try and reemphasize your other products or services, then a rebranding that shifts focus onto these will be necessary.
The bottom line
Is it time for your company to rebrand? There are many reasons why you may believe it is, and each requires a different strategy to ensure emphasis is placed in the correct places.
Need some help in capturing more customers from your branding design strategies? Such as creative branding ideas to help the differentiation with potential customers?
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Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service agency. With 40 years of business experience, he writes about topics to help improve the performance of the small business. Find him on G+, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
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More reading on brands and branding from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
New York Yankees … 11 Awesome Lessons From Yankees Brand
The CVS Rebranding Strategy: a Case Study
Building a Brand … A How-to Guide for Small Business
6 Favorite Brands and Why I Like Them So Much
Brand Management … 12 Ways to Humanize the Brand to Build Trust
Walmart E-commerce Strategy … 6 Reasons Why It Won’t Beat Amazon
Mike Schoultz is a digital marketing and customer service expert. With 48 years of business experience, he consults on and writes about topics to help improve the performance of small business. Find him on G+, Facebook, Twitter, Digital Spark Marketing, and LinkedIn.