A brand is more than a logo. Your brand identity is the culmination of the visual, verbal, and visceral feelings that you and your audience associate with your business’ products and services.
- visual – the way your brand looks 👀
- verbal – the way your brand sounds 🗣
- visceral – the way your brand makes people feel 🤗
While beautiful design and catchy taglines certainly play their part in your brand strategy, there’s something even more critical to your business success—your brand promise and how it resonates with your audience.
Brand to Increase Engagement.
Whether you are rebranding to make way for expansion, new leadership, or simply to realign with an ever-fluctuating market, your brand has a job—to increase engagement. This requires a tricky bit of storytelling. You have to balance the attention of your current target audience to maintain their business. You must also develop new leads and connections to expand your brand’s reach and increase your revenue. (Note: This isn’t always possible — sometimes you need to cannibalize yourself to move forward.)
Don’t Waste Your Time.
You’re about to invest a lot of time and effort, so make your rebranding process count. Rebranding a company for the sake of rebranding will waste your time and resources. It can also damage your current business perception. You can avoid both of these harmful and hard-to-recover side effects with the right preparation and execution.
Avoid the pitfalls of companies like GAP, Kraft, and Mastercard by making changes that you’ve developed authentically from your core purpose.
Intentional Branding Develops from Your Core Purpose.
Any change should be intentional and clear to your audience. Bold, not reckless.
As business owners, it can be easy to lose sight of your core purpose as new, profitable opportunities arise. Alternatively, like many companies, you could mistakenly believe that everyone understands and buys-in to your core purpose. When was the last time you asked your team to state your company’s purpose? I think you’ll be surprised by what you find.
Rethink. Rebrand. Questions to Ask as You Begin the Rebranding Process.
If you believe a rebrand is in order, here are some questions for you and your marketing team to consider as you begin the rebranding process.
Are you simply tired of your existing brand identity, or is your brand actually communicating the wrong thing?
- There is a difference. We understand wanting the shiny-newness of a brand refresh, but, again, unless these changes are intentional, your efforts will be lost to your audience. Find out what is missing from your current messaging and story before developing an updated brand identity.
Has what your clients expect from you changed?
- What is your target audience looking for? Is your story outdated or no longer relevant to current market demand? Do the research you need to better establish how your company will meet these new demands. Only then can you build a story that conveys your readiness and ability to resolve your clients’ pain.
What business strategy problem will this rebrand solve?
- What industry problem are you seeing and wanting to address for your target audience? How will a successful rebrand convey this new story to both existing and future customers?
Will a rebrand increase engagement with your target audience, or will you run the risk of alienating long-standing customers?
- How do you make a change that is scalable to your diverse client base? Is the rebrand worth the risk of off-putting your loyal consumers? While you’re rethinking your brand, your consumer might also rethink their choice to partner with or purchase from you. Will the potential new leads you make with this rebrand off-set this potential churn?
How big of a change will this be to your existing brand (a complete overhaul or just a few adjustments)?
- The answer to this question depends a great deal on the natural progression and growth of your company, its offerings, and your existing customer base. A rebrand should be made with long-term sustainability in mind—a 5-year minimum—this refresh should not only embody what the company stands for now but also allow for future growth and change.
Are you prepared to spend the time to rebranding?
- The rebranding process can take anywhere from several months to several years. Should your company commit to the long haul and make the change in one dedicated push? Or should you take your time with your adjustments and make more gradual changes over time?
How much time, money, and resources can—or should—you allocate for the rebrand?
- This process takes a great deal of work from all corners of your company, but especially senior management. But it’s worth it to get your whole team pulling powerfully in the same direction. Be prepared for multiple iterations, especially considering the pace of current digital environments. Build in ample room think—you want your final product to be honed and relevant.
How will you track the results of your rebrand?
- While your rebranding efforts should be oriented for sustainability, tracking the successes or weakness of your current rebranding will better inform you of future marketing campaigns and initiatives. When done well, rebranding will make future decisions easier to make for you and your customers.
Answer This: Who Are You? And Why Does That Matter To Your Audience?
A successful rebrand clarifies your purpose in a way that attracts new customers. And it should also simultaneously act as a catalyst for deepening current client relationships and attracting new talent to drive your business success more effectively.
