A brand is a strategic business asset that determines the success of your company. The business industry has become visual such that customers are willing to use images to judge various brands. This means a boring and outdated brand may not do well in the current world. Rebranding is essential for any company looking to remain competitive in the market. It boosts your marketing efforts since by enabling you to reach a larger audience. It is also a sure way of separating from a big pool of clients rendering you unique and top in the industry. However, rebranding might cost you a lot in your business if you do it at the wrong time.
Rebranding has always received mixed reactions from staff and consumers. Most business owners see it as a daunting and complicated task, but all this is nothing compared to the risks involved in sticking to the old designs. A good example of a brand that lost a large client following is Microsoft by staying for over 25 years without rebranding. At this time, Apple was growing at an alarming rate, and before Microsoft realized, the new brand had already established its roots and was flying high in the markets. Companies and big household names like Coca-cola, Pepsi, and Nike have had to rebrand severally to maintain their competitiveness and relevance in the industry. These are some of the few incidences when rebranding was important for a company. This blog will help you discover the right time to consider rebranding.
Images that appeal to a 40-year-old woman may not be appealing to a teenager. If your brand used to target the elderly and you just changed your target audience, then you may consider rebranding. The rise of other brands targeting audience of a particular demographic might come out very strongly, and this calls for rebranding to remain competitive.
A business should have a clear plan of current and future activities. If you are no longer serving your original purpose as you used to a few years ago, then it is a clear indication you need a rebrand. Your brand relies heavily on the company’s mission, so a clear definition of your brand is essential if your business is moving away from its goals or services.
A new business tends to confuse customers especially if there is no proper brand alignment plan with the parent company. Most business owners acquire other competing companies. This means that the new clients of the company you merged may have chosen the company over yours. It would be unwise to realign the new business’s goals with your parent company without taking note of the brand image portrayed by a subsidiary. Therefore, rebranding would be one of the best options for you to retain royal customers from both businesses.
Competition is inevitable in every business, but the way you present your brand determines your outcome. Big companies like Coca-cola understand that it is important to rebrand after every 7-10 years for them to beat the competition in the industry. This has made them unique even with other brands coming to the market every day. If your competitor brand has a message and graphics that resemble yours, then you should consider rebranding to avoid confusing your clients.
A damaged reputation is sometimes hard or even impossible to fix, and it may cost you a lot in term of sales and client trust. Some people may relate various brands with negative occurrences such as gangs and drugs. In this case, a rebrand would help save your company’s image and reputation. You might just need a little change in the design and the logo, but some worst incidences require a detailed change of brands' name and the look of a company.
Rebranding requires proper timing and planning. Doing it a bit early in the developmental stage might ruin the company’s credibility while waiting for an extended period may affect the company’s sales. Remember your brand is the main driving force of business, so you should do anything to protect it from collapsing. Our team of professionals at Graphics Zoo understands the process of rebranding and they are ready to guide you on basics and right time to do it. Feel free to call us today for inquiries.