Time for a Re-Brand?
We spend a lot of time talking about building trust with your target audience. This means you have a logo, colours, fonts and an overall brand that you want your target audience to get comfortable with and familiar seeing, but when could it be time to completely change your brand?
If you have ever been through a re-brand in the past or have been considering one, it is certainly not as easy as changing your clothes. But very successful companies do it, and often it is the re-brand that helps to make a company become more successful.
Let’s consider some of the reasons you may want to consider a complete re-brand for your business and not just a refresh.
INCONSISTENT: Your brand has become overly complicated or spread too thin.
Perhaps you have noticed that your marketing materials, signage, vehicle decals, letterhead, and email signature (just to name a few) all have a slightly disconnected, inconsistent feeling.
PANDEMIC: Business took a hit? Want to fast-track your recovery?
Many companies across various industries had to completely rethink their business ventures in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. This results in a need to change branding to encompass new or changed services and offerings. Branding and marketing your business during an economic downturn has been proven to help your business be top of mind with your audience.
OUTDATED: You’re embarrassed to hand out your marketing materials.
Perhaps you started your business a while ago and at the time you just needed to throw together a business card to hand out to people. Maybe you designed the logo for your company and the card in order to save money. Do you find yourself uncomfortable handing your business card out now, or maybe you don’t hand it out at all because you know it is outdated and the logo appears to be a cookie-cutter logo that was designed on one of those free logo designing sites? What about your website? Many have built their own, and there is no shame in that, but often without the skillful touch of a web designer, a professional, it can appear piecemealed together with graphics “borrowed” from Google that really don’t belong to you. Maybe it was built on a free site and you just need a complete overhaul.
EXPANSION: You’re trying to connect with a new audience.
Possibly you are trying to reach a new market and are offering more services or different products that you haven’t in the past. The brand that you have now may not speak to those new products or services, and this could absolutely mean that you need to rebrand. With additions to products or services, it may mean that your current brand is just not incorporating the full scope of your business, or the overall vision of your company is becoming clouded with changes that have been made to your company. Going back to the drawing board and starting over again from the ground up can often do amazing things for a company.
EMPLOYEES: You’re not attracting top talent due to your image.
What does the face of your business mean as it relates to the ambassadors of your company? By ambassadors, we mean those who work within your business and thereby represent your business. If the current appearance and reputation of your brand are less than polished or professional, that will tend to be the type of people you are attracting. Those will be the people who are in turn will be representing you. This can be a vicious circle that will need to be changed to increase your staff retention and their happiness at work.
BAD PRESS: You need to disassociate your brand from a negative image.
You’ve likely heard of the term “social proof”. It refers to what people are saying on social media about a business. Social proof is often thought of in terms of the good side of a company whether it is great products or services and maybe how those products or services have helped and how. The more people are talking about a business in a positive way, the more people are willing to connect with that company through their products or services. But what happens if something has gone the other way? What if your company has been tied to something completely negative? Maybe a product your company was selling failed or caused someone harm. Maybe someone within your business was a poor representative of your business. Should you wish to carry your business on, it may mean that you need to completely rebrand in order to pull yourself out of the mire and bring a new face to the world.
COMPETITION: You’re failing to differentiate yourself from the competition.
How about other businesses that you would consider your competition? How much does your business stand out compared to theirs? What is it that sets you apart? If you have nothing notably different from your competition this could mean it is time for a change.
NAME CHANGE: Your company name no longer reflects your vision.
Things change; a great name 20 years ago may no longer work for your company today or support you in where you want to take the business. Also, socio-cultural changes can make the meaning of your name no longer an appropriate fit. Whatever the reason, your name is often the first element of your brand that people interact with, it should not only resonate with them but reflect the core of your business.
LACKING PROFIT: Not seeing the profits or financial rewards you desire.
Do you feel you are working way too many hours and not benefiting from the long days? Many factors affect a company’s profit success, and one of those is brand. Thrive believes Brand = Profit. A successful brand leads to repeat business, referrals, and above all, loyalty.
MERGER: You’re undergoing a merger or acquisition.
Another time a company will look at a whole new branding of their business is during a merger. It may make good sense for one business to buy out another taking on the other business’s products or services, but the brand of the initial company may not at all be representative of the new acquisition. This is a time when a rebrand can discover the value of each existing brand and analyzing the desired future goals and can help with the decisions of how to best position the newly merged company moving forward.
NEW DIRECTION: Your business model or strategy has changed.
The founding principles and objectives of a company may change during the company’s life due to many reasons (technological changes, new market opportunities) and your brand should be up-to-date and relevant.
RAPID GROWTH: Brand and marketing materials been left behind?
Many companies feel that brand and design development can be postponed when they are super busy. This typically happens due to their lack of understanding of the value and how it would benefit their company. At some point, that negligence catches up with them. Companies often discover they are not being considered for proposals as their brand is outdated. Or what the company is promising to new staff and clients is not reflected in their materials and image both internally and externally. Ideally, companies will plan for their growth and have their brand and design support them in reaching their desired goals. If rapid growth has occurred, don’t leave it too long, bring in Thrive to help you align your image.
Whatever the reason you are thinking about a complete rebrand, we are here to help you move through the necessary changes to bring your new brand to the world. Call 1.778.908.7741 to discuss.