Outdated. Boring. Infamous. Obsolete.
These are words you likely do not want to be associated with your brand. But sometimes, despite our best efforts, it happens.
What if there were a way to detangle yourself from words like that? What if you could rebuild your business and make potential customers view it in a whole new manner?
Rebranding is the answer for a business image that’s suffocating your conversations. By creating a new image for your brand, you’re able to breathe a new life into it.
When is the right time to rebrand?
YOUR BRAND LOOKS OUTDATED
If your brand is stuck in the drab, dull late ’90s to early noughties business look with its logo or website, it might be time for you to rebrand.
Yes, this is B2B and, no, your website doesn’t need to bore users to tears. A facelift might be just what your brand needs to draw in new customers.
Move away from the dull greys and dark blues that characterize those 10 to 20-year-old business ideas. Fill your website with beautiful images and interactive, responsive features. Make the colors brighter and more appealing. After all, color has a lot to do with mood and can even increase conversion.
Hubspot uses bright colors strategically to keep its website looking and feeling fresh to its users. This helps them to draw in a larger audience than if they used bland coloring.
YOU NEED TO REACH A NEW AUDIENCE
Maybe your marketing team sat down and realized that your business was no longer attracting the right people. With more and more young people working in B2B business, this is very likely.
Rebrand to fit the up-and-coming workforce that is starting to make the decisions in the workplace. Carefully mockup a variety of tactics that will work on all your potential clients. A word of caution when rebranding: don’t alienate your current customers in your attempt to attract new ones.
YOU OUTGREW YOUR MISSION
Your mission was relevant when the company was smaller/newer. But now that it has been in the market for a few years, you realize that your product or mission is outdated.
You used to do one thing; now you do another. It’s natural. A good time to rebrand is when you realize not only that your original purpose no longer fits, but when you also have a good idea of where your business is going in the future.
Don’t be rash about this. Don’t get a half an opportunity to change your business and think that it is suddenly time to rebrand. This reason for rebranding works best when your company has already wholly switched to its new purpose.
THE MARKET IS SHIFTING
Especially in tech-facing industries, the market is constantly shifting. It could very well be that your brand becomes outdated every few years as the technology shifts. Make sure to keep up and when you do need to rebrand, don’t make it too sudden or dramatic.
Inform your current customers of the rebranding in an email and share the news on your blog/social media.
For those who work in constantly changing markets, slight rebrands might be critical every few years.
NEW MANAGEMENT IS MAKING CHANGES
This one is simple. If your organization happened to come under new management and that new management is making a lot of changes, it’s likely in your best interest to rebrand to reflect the new changes.
That being said, if the new management is changing nothing, then you’re better off not rebranding. It will be confusing to customers if you rebrand and continue to do the exact same thing as before.
With new management, rebranding can be a way that your business turns over a new leaf and allows the new management to lay claim on your business.
YOU CAN AFFORD IT
Many brands will rebrand because they are struggling, which is understandable. But make sure that you have the money to do the rebranding right. Don’t do it halfway, leaving errant logos or social media accounts untouched. You will need to buy new merchandise for trade shows. Rebranding isn’t cheap. Don’t be a cheapskate about it.
If any of these apply to your business, then it may be time to rebrand. Rebranding isn’t something to take lightly though. It is not easy or quick. Your best bet when considering rebranding is to draft up a variety of potential new looks for the brand, then create a list of everything that will need to be changed as a result.
When rebranding a website, consider creating a dummy template where the rebrand is executed, then swapping it out with your current website when it is time to rebrand. As I mentioned above, make sure your current customers have a fair warning about your rebrand. You don’t want to surprise them by suddenly becoming a brand new organization. Ease them into it and introduce yourself to new customers using your new image. Work with a reputable vendor. You’ll then find that more customers are looking for your offering.
