We officially began production today for our new web video series, “Branding 101.”
Keep an eye out for our introductory video in the coming weeks. We’ll be addressing the keys to building a “Bold Brand,” including: positioning, competition, brand essence, and more. Stay tuned for more.
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.
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?
Bradford Systems Corporation came to Miles Design earlier this year. They had a strong reputation in Chicago for selling premium architectural storage products, often used for storing paper and files on shelving. Although their reputation was historically accurate, it was only telling part of their 42-year-old story. As an exclusive Spacesaver dealer, Bradford had grown to become leaders in premium, compact storage for anyone who had any kind of valuable items to store: museums, public safety agencies, medium to large businesses, healthcare providers, academic institutions, and government agencies. In addition, their electronic records and software divisions help clients digitize valuable files and keep exacting records of where physical artifacts are located.
Their existing identity felt more dated and industrial than what the Bradford brand had grown to represent. They needed something clean and high-tech, as well as something that would appeal to architects. As Bradford Systems grows in marketshare and reach outside of Chicago (across Illinois and Indiana), they need a brand that can grow with them.
Our design firm sees its fair share of branding and marketing emergencies. The running joke is that our conference room becomes a make-shift triage for marketing patients. And for a variety of reasons, websites seem to be the most common marketing emergency that our design firm encounters.
In fact, if I asked 100 professional services firms if their websites were “under the weather” or worse, I’d be willing to bet over two-thirds of them would say, “Yes!”
An ill-performing website (more often than not) is the symptom of a larger marketing and positioning problem, rather than the problem itself. But that doesn’t change the fact that these websites are presenting with some serious symptoms.
Does your firm’s website qualify as a
marketing emergency?
If you’re unsure, you can try your hand at a little self-diagnosis. Here’s a simple three-step check up:
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