Blog

What is rebranding? While you may be familiar with the term branding, rebranding is a concept not clear to a fair few. This is why understanding the basic concept behind it is important before you can learn how it can help you rekindle business with existing clients and attract new ones. As the name suggests, rebranding means to brand again. Branding has much to do with cultivating the image of your business. Through the use of promotional materials and online & offline marketing channels, you create a perception of your business in the minds of your target audience in a bid to convert them to customers.

Rebranding means doing it all over again. You might wonder why a business would want to rebrand itself. Branding, in the first place, is hard enough. It takes a lot of time, energy and resources to turn your company into a brand name. So, why lay it all by the wayside and start over? There are many reasons why this happens, such as:

• Escaping from negative connotations attached to its existing brand image. If a business went bankrupt or was embroiled in litigation, it may want to change its image and start afresh. Rebranding is the only way to turn things around and start off from a new page.
• A company may diversify its product line. For instance, if a tech company is branching out into consumer electronics, it may want to revamp its image and target a wider audience. In that case, rebranding is the way to go for them.
• Counter increased competition in the market by revitalizing its brand image. Branding enables a business to stand out in the crowd. Changing the branding is one way the company can stay unique and retain its customer base.

The only argument against rebranding is that it might change the perception of the company. Long-time customers may not take well to the rebranded business which might drive them away. Well, not to worry as it works more often than not.

The basic purpose of rebranding is to address the wants and needs of the customers of the company. This includes both current and prospective customers. In this regard, rebranding may not serve the company’s purpose explicitly. Hence, you can see that rebranding can indeed rekindle your business with existing clients and help you attract new ones. There are a number of factors involved in this, such as:

• Relevance
• Market differentiation
• Customer profile
• Emotional connectivity
• Brand awareness
• Vitality

You have to focus on these areas when rebranding your company. If you manage to improve even a few of these factors, it will have a positive impact on your business’ relationship with its customers. Perhaps the most pertinent of all factors is revitalization. Revitalize and energize your brand to attract and retain customers.

Should You Consider Rebranding?

Rebranding is not a walk in the park. It takes a lot of resources on your part and the future of your business depends on it. Therefore, if anything goes wrong, the risk is great. This is one reason why most companies are against the idea of rebranding and stick to their current brand design, regardless of how ineffective it may have become over the years. Getting it right is important. Only if you know that you can make rebranding work should you go for it. You need to come up with a strategy that works and provides enough benefits that they outweigh the risks involved.

How Rebranding Helps

Let’s get to the business end of things. Here are the ways in which rebranding can rekindle business with existing clients and attract new ones:

•  Rebranding helps your business stay relevant. Your existing branding may be outdated and not work anymore. Moreover, your target audience may have evolved over time and you have to tweak your rebranding to suit their preferences. Hence, branding which may have been considered vintage at one point in time might not be relevant at all today. Once the branding is outdated, it will no longer serve its purpose and you will lose customers. So, with rebranding, you can stay current and retain the customers you have. It can be considered a shot in the arm for your business.

•  You can set yourself apart from the competition. Over time, if your business is successful, there is a chance that your competitors start taking branding ideas from you. This may lead to their brands looking eerily similar to you. For the average customer, this can make differentiating between brands difficult. You can showcase your strengths and stand out in the crowd by rebranding your business.

•  Companies that are innovative are the ones that survive and thrive in today’s cutthroat business environment. Being innovative requires businesses to constantly shift their focus and keep up with the changing trends in the industry. Hence, they also have to change their branding in line with the change in focus. For that, they need to constantly retool their branding and rebrand from time to time. You need to let the customers know that you have changed focus and become more dynamic and that can be done through rebranding.

•  There are rapid advancements in technology in every field, include branding and brand design. This means that if you want to keep pace with the evolution in your niche, it is important to keep up with the advances in technology. Rebranding your business throughout can be one way to capitalize on such advances. For instance, if you have come across a new piece of equipment that makes your products more effective, you can design your entire branding strategy around it.

•  There is a possibility that your product may not appeal to the target market it was designed for. For example, ads for cars targeted people with families up until a few years back. Now, you can see a radical shift as companies focus on single males and females who are old enough to drive and can afford to buy their own cars. If your product appeals to a different demographic now than it did before, you have to rebrand. Switching your promotional campaign from middle-aged people to youngsters and vice versa requires rebranding or else you might lose your existing customers.

• Your business may have grown beyond the scope of your existing branding. If you have grown from a small business to a medium-sized one, you need to rebrand. The same goes for businesses that are looking to enter new markets or expanding their product line. If your branding does not reflect the scale and scope of your business, you might get dwarfed by the competition. Not only will you not be able to attract customers but also lose existing customers.

• Last, but not the least, rebranding can be an effective way to cater to the needs of your current and prospective customers. By revamping your company’s branding, you can ensure that each and every segment of the market you want to penetrate is targeted. If you are losing existing customers, rebranding could prove to be an effective way to keep them loyal to your business. Also, you can attract new customers by projecting your business as current, relevant and on top of the ongoing market trends.

These are the many ways in which rebranding can rekindle business with existing clients and attract new ones. This will enable you to understand the importance of rebranding and keeping it attractive and current. The rapid growth of the business world combined with the increased competition in every industry means businesses have to constantly change their public image to survive and thrive amid the tough competition. Rebranding could prove to be the key to the long-term success of your business. Use it effectively to take your business to the next level.