It's clear that customers are smarter than ever. They recognize when companies' public personas don’t match reality. With this shift, companies MUST focus on creating an authentic and transparent brand.
If your company is falling short at connecting with your audience, it may be time for a rebranding. Even the best companies have made mistakes rebranding but below are a few you can easily avoid.
1. Do your homework: We sometimes have blinders on when it comes to our brand. We think it's amazing. But what our customers think needs to be a priority. Your customer has to connect with your brand. Period. Remember the backlash when GAP rebranded? It ended up costing them an estimated $100M and then the new brand lasted 7 days before they went back to their original logo
2. Focus on everything: If you know anything about my company you know we are all about brand. All the time. And your brand is EVERYTHING. Your logo, colors, core values, mission statement, product selection, marketing, tagline, and more. When rebranding you have to account for every aspect of your brand.
3. Leave the past in the past: Part of rebranding is to stay relevant. Logos may become outdated. Your mission statement may need to be updated in order to reflect your current purpose. Holding onto the past can prevent you from taking huge leaps forward. So, do yourself a favor: let it go.
4. Be strategic: Companies with successful rebrands had a comprehensive plan in place including market analysis, budgets, timelines, departments responsible for each task, deadlines, and so on. Basically: don’t wing it. Plan it.
5. FOCUS: Core values should be at the very center of your rebrand because what you stand for should always be a focus. If it’s not, your customers will see it and likely turn the other direction. Remember they’re smarter than you think they are and they’re more engaged.