There comes an inevitable time when any long-running business has to rethink its branding, marketing and advertising methods. Technology and the digital age is moving at a lightning-quick pace, which has left many businesses needing to play catch-up to keep ahead of the market and cater to what their customers want.
Most rebrands are a huge success, as they are the result of upgrading, digitising and making things better for customers – though some can fall flat and spell disaster for the business.
Take Snapchat’s latest incarnation. Users rushed to social media to proclaim the update was user-unfriendly and that they didn’t know how to use it any more. But the biggest blow came from the platform’s most famous supporter, Kylie Jenner, who posted a tweet simply asking: ‘does anyone else not open Snapchat anymore?’ reportedly cost the company a mind-blowing $1.3billion.
We don’t want your business facing the same fate of Snapchat, so we’ve laid out exactly how to ensure your rebrand makes money – not loses it.
Hold a company-wide meeting
Your first act when considering a branding overhaul is to consult your staff – after all, this will affect them too. Meetings are the best way to discuss and generate ideas and to come up with a conclusion that everyone is happy with. The more people on-board with the plan, the smoother it will run, and hopefully, the higher percentage of the public and your customer-base will love it.
Know your target audience
The most important factor in your rebrand should be considering whether your customers will appreciate it. If you’re changing the direction of your target customer-base, e.g. towards a younger audience, you should survey and test out your ideas on that audience before you make any permanent changes.
Not listening to your customers is the biggest mistake a company can make. Learn from Tropicana’s mistake: in 2009, they completely overhauled their packaging, and their revenue plummeted by 20% because customers no longer liked, recognised or trusted the brand – woops. They revoked their new packaging after just a few weeks. This cautionary tale goes to show the importance of consulting customers.
Also consult any staff for their thoughts who fall into your target category and ask how they like brands to market and advertise to them – what works and what doesn’t. Even better, hire staff that fall into your target audience to better cater to them. Once you have the necessary information, you’re sure to be on a bath to rebrand success.
Start with your website
Redesign your logo, site layout, promotional graphics, everything – you may also want to switch up your web host by checking out the recommendations for business sites on Hosting Foundry. Whether you have an in-house designer or not, commission someone who shares and understands your company’s vision and can create something that accurately reflects it. Don’t forget to roll out the changes across your whole internet presence, including your social media.
Send out an email to your customers informing them of the rebrand and asking for their feedback. Do they find the new site user-friendly? Does it offer all the information they need? Can they easily find the products and services they like? Do they love the new logo? It’s important that your biggest investors – your customers – like the ideas as much as you do, so listen to what they have to say.
Overhaul your stores
The final step is to roll out the rebrand across your physical stores, if you have them. This is the most permanent change you will make and will take the longest; but it’s best to wait for last for this step to be completely sure that your proposed rebrand is definitely the best route for your business to take.
You may have also done some research and consumer surveys by this point to know whether your audience prefers your proposed rebrand to your old methods. Generally, if you’re updating your processes to make things quicker and easier for customers, with a good-looking website and store layout, you won’t need to worry about going ahead with the changes – now is the time!
