Should You Rebrand Your Business?

Times are changing. Does your business need a rebrand?

Renaming your company might once have been as simple as changing the sign out front, but in today’s reality rebranding isn’t easy: do you have time to overhaul your entire business?So how do you know when rebranding is right for you?
If you answer yes to one or more of the following questions, you should consider rebranding:

• Have your targeted demographics or products experienced a major change since the launch of your business?
• Have you experienced a major decrease in sales and customers in recent history?
• Does your business seem to attract the ‘wrong’ clientele (ie clientele from outside your targeted demographic)?
• Has your business recently undergone a major managerial change?
• Do the look of your current brand clash with your mission statement?

Alternatively, here are some reasons NOT to rebrand your business:

• You’re sick of it or it’s boring
• Your existing brand is expensive – rebranding will cost more
• Your business has an established strong brand recognition
• Internal operation issues or weak business structure

Brands take a long time to gain recognition and changing your business’s image will confuse the established relationships you have with your customers; rebranding won’t always bring in new clients. Your brand is everywhere (or it should be) so changing every aspect of your business – from business cards to websites – will cost you a significant amount of money, and should be seen as a major investment to your company. Rebranding should not be viewed as a last resort but as a result of new philosophical and motivational organization of your business.
If you have given significant thought to the idea of rebranding your business then there can be great advantages, but it will involve a lot of work. For example, when changing the image of your business you can stimulate growth and increase your competitive advantage by appearing as a fresh new option. But as we’ve seen with businesses like Hershey and Airbnb, rebranding your business can cause major backlash and can make your business the butt of jokes for years after the release party.
So, how do you rebrand your business the right way?
If rebranding your business’s image is the next step in the evolution of your company then here are some important tips to remember:
Research your market:
Targeting only the share of the market that you deal with directly can leave your research short-sighted. Consider all demographics within your industry and weigh up your options. The purpose of rebranding is to think outside your usual realm of business; to get creative and explore the “what if?”.
Make sure the new image matches the inner workings of your company:
Giving your company a makeover has to encompass the inner workings of your business as well. Catching the attention of prospective clients isn’t enough to keep great sales up; you have to be sure that you can back up your claims with exceptional product, services and customer care.
Focus on what you do best:
What is exceptional about your business? What does your company have to offer that is better than anyone else in the industry? Find out what you offer that no one else does and focus your rebranding around your unique selling point.
Get an outside opinion:
Outside help can come from a hired professional, a rebranding firm or just a crowdsource from your social media followers. Any amount of additional advice can go a long way to raise interest in your emerging image. The more the merrier!

Need help promoting your new brand?

Let us know on Twitter: @Midphase –  maybe we can help get the word out!