Ten Great Reasons to Rebrand
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Are you considering rebranding your business, product, or service? If you’re like most business owners, you’re perplexed about when and how to go about rebranding. As business conditions improve, you’re looking for a strategic advantage. Regardless of how long you’ve pondered the idea, one thing is sure–rebranding isn’t something to go into half-hearted. You should feel great about the timing and the branding firm you select to guide you through the process.
Rebranding goes beyond updating your logo.
If you’re considering a rebrand, chances are you already understand that rebranding your firm requires more than just sprucing up your company logo. It’s a deep-dive into who your company is: your positioning, your values, and your brand essence. Any logo changes or visual updates you consider should all be outcomes of the positioning and brand essence decisions you make up-front.
But how do you know when you’re ready to commit to a full rebrand of your company? The following are the ten most common indicators we’ve seen in our business–sure signs you might be ready to rebrand.
1. "Our sales team is embarrassed to show our prospects our collateral / website / business card."
This is probably the number one complaint we hear from business development professionals. If your sales team is afraid to send a prospect to your website or share your collateral with a potential business partner, how much business are you losing out on?
2. "We’re considering a name change."
This is one of the most obvious times to rebrand. A name change is a great opportunity to re-examine your entire brand from the ground up.
3. "Our brand image or reputation isn’t current."
Another great time to rebrand is when you’ve outgrown your current brand image. Whether it’s a negative issue (like BP), a positive issue (like growth in a new market), or even just a "dated" look, rebranding is an opportunity to make sure your image and message are accurate and up-to-date.
4. "We’re moving."
Moving locations is one of the single largest expenses that some firms will encounter. Oftentimes, by necessity, you’ll need to reprint all of your collateral and buy new signage. As long as you’re going to have those expenses, why not be sure your identity is as fresh as your new space?
5. "We’re taking on new partners or buying the existing owners out."
Similar to number three, as your firm’s ownership shifts, your values and priorities may as well. That’s a great time to make sure your positioning reflects the current partners’ business goals and personalities.
6. "Nobody understands exactly what we do and why we’re different."
Internally it’s not always the most pressing business issue, but this is just as important as number one. If your market doesn’t understand who you are and why you’re different, you might as well stop marketing to them. Consider a rebrand to give the market a more clear picture of why your firm matters.
7. "Nothing matches."
Have you ever met three people from the same company who all had different business cards and made their own clip-art laden sales sheets. How professional did that company appear to you? A rebrand is the right time to get all of your collateral in order as well.
8. "Our competition is getting all of the limelight."
If your competitors are getting more attention than you’d like, sometimes creating a media event can help divert some attention your way. Consider a grand re-opening event, featuring your newly refreshed brand.
9. "We need to invest in new collateral / signage / tradeshow displays."
Similar to a move, if you’re already needing to invest in new logo-related materials, be sure you’re going to be happy with those materials for a long, long time.
10. "We need to look our best for the big event."
And last, but certainly not least, consider what you have on your horizon. A big company anniversary? An open house? A trade show? Or perhaps a speaking engagement or press event? Nothing gets companies serious about rebranding like an important upcoming event.
Why are you considering a rebrand? Maybe you have different reasons. What else has to change before you’re ready to move forward? Share your opinions below.
Josh Miles
Latest posts by Josh Miles (see all)
Tags: brand, positioning, rebranding
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I am in the process of helping a company through a rebrand right now. I think most of these points have been mentioned, especially how none of their collateral matches. But the catalyst to their change is that they are seperating and solidifying unique divisions. These divisions need their own brand and they need to tie into the main company brand. What a better time to start from scratch and create a new complete package.
On a seperate note… sometimes a company needs to brand because they are being absorbed by another company. Take National City Bank for instance. They are now PNC. The change over took an entire year to complete.
Great blog!
Hey Matt,
Thanks for the comments – good additions to our list, and good luck with your client!
From the archives: Ten Great Reasons to Rebrand: http://t.co/Op8MMjIQ