Share! Re-branding is one of the most difficult decisions a company can make.
But what I want to do with these lines is that you understand whether or not your company needs a makeover.
I want, or intend, that, after reading, you have a general idea of why brand image changes are made and how you can do it in your company.
In short, give you the keys to know if your company needs to make a makeover as soon as possible and how to do it, or rather how to plan it.
Because in order for you to hire a designer, you must know what you want to do with your brand image.
It is not that you are doing the designer’s work, no, but the designer needs to know the new guidelines that the company is going to take for the proper development of the project.
A theoretical-practical reading that will help you, above all, to get out of doubts.
I’m sure you’re also interested
But what is re-branding?
The first thing you should know is what branding is in a company, in order to understand what re-branding is.
Wikipedia defines branding as follows:
Branding is an anglicism used in marketing that refers to the process of making and building a brand (in English, brand equity) through the strategic management of the total set of assets linked directly or indirectly to the name and / or symbol (logo) that They identify the brand by influencing the brand value, both for the customer and for the company that owns the brand.
And so the re-branding (here):
Re-branding or identity redesign is a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new differentiated identity in the mind of consumers, investors, competitors and other interested parties.
In other words, the re-branding of a company is the process of changing or rebuilding a new brand image with a very specific strategy.
And it is that the most important part of a change of image in the company is that when making this change (worth the redundancy) you are looking for a new strategy, whether in sales, communication, etc …
And this strategy that is proposed, as new guidelines that you are going to follow in your company, are neither more nor less than the new direction that the company itself is taking.
It is very important to take this fact into account when rebranding, because you are restructuring the company’s management.
Because rebranding is not just about putting “pretty”, updating or refreshing the corporate image of your business, no sir. It is much deeper and more serious than that.
And it involves more decisions and determinations than changing the color or typography.
When is a rebranding usually carried out?
As you may already know, this of design is not an exact science.
What may work for one company may be its total ruin for another.
And it is that each company is different: its values, its history, the aesthetic tastes of the manager, the public he wants to target and the public he attracts.
There are as many variants as there are companies.
But there are certain common facts when it comes to rebranding in companies:
– When a business enters a new stage
Earlier I told you that when rebranding your company, in reality what we are going to do is change the strategy of your company, the most common fact to do it is that the business changes.
Every business evolves or, rather, it must evolve, if that business or company does not have a serious problem, it gets stuck, so it stops attracting new customers, and little by little it falls into laziness.
And it is precisely these businesses that change and want to move forward, and continue to grow and not settle, that make changes in the image of your company.
Because they know that the company has changed, that now its clientele is different.
Either because the years have passed for the company and for the consumers, or because the decision has been made directly to make this change from the management.
Upon entering this new stage, the company must communicate to its customers the new direction it has taken.
– When your clients perceive your brand differently than you want
Sometimes our clients do not perceive our message as we would like.
Either because we mis-communicated the message, or because our client has changed, and we have not noticed.
Or, simply, because our positioning, in view of our consumer, has changed.
– When you’ve stalled
Long ago, changing the brand image every 10 years or more was very common. Today those times have changed to a better life.
Technology, communications and internet … all this makes us have a more accelerated, faster consumption.
So you have to adapt to these new consumers and how to consume more quickly, you have to be up to date, or you will be left behind.
– When you have suffered a loss of prestige of your brand
Just as communication for your benefit can be fast, it can also be when it comes to slandering your brand.
The communication of a company is no longer only in emails, or in its product: social networks and the internet are taking on a lot of relevance when it comes to positioning a brand.
What benefits can you have when rebranding or restyling?
If you decide, in the end, to rebranding or restyling your brand, it is good that you understand the possible benefits that your company can achieve.
Because you can use them to define the new strategy that you are going to use in your company with this change:
– You can open up to new markets
And there are times that a company comes to market with an idea of its ideal client, but over time, this client can change.
Because the product has been improving and is now better for another target.
Over the years you have been able to get more products or services that have been changing the company, this evolution of it has made your product is now aimed at another audience.
Or, simply, you want to expand that market, because you have realized that your service is suitable for another age range or purchasing power.
– You can revitalize the brand and reposition yourself in your market
Sometimes we do not want to enlarge our business, but to reposition ourselves in our own market.
Either because new brands have arrived and we have been separated, or because our consumer has become bored with us.
Refreshing the consumer’s memory with a change is usually very effective, in addition, at the same time, you are giving your client to understand that you are still there, that you change to improve and that you keep moving forward.
There are times that, as a consumer, we need to refresh our memory, especially considering that today they proliferate, like mushrooms, brands and companies at the same speed that they disappear.
– You can get the attention of your customers again
The next logical step is to get the attention of your consumers again, to reposition yourself before them.
To make them curious about your brand, your products or services, by redesigning your brand image, you get their attention.
