Perhaps your business’s priorities have changed in response to industry trends and customer demand. Maybe personal circumstances have affected what you want to achieve with your company. Whatever the case, there are plenty of things that might inspire you to rebrand your business. However, rebranding isn’t something you should do on a whim. It’s a big decision that can affect everything from your relationship with customers to the custom promotional products you use to create brand awareness.
Before you plunge in and change your branding, here are five questions you should ask yourself:
1. Why do We Need to Rebrand?
It’s a good idea to get the simple questions out of the way first. Rebranding can be a lengthy process, so you should have clear goals in mind before you get started. Ask yourself: why do you need to rebrand in the first place? What’s making you feel like you need to reposition yourself?
Sitting down and identifying the exact reasons why you need to rebrand will provide a much-needed foundation to work from.
2. How Should We Position Ourselves?
Once you’ve identified why you need to rebrand, your next step is to determine what you want to get out of the process. As you begin changing your company’s image, how do you want to position yourself to your target audience? Do you want them to perceive you as a thought leader in your field, or do you hope to make a name for yourself with unique offerings?
Positioning is all about cultivating an unmistakable image and reputation, so it’s vital to take the time to develop the concrete results you hope to achieve through your repositioning process.
3. Who are Our Competitors?
When you first developed your business idea, you probably spent plenty of time ensuring that the brand was distinct compared to your competition. Now that you’re changing your brand, you need to do it all over again.
The first step is to identify your main competitors and see how they’ve positioned themselves in your field. Once you’ve done that, your new brand image should directly respond to them. It should be unique from everything else in your niche, but at the same time, it should also clearly target the benefits of your company compared to the alternatives.
4. How is the Market Changing?
No matter your specific niche or industry, it’s a fact of the business world that markets change every day. When you’ve decided to rebrand, you should keep a careful eye on the trends and patterns in your field. Are your competitors abandoning one customer segment in favor of a growing new demographic? Is your audience raving about some specific innovation?
Dedicate plenty of time and resources to surveying your market and identifying the key trends you need to target with your rebranding. This is the best way to hit the ground running.
5. How will a Rebrand Affect Our Future?
It’s so easy to think about the short-term benefits of a rebrand. Think of all the newfound media coverage and hype after you unveil your shiny new logo and business focus! But once that honeymoon phase is over, do you know what the future has in store?
You can’t be near-sighted when it comes to major business decisions. Instead, you must have a long-term strategy in place. Plan ahead and determine how a rebrand will affect your business’s future before moving forward with it.
Coming up with a new business identity can be an exciting but daunting process. Asking yourself the right questions ahead of time will give you the answers you need to reach the success you desire.
