As noted by HubSpot, a brand is far more than your logo or tagline. It’s an identity that captures and conveys your business’s values, principles, vision, and the emotions that you want to inspire in your target audience. Simply put, a brand is your business’s personality.
However, just as people sometimes need to re-evaluate whether personality is aligned with their intent and expression, businesses often need to call a time out and see if their brand is firing on all cylinders.
Naturally, rebranding is a major step and shouldn’t be done without careful consideration. With that being said, if your brand does indeed need an overhaul, then delaying isn’t wise either – because faulty brands don’t “fix themselves”. On the contrary, they diminish in value until they are no longer an asset at all; in fact, they become a liability (if in some respects they aren’t already).
If you’ve decided that your brand isn’t on track and therefore needs anything from CPR to TLC, here are 5 questions to ask when rebranding:
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What’s wrong with our current brand?
The most important of all questions to ask when rebranding isn’t actually about your new brand: it’s about your current one. You want to clearly and thoroughly identify what’s wrong, and just as importantly, why certain aspects aren’t working.
For example, you may be getting lost in the crowd because your target audience isn’t aware of what sets you apart. Or, you may be best known for a product or service that you’re trying to shift away from, because it’s not profitable enough or isn’t part of your future strategy.
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What are our goals for the rebrand?
As mentioned above, rebranding is a major decision. As such, it’s important to identify your goals, and verify that they’re realistic and can indeed be achieved through a rebrand.
For example, “we want to increase year-over-year sales by 150%” is not a viable rebranding goal (although a rebrand can certainly play a part in achieving this). However, “we want to be known for quality and integrity in our marketplace as measured by market research surveys within one year” could be a smart and realistic goal.
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Is there anything in the current brand we want to carry forward?
Your brand probably has some equity, and if so it may be wise to retain some elements that create a link from your past to your future.
Of course, this strategy isn’t necessarily the right one if your current brand is associated with something negative. In such cases, it’s usually wise to start fresh and use the rebranding exercise as an opportunity to tell your marketplace that you’re starting a new chapter in your business.
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How much will the rebranding cost?
Obviously, one of the key questions to ask when rebranding is how much it will cost. Expenses will typically include logo and website development, marketing campaigns (including social media), asset creation (e.g. videos, etc.), and so on.
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Do we have the right partner to steer us ahead?
And last but not least, you need to ensure that you have the right rebranding partner who is going to help you safely and successfully navigate the landscape. Make sure you choose a partner with proven experience, and can handle everything from project management to asset creation, and so on.
Learn More
To learn more about what questions to ask when rebranding – and what answers you need to get before you move ahead – contact the Leap Clixx team today. Your consultation with us is free.
Do you know how your rebranding will fit into your overall inbound marketing strategy? Be sure to read our FREE eBook "A Guide to Inbound Marketing Best Practices" to prepare:
Topics: Inbound Marketing
