As the market continues to grow and evolve, so should your company. This includes your brand’s look and feel.
Some rebrands involve subtle changes such as a minor shift in messaging or voice. Meanwhile, other rebrands require entire overhauls on logos, designs, and even brand name.
Is it time to rebrand your business?
You’re not alone if the idea of a rebrand can feel unnerving. After all, rebrands require resources, time, and concerted effort.
However, investing in a quality rebrand can reinvigorate your audience and the company’s bottom line.
A study on the influence of brand name on the consumer decision making process revealed that brand image or brand name has significant positive relationship with consumer buying behavior. In short, a well-thought-out brand name will solidify your company’s authority yielding exponential results over time.
Here are five reasons why you should tackle a complete company rebrand.
1. You’re often mistaken for another brand.
Brand recognition is extremely important. According to a study by Princeton, the first seven seconds of an encounter, audiences will have a solid impression of who your brand is.
Some research suggests a tenth of a second is all it takes to start determining traits like trustworthiness.
If your brand is being confused with another, this will create a misleading first impression, one that’s difficult to erase. Brand confusion can sabotage your business growth significantly.
According to a study by Accenture, 21 percent of consumers never come back after walking away from a brand. This will cost you valuable customer acquisition.
2. You’ve outgrown your brand.
Your brand’s logo, voice, and tone typically reflect your initial offerings and modest size. However, as your company matures and grows, so must your brand.
For instance, fifty-six percent of companies survive their first five years in business. By the fifth year, if not sooner, companies may shift or grow their offerings to fit market trends and customer demands.
There also tends to be an evolution in values and mission to match goals. New businesses often find themselves “growing up” and transitioning out of startup to scaleup.
When your company’s new philosophy is no longer reflected in your brand, it’s time to consider a rebrand.
3. There’s a merger or an acquisition.
Mergers and acquisitions are on the rise. If a merger or acquisition is in your company’s near future, you may consider a full-on rebrand.
With two varying brand personalities, integrating both brands into a cohesive company is the challenge. Mapping out a cohesive marketing strategy that highlights your united voice, vision, and mission will be vital to the success of the rebrand.
There may even be an opportunity to create a new name that tells the story of your merger.
4. Your entire brand aesthetic looks outdated, and your brand story doesn’t seem relevant to the times anymore.
Mastercard, Staples, and Slack are just three examples of major rebrands last year.
Mastercard underwent two years of research before their logo update. They found that 80 percent of individuals recognized the Mastercard symbol without the word ‘Mastercard’ underneath. For this reason, the company simplified its look to a wordless logo.
In 2011, Starbucks also dropped its name from its logo. This trend aligns with today’s modern branding that is both clean and minimalistic.
If your brand is more than seven years old, you may consider revisiting your marketing material and compare it to the latest design trends where you can identify areas of improvement.
If you are working with an outdated look, this would be a good time to audience test or crowdsource fresh concepts for your brand.
5. You need to reach out to a new set of target demographics.
As your company grows, you may discover that you deviate from your original products, services, and position. This will impact your target market.
After evaluating your current customer base, you may discover there’s been a shift in customers. Your new customer base may have different interests or characteristics that a rebrand can further appeal to.
In other cases, you may see a dip in sales and receive less qualified leads. Research from LucidPress reported that the most significant negative impact of inconsistent brand usage is the creation of confusion in the market.
If your audience is confused as to what you offer or what your brand represents, they’ll be hesitant to purchase. A rebrand can help provide clarity in communicating product value and connect with new audiences.
When Not to Rebrand
Don’t rebrand to:
1. Fend off the bad press.
The press will follow you wherever you go (or whatever you rebrand to). Rebranding may even call more unwanted attention to your brand and further link your company to negative stories.
If you do have an ongoing negative press, consider consulting a crisis management firm or an experienced public relations professional for guidance.
2. General brand awareness.
If you want to build brand awareness but haven’t tested an assortment of marketing strategies, a rebrand shouldn’t be your first approach. There are scores of marketing methods to test. Once you’ve established KPIs, you can discover if any tactic you’ve tried is truly viable.
3. A new CEO or marketing executive wants to make a change.
This is a tricky one. You may feel attached to your brand, but that’s not the case for new team members. While it’s important to listen to the expertise of a CEO or marketing executive, a rebrand is a huge decision that shouldn’t be made by one person’s opinion alone.
Do any of these reasons to rebrand resonate with you?
Then it’s time that you seriously consider rebranding.
As illustrated, it’s best not to make this decision alone. Gather as much feedback from a broad range of people as possible (crowdsourcing) to ensure that you’re not making a mistake with your brand makeover.
Don’t be the Uber of your industry with a failed rebrand. With the right research and resources, you can roll out a rebrand that will better reach your customer and bolster your revenue.
Editor’s note: This guest post comes from Grant Polachek of Squadhelp.com.
About the Author
Grant Polachek is the Head of Branding at Inc 500 company Squadhelp.com, the worlds #1 naming platform, with 25,000+ customers from early-stage startups across the globe to the largest corporations including Nestle, Philips, Hilton, Pepsi, and AutoNation. Get inspired by exploring these winning business name ideas.