V10.21: Rebranding Can Improve Or Crush A Company

A smart marketer knows that eventually you have to update your brand in order to evolve with the times. It is important to keep things relevant. However, it can be very detrimental if you do it wrong. The chasm many fall into here is chasing fads instead of understanding and leading new market trends.

Here are the top five rebranding mistakes you can make in the process of updating:

1. Rebranding without Research: When rebranding, you have to think about the customers. They are the most important opinion here. Your current and prospective costumers should be the primary focus of your rebranding. They will be your ultimate test.
2. Basing a Rebrand on Advertising: This is one of my worst pet peaves. Too often I’ve been asked to rebrand based on what someone thinks is really just a good advertising campaign.  Sometimes we forget that brand strategy should lead advertising and not the other way around. An ad campaign doesn’t equate to brand positioning! I would even go so far as to say that sometimes effective rebrands do not include the most traditional advertising.
3. Believing You’re too Small to Rebrand: Just because you are a small company, does not mean that you should not think about staying relevant. Every brand needs to update every once in a while. Define or be defined. Stay relevant with the times in order to keep your company profitable.
4. Tunnel Focus: Sometimes only focusing on your own industry can be extremely limiting. When you rebrand, combine your thinking with the thinking of other industries in regards to their customer service tactics. Encourage your agency to embrace a new way of acting.
5. Thinking the Brand is Just the Logo and Corporate Colors: It is important to remember that your brand is not just the colors you use, your website design, and your memorable logo. Yes, all of those things are important, but it is so much more than that. When you are rebranding, you must also remember that your brand encompasses many aspects, such as customer perception and experience, retail, and overall communications.

These are just a few of many mistakes that can be made while rebranding. Try not to assume things when you are updating your company because it can lead to catastrophic mistakes. Instead remember to stay true to your brand personality and always keep tabs on your customer and prospect personas.