Rebranding – The Pitfall Most Fall Into

The typical ones are:

• The company outgrew their brand
• Merger
• Reposition
• Internationalization
• New CEO

 

This insight focuses more on business internal reasons.

a) Marketing Plateau

Many times we see a business’ growth come to a standstill and their marketing efforts plateau. Through research and outside consultancy they realize that they have purely survived on the strength of their products or services. But this is not enough!

 

During good times, there are rarely issues. However, once an organization is hit hard, they rarely have a foundation to fall back on to help with difficult decisions. What business owners see, with horror, is that competition increases to fill the void, with no way to differentiate themselves to stay relevant.

 

Marketing managers know the pain of working with undefined brands. It makes their job really hard, and to some degree impossible.

 

b) Business Direction

Even with consistent messaging, process, and skill, an unexpected change in the industry or the world (Covid crisis) will force your business to adjust. This change can be the catalyst for a new transformation.

 

c) Wrong Target Audience

Requests from customers who do not fit your target group, is a safe sign that something is off. “One size fits all” may sound good for clothing, but it does not apply to business.

 

d) Dated Design

This is self-explanatory. Your design must reflect the personality of your company, and what it stands for. Business owners often do not give it much attention, and view it as not important. Actually, customers consciously and subconsciously judge a product or service by its appearance. This phenomenon is known in psychology as the Halo Effect, and unwillingly contributes to a decrease of revenue.

 

e) No Differentiation

The market is saturated, and savvy competitors are everywhere. The market has too many copycats, meaning similar products or services with no differentiation or originality. No one brand stands out.

Perhaps you have recognized one or two of these problems as yours. Now you are thinking  rebranding is the way to go. Before you think any longer, let me show you the main pitfalls a lot of companies fall into when they want to rebrand.

 

First, what is a brand?

In the words of Marty Neumeier’s: “A brand is a gut feeling within each customer. It is what they say it is, not the other way around.” The importance is to understand that a brand is not what the company says it is, but what the customer says it is. For this reason, you cannot design a brand.

 

Your brand is out of your direct control. But you can take actions to indirectly influence and shape your customers feelings and perception about you, through consistency on every touchpoint.

 

The Pitfall

The biggest mistake we see over and over again is that CEOs and marketing leaders think in visual terms. They commission freelance designers or design firms to develop  a new logo, color palette, updated marketing material, etc., thinking a new design will fix everything.

 

The truth is, this will not do anything for you by itself! I like to describe it with my favorite car example:

 

Pretend you have an old car, but you want a Ferrari. Painting your car Ferrari red, does not make it a Ferrari, right? There are many other things that must happen to turn your old car into a Ferrari.

A tactical, well-thought-out plan and research are inevitable when you are starting to rebrand.

 

Consider the following points to get started. (In the progressive order.)

 

a) Define your Belief

Clarity is key. You cannot talk about the new you when you do not know what your brand should stand for.

 

You will need to dig deep and try to find answers to:

• What is your business mission?
• What will you do to change your customer’s lives?
• What is your vision?
• What values do you have?
• What can you promise customers?

 

Be honest and clear! Customers can recognize dishonesty immediately.

 

A short example might help you understand why this is important.

Pretend you need someone who can plan an event for you. You start researching and trying to find businesses who specialize in event planning.

 

Obviously, you have special criteria in mind, and try to narrow your search results. You try to find someone who is professional, sharp, eager, precise, has an eye for detail, and is familiar with regulations. While browsing through countless websites, you will find many people with those traits, but one or two will stand out. Why? Because they share the same values as you, or they stand for something that is important to you.

 

Even if it has nothing directly to do with your criteria. You will be magically attracted to those few, and most likely will contact them.

 

b) Audit Your Audience

The same way you audit your company, you must audit your customers.

As mentioned before, you might get requests from potential clients, who want something that you do not offer.

 

This is most likely because of a confusing brand identity, unclear messaging, or complicated messaging of the product or services you offer.

 

Before you dive deep into your main target group, answer this question first:

• Who do you want to work with?

 

Then try to walk in their shoes and visualize what their daily lives look like. How might they talk? How would they think about a certain issue? Or where might they hang out? Try to find out everything you can to get a clear picture of what they might look like, wrapped into one person.

 

c) Clarify your Products or Services

Think about how your target audience will benefit from your product or service.

Write the answer as clear and simple as you can to avoid miscommunication. Do not use fancy, confusing, or industry-specific words. It will just add confusion.

 

Once you know how to clearly communicate; update your website, social media page, and all other marketing materials; your clarity will attract the right customers.

 

If you offer multiple services, try to break down each service that you provide, describe exactly what it is you do. Use those blocks of copy to enrich your marketing material, or to create numerous social media posts.

 

The easier and more convenient you break it down, the more comfort and trust your  customers will feel. that, is a huge win.

 

d) Change your Appearance

The three previous topics should have given you enough information to form a clear understanding, who you are, with whom you like to do business, and how to communicate with your customers effectively. Now, all of this must be translated into a new and more authentic look.

 

This is the most interesting part by far, but also the most complicated for business owners. Especially, when your work is not well thought through!

 

Make a list of all the elements your customers will engage with.

Then go through each element on your list, and try to answer the following questions as best as you can:

• What colors should be used?
• How will these colors be used throughout all touch points?
• What shapes and styles should be implemented, and where?
• How will fonts work on every marketing material?
• How small can the logo be to work properly?
• Is the design tool-kit flexible for every application?

 

It can help if you research your competition to understand how you can be visually different. Additionally, get a clear idea on how your industry is perceived. This insight will help you stand out and stir up your industry.

 

Remember that all design decisions must be aligned with your findings. Otherwise you will end up in an opinion match.

 

Design can be subjective at first glance, but actually, not. The design is the visual representation of the new committed direction of the business. Therefore it is built with strict guidelines in mind.

 

This also counts for the other creatives, the copywriters. They must follow these guidelines as well, to be consistent in tone of voice.

 

e) Stand to your Brand Mission

This can be a brave step, but regardless if you rebrand or not, stay true to what you want to achieve as an organization. Authenticity and consistency will be rewarded and will always work in your favor.

 

“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” — Simon Sinek

If you are conducting research on the subject or seeking guidance on the best way forward, we welcome you to reach out to us at

hello@edison-agency.com.

 

At EDISON, we specialize in providing businesses with clarity and invaluable insights to discover their authentic brand essence through the development of cohesive brand strategies and creative brand identities.

 

With over 18 years of experience and a portfolio boasting more than 140 brands, we are well-equipped to assist you on your journey. We look forward to the opportunity to collaborate with you!