Rebranding is a strategic move that involves changing your company image; either literally or figuratively. This typically involves a change of name, and logos and updating visual assets used for marketing efforts. The goal of a rebrand is ultimately to create a new identity that is appealing to investors, consumers and anyone else who engages with your business.
Why should I rebrand?
Deciding whether or not to rebrand your business depends on where your business is at, and how you are looking to move forward:
Growth: Naturally, over time companies grow and evolve in a way that helps them to remain competitive. This could be moving into new markets, diversifying or even honing your offer to be more niche. As such with any kind of change, many businesses discover that their current identity does not quite match the one that they are looking to achieve. There could be several reasons for this, including no longer reflecting company values or the direction your business is travelling.
Brand Perception: Sometimes the way your target audience perceives your business isn’t the one that truly reflects who you are or what your company does. So, a rebrand might be needed to redirect opinions and align perceptions to connect customer needs with what you offer.
Staying Relevant: Any good business knows that to stay relevant with your target audience, you will – at some point – need to update your branding, as markets change and evolve and customer needs change with them.
When is the Right Time to Rebrand?
Getting the timing right for a rebrand is something that only you can decide, but as a rule of thumb, if any of the following resonates with you, it is probably time to start thinking seriously about moving things around:
Your Branding Doesn’t Match Your Vision: If you no longer feel that your brand appropriately connects the vision you have for your business, then a rebrand might be the best way forward. Your branding is the first thing most customers will see when they first engage with your business, so you need to make sure it represents what you want them to see to ensure they are getting the products and/or services that they expect.
You want to Reposition yourself: If you are looking to start targeting a new type of customer, you need to ensure that your branding matches and appeals to that audience. Different markets will have different expectations. This is even more necessary if you are looking to expand into international markets.
What to Consider Before a Rebrand
Rebrands can be tricky affairs, especially if they are not well planned out and don’t fit with your business. Getting rebrands wrong can have a huge impact on your company, and you just need to learn about these big companies that had questionable re-brands, to understand that better.
All rebrands come with a little bit of a risk factor. That’s not something that can be avoided, but as a business owner, you are probably used to accepting some levels of risk as being necessary for overall growth.
Look at your “Why”: Why are you rebranding? What do you want to achieve? Are you experiencing poor sales or are your brand awareness efforts not hitting the mark? If so, your branding might not be the problem, and you might find better results targeting your overall marketing strategy first.
Consider a Partial Rebrand: If your business has been around for quite some time, so you already have strong and recognisable brand, or you are business with reliably solid sales, a full rebrand might not be the best option for you, because you don’t want to become unrecognisable to your customers.
In this situations, we would recommend a part rebrand, or a Refresh to update and/or modernise your existing branding.
If you need guidance with your branding refresh, book a consultation and let’s have a chat.