With the start of a new year, your company may be considering a new look, new logo, or new messaging. Something to freshen things up a bit. Sounds exciting and could drive some new revenue opportunities. Before you get too caught up in the glitz and glamour of a new logo, new colors, and new marketing materials, stop and make sure a rebrand is the right strategy for you. Do you really have an argument for a rebrand? If nothing has changed or is going to change and it is just a new look — don’t do it. A rebrand is an update of your company’s goals, culture, and message. Your customers and prospects will see right through it and it could backfire on you instead of help you. It can cause confusion and lead to disconnection. Consistency and clear messaging are what is going to make the rebrand successful.
Here are five steps that will help you rebrand your business:
1. Determine your current identity and decide what your new identity will be. This is where you ask yourself the hard questions about your business. What is working and what is not? That is the best place to start when making changes. Don’t fix something that is not broken. Take a look at your company culture and make sure your new brand will fit better. Be comfortable with your mission statement before you sit down and decide what outcome you want to achieve from rebranding. One of the best ways to determine what kind of changes need to be made to your business is to talk to your customers and employees to see what concerns and opinions they may have.
2. Establish a clear action plan for the changes. Once a plan has been made to change a certain aspect of your business, you need to document the changes that need to be made. This will make it easier to communicate it internally to ensure consistency and obtain buy-in from all employees. Make sure it is clear why the changes are happening and what the goals are, and don’t be afraid to tell your employees how you will measure the goals.
3. Research your customers. Look into your customer base and decide if part of overhauling your business is targeting a new market. Appealing to a new demographic could open you up to a whole new world of customers and change the overall vibe of your business. Reaching out to a larger customer base will help your bottom line a great deal.
4. Turn your employees into brand ambassadors. Get your employees excited about the change by keeping them in the loop. They are a huge part of your company culture and therefore your brand identity. Take this opportunity to get your new logo and brand out there by making t-shirts and sweatshirts that your employees and clients can wear to promote your brand.
5. Initiate changes and communicate your new identity. Before launching, make sure all of your employees and managers are comfortable and up to speed on all the changes that are going to be made. Set an official launch date and announce the changes via your social-media sites, email, in a press release, or using other marketing vehicles. This is the perfect opportunity for you to tell the story of why you changed your brand and the benefits to everyone for this change.
Sometimes a rebrand is essential, if there has been a merger, an acquisition, or an outdated look and messaging. Small businesses tend to be more apt to make a paradigm shift in their product offerings, which would make them good candidates for a rebrand. It becomes a slippery slope when your company’s reputation has longevity, credibility, and is well-recognized. You need to tread lightly and make sure you don’t lose those attributes and cause confusion.
A great example of a rebrand done to communicate a paradigm shift with a company that has a great reputation and longevity is The Business Journal News Network, formerly The Business Journal. This business publication has been a consistent, credible staple in the CNY community for nearly 30 years. There was risk in changing things up. With extensive planning, goal setting, and communication, the rebrand was a big success.
The Business Journal didn’t want to be known as just the newspaper. It had so much more to offer than just print and wanted everyone to know it. With so many products and services — including the newspapers in CNY, the Southern Tier, and the Mohawk Valley, the BizEventz event company, digital platforms such as CNYBJ.com, the Daily News Alerts and Coffee Break, and research — the question was how would it ensure that clients and readers understood everything it had to offer and how to use them as a package to achieve their marketing goals. The message that it is “not just the paper” had to be clear. This is what led to the creation of The Business Journal News Network. It’s an umbrella company, encompassing all of the products/service offerings under one identity, reducing confusion on all the different parts and pieces. This became the ultimate goal of the rebrand.
Next, came the messaging. This was imperative to get right because of the great reputation The Business Journal already had in the business community. The firm had to be sure people knew it was the same great, credible company — just with more to offer. It had input from employees to gain their buy-in. The business talked to current clients and received feedback from them. A communication plan was put in place that would enable the Business Journal News Network (BJNN) to shout the new name, look, and changes from the rooftop. It needed to jump in with both feet, not just dabble in the water. Again, consistency is key. All employees were comfortable and understood the rebrand so they could be ambassadors for the company.
Today, BJNN has a year under its belt with its new identity and has been able to expand its offerings with its new mission. This has allowed BJNN to go after a new target market for the new offerings while satisfying and maintaining its current clients.
To be successful at changing your business’s brand, you must commit to the changes and always look forward, while also making sure everyone in your business is involved and comfortable with the changes. The way to guarantee success in rebranding your business is to take action — make it happen and stick to it.
Jennifer Cline is a sales and marketing strategist at ABC Creative Group. She also consults with The Business Journal News Network. Contact her at jenn@abcideabased.com