Rebranding your business can be scary to many small and medium-sized business owners. It brings to mind images of money being wasted and time being squandered. This is very unfortunate because rebranding can be a great source of new energy and life, rather than a drain on an organisation.
And because the idea of rebranding your business often comes up during times of change in an organisation, which is already causing leadership enough tumult and stress, it is cast aside and put off. But sometimes a re-branding is vital to a company’s future success. Here are some times when companies should consider re-branding:
- You’re expanding your product line in a significant way.
Rebranding your business when you are changing the products or services you offer is a way of showing current customers and potential customers that you are growing and evolving in an exciting way. - Your vision, business model or business strategy has shifted.
Currently, companies are having to make major changes in their strategy, business models and even their core vision. Some of it has been due to legislation changes, some of it has been due to unforeseen market opportunities, and some of it has been due to advances in technology. With such major business shifts, re-branding is necessary to illustrate the inner changes in a public way and re-align the brand with the company’s new direction. - The branding is just plain bad.
Sometimes you have to call a spade a spade. It could be unoriginal, plain, dated, boring or any number of other pejorative descriptions–it just needs to be changed. And this isn’t just about being embarrassed to hand out your business card. This is about what customers think and perceive, and it is about what future talent thinks and perceives–no one wants to be embarrassed of their business sign every time they pull into their office parking lot. - You’re expanding industries.
Whether you’re planning on expanding to just one new industry or many different industries, you need to think about rebranding. Different industries respond best to different approaches, and re-aligning your brand with a new approach is often necessary. - Your organisation is going through a merger or acquisition.
When two companies become one, it confuses the public if there is no brand alignment and can negatively impact both companies. - You’re diversifying your audience.
It is not uncommon for companies to have the desire for diversifying their audience and customer base. A new demographic opens the door to new customers. Maybe you are wanting to re-introduce yourself to the next generation as they reach adulthood, or maybe you mainly serve in-field professionals, such as archaeologists and geologists, and you are wanting to reach out to collegiate professors in those fields. For cases such as these and so many others, re-branding can be extremely helpful in successful audience diversification. - You’re changing or adding locations.
Maybe you started in a small town, or even a big city, and your brand caught on. Maybe the locals fell in love with one of your products or services, popularity and demand grew, investors emerged and you’re considering opening up shop in a few new cities. Is your brand relevant to other geographies? If not, maybe a little tweaking and re-branding could help.
But Rebranding your business doesn’t have to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. In fact, if a little thought is put into the planning process, and you are working alongside professionals with both expertise and experience, you will find that the rebranding process can be a source of rejuvenation for your organisation.
To find out more and see if re-branding might be the best option for you and your business at this time, contact us.
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