Curiosity is one of the most powerful strategies in marketing and advertising, and it should not be missed.
You get them to look at you and remember you again.
– In short, you can generate more sales
With a makeover more sales are achieved, it is a proven fact, but not only because it beautifies your brand, but also because you combine effective strategies.
Excuses or fears that do not let you make a change in the image of your business
Humans are naturally reluctant to change and, if it is also a change in a company, the situation worsens.
Because the uncertain future that this change can produce paralyzes us.
One of the most common cases that I have seen in my clients is that they believe that their clients will not recognize them after making a makeover in their company.
But they don’t really realize that what you’re doing is getting those consumers’ attention back to your brand.
And you advertise yourself, because your clients talk to each other about the change you have made.
You give them back the confidence they have lost in your brand by showing that you are still there for them and, also, investing in your business, thus denoting confidence.
You will not confuse your customers if you renew the image of your brand, no, you are going to get their attention again.
Do we solve the problem?
I know that making this decision is difficult, I know this because my clients tell me repeatedly.
But I also know that if you have a problem you have to fix it before the problem gobbles you down with it.
If your company is having one or more of these problems that I list below, what you should do is take action on it.
And put the solution.
The possible situations that your company is having right now have been had by many companies before yours:
- You have less and fewer sales
- Your competitors have a better corporate image than yours
- You think you do not attract the attention of your consumers
- You have not made a makeover since you opened the company
- You need to make your customers fall in love again
- You want to keep growing
- You want to adapt to the digital age
- You want to expand your market
- You have a reputation crisis
- Your business has evolved and its image has not
- Your company image no longer evokes your company’s values
Your brand image was created by a non-professional person
Redesign or change?
If we talk about technicalities: rebranding or restyling? Which of the two does your company need?
One of the biggest decisions you will have to make if you are thinking of redesigning your company’s image is:
Do I want to “change” the image or “modify” the one I already have?
Because it is not the same to make a complete change of your image than to modify your current image to refresh and update it.
Here what you will have to take into account is the strategy that will be followed.
It will also influence the fact that the company is new or already has baggage or that, for whatever circumstance, your reputation is at stake.
As I told you at the beginning, everything will depend on the circumstances of each company. My recommendation: let yourself be guided by the professionals.
Practical notions to make a brand redesign
After all this theory (very, very summarized…) we will start with the practical part:
The first and most important thing in a brand image redesign is to make a visual diagnosis of the current image:
Check all the material your company has, from stationery to social networks, products (if you have them), your email signature to the website.
With this, you will have an overview of your corporate image.
You can print the material to see it in perspective.
Check how others see your brand image, to see your brand more objectively from the outside since you will not be very objective (I am sorry to say, but it is the truth, nobody is objective with their own image).
Ask family, friends, or jump into sending an online questionnaire to your customers, they will be able to give you more concrete and honest feedback.
In addition, an external vision will help you discern how others see your brand image and will give you the keys to why your problems.
Review the values and philosophy of the company, since these, together with the personality of the brand, are the essence of your image.
If you want to go deeper or if you need a practical guide, I have an eBook with which you can audit your company image yourself, download it here.
Now we will define the strategy to follow, we will establish the objectives you want to achieve with the makeover.
Define the target audience or target that you want to target with the new strategy.
For this you can ask yourself these questions:
To whom do I want to sell my product or service? How old are they? What purchasing power do they manage? Do sports or are they sedentary? Is my current client what I want for my new target?
What do I want to change about my current client?… The more questions you ask yourself, the better you will solve the puzzle.
Make a visual analysis of the competition to differentiate yourself from it and not fall into the temptation to copy, that does not benefit you, nobody wants to be a second.
Finally, we execute the visual redefinition of the new image.
After carrying out the research that I have proposed in the previous points you already have the bases to define the strategy, now you only have to put an order in all the ideas.
This is where the new strategy will come from, you will have discovered what mistakes and successes your current image has and what are the strengths against your competition.
Who will be your new target audience and how to differentiate yourself from the competition.
You will also know how to communicate your new brand message.
My advice is that, for this phase of the project, you hire a designer, since apart from transforming all these ideas into images, they will be able to advise you on all processes professionally.
conclusion
I know it is not easy, I know that it gives little vertigo to think about making a change in the image of your business.
I know this because I have seen it before with my clients, because they too were afraid, and they had a thousand doubts when taking this step.
But what I can tell you is that, due to the re-branding of their brand, they have continued to grow, they have seen their image reinforced and they have achieved more sales.
In short, they have improved their company by redesigning their corporate image.
If your company is growing, do not hesitate to invest in it and carry out a re-branding to position your brand again: it is one of the best marketing strategies you can do in your business.
What did you think of the article? Do you need me to clarify something? Do you have any questions about re-branding for your brand?
