What Rebranding Can Do for Your Company

Before we talk about rebranding, let’s discuss the circumstances that can lead to it. Starting your own business is an endeavor that many partake in and in which want to see themselves succeed. In the midst of your eagerness, however, you may overlook many things, including what you want your brand to reflect. All too often, people will rush into creating their business. They fail to focus on the small details that will make it stand out, including their brand.

A brand reflects the experiences people have with the company and how much credibility and trust they associate with it. A brand should also effectively communicate what the company does.

Brand identity is an all too important factor to consider when establishing your company. If your brand is failing to hold up to what it should be communicating or has simply become outdated, it may be time for a rebrand.

What is rebranding?

Rebranding is a form of marketing that a company will undergo to give itself a new brand identity. This is often to realign the brand with new company values or to appeal to an audience different from their previous target. Rebranding is done in a visual sense, such as with a new logo, new slogan, new name, and/or something much more complex such as how your marketing materials are presented.

With this, you want to ask yourself a few questions. What experience do you want to offer to your clientele? What does your company do, and how do you want people to regard it? Who are you engaging your product or service towards?

However, there are times when going through a rebrand is completely unnecessary. In fact, it can cause your business to plummet into the ground if you don’t approach it the right way. So, how do you know when it is time to give your company a fresh vibe?

When should you undergo a rebrand?

You are entering a new or evolving market, and your current brand no longer reflects it.

Your company sells fruits, but you now also want to sell vegetables. It may have to undergo a rebrand to accommodate this change. You want to be able to attract the right audience and also let your current audience know what’s going on.

Be careful not to shoehorn yourself too much into one field when starting your company. Calling your business “Sally’s Fruits,” for example, pretty much prevents you from evolving outside of selling fruits unless you go through a rebranding. Go with something a little broader that still clearly defines what you sell. Examples might include “Sally’s Produce,” “Sally’s Garden,” or “Sally’s Homegrown Goods.”

You want to connect with a new and updated audience.

You started a natural bath-time products business back in the mid-90s. Your demographic mainly included the working crowd looking to relax after a long day in the office. While this demographic still goes strong, you are surprised to learn new information from your buying data. A much younger generation has become interested in your products as well!

What can you do to restructure your brand to accommodate this new crowd while still keeping the interests of your longtime customers in mind?

First, learn what people in your target market are connecting with most and tailor your brand to fit their needs. Could you expand into a natural makeup line? Would having a stronger social media presence help you? What if your branding included more neutral colors? The possibilities are endless.

Keep up with demographic shifts, but don’t push away the people who have been there from the beginning. This could hurt your brand and your reputation.

You are unable to differentiate yourself from your competition.

This problem often stems from your logo design or other aspects of your brand design, as this is the first impression potential customers have of you. It may be easy to make a very generic logo or to use one from a free automated system, but think again. By using what just anyone else can use, you run the risk of being unrecognizable in a sea of many other businesses like yours.

You do not have to spend thousands or even hundreds on an easily identifiable logo. Figure out what your brand should represent and reflect that through your logo and through your branding. Colortech’s creative team can help with this!

One idea is to consider where the business is located or where it originated and bring in some symbolism from there. Allow something in your logo you wouldn’t have otherwise considered, such as a native animal from the area.

On top of deciding what illustrative elements you want (if any), pay attention to your color and typography as well. A black background and a sleek, gold serif font will give off a very different aesthetic than a light pink background with thick, white bubble lettering. Do your research and determine where your brand should be at.

Your brand identity is outdated.

Did you build your website in 1999 and haven’t updated it since? Is your logo incredibly cluttered or uses a generic font? Has the name of your company not been updated with the times or uses old-fashioned terminology?

If any of these ring true, it’s probably time for a rebrand. People are much more likely to gravitate toward a brand that is adaptable to the times, and people often have higher trust levels for brands that are willing to change.

With this, be cautious to not throw away what makes your brand identifiable. For example, if Coca-Cola got rid of its signature red color or classic script, or if McDonald’s got rid of its famous golden arches, people would just be confused.

When considering a rebrand, think about what currently isn’t connecting with audiences any longer and rework it. Brands like Coca-Cola and McDonald’s have survived as long as they have due to maintaining connections with their clientele. Coca-Cola inspires audiences and reminds them of the importance of sharing bonds with others (namely with a Coke). McDonald’s has adapted their advertising by appealing to a wider audience. Examples include promoting some healthier options on their menus and showing different types of families on our television screens.

When should you NOT undergo a rebrand?

While rebranding can be a great opportunity for some companies, there are still times when it is unnecessary and will more than likely cause harm. Here are a few of those instances and what you can do instead.

You are bored with the way things look

…but don’t have the data to back your claims up from your audience. The rebranding will cost you a decent amount of money, and if rebranding will hurt you rather than help you, it clearly will not work for you. If you take something away from your brand that made you recognizable and fail to adapt it, it will cost you rather than benefit you.

For example, if you have had a cartoon beaver as part of your branding for years, this beaver is probably what people associate with your brand. Removing him entirely will only cause confusion, and in extreme cases, backlash. Rather than getting rid of the beaver, it may be best to modernize him while still keeping the signature look that people associate your brand with.

You simply want to change the name and logo

…but aren’t willing to adjust all of your marketing efforts to match. Put extensive research into what you should change. If your marketing materials such as your social media look different from what you give off in your name and logo (AKA people’s first impression of you), this will not fare well. If you are going to change one thing, you will likely need to adapt everything else in some form.

You want to cover up a bad reputation

…by offering a distraction through the rebrand. Ignoring a controversy your company is involved with or failing to address issues customers have with your business is not great business practice. Attempting to distract the general public from these issues by rebranding is even worse. Do not rebrand as an ulterior motive.

Conclusion

Overall, while rebranding can be a scary concept, your brand identity is one of the most important points to touch on when establishing your business and making it what you want it to be. Take the time to truly consider how your brand message should be articulated and what rebranding can do for your company.

If you feel stuck at any point in this process, please contact our designers here at Colortech and see what we can do for you!