A Step-by-Step Guide to Rebranding Your Business 🐛🦋
- Marketing
Are you ready to grow your company and attract new customers? Discover the power of rebranding your business with our comprehensive guide.
Suppose you're a business owner looking to revive your connection with customers while showcasing your products, services, and achievements and staying up-to-date with industry trends. In that case, it might be time for a rebrand.
Rebranding your business is a process that involves thinking hard about what your company is, where it lives in your industry, and how it stands as a presence in the communities it inhabits. Consider it a conscientious and strategic step that can help you define and introduce yourself to your existing audience and turn the heads of new audiences. It’s a great way to stay ahead of the curve and thrive in a harsh economic climate and oversaturated market.
We’ll break down what goes into a rebranding, guide you through the process, and showcase what some inspiring companies are doing to attract younger, more diverse audiences.
What is rebranding? 🎨
When it comes to rebranding, definitions vary. Generally speaking, rebranding involves revamping the messaging and image of a company, including elements like logos and taglines. The goal of rebranding is to communicate a new brand identity to customers.
This process often includes creating a new name, logo, or design or introducing a concept that reflects your company's values and mission. Rebranding is a strategic way to differentiate yourself from competitors and evolve with the new market. It’s more than just a fresh coat of paint — it’s a complete overhaul.
The importance of rebranding companies 👔
Branding is crucial — it defines your business, what it stands for, and what sets it apart. But, as time passes, a brand’s aesthetic can become old, stale, or outdated. At that point, it may lose its authoritative voice and impact, making it challenging to attract new customers while retaining your base.
Audiences are always on the lookout for the next exciting thing — something fresh, current, and awesome. Enter rebranding. If you're considering going for a new look and feel, we're here to help you understand all the necessary steps to rebranding.
What does rebranding your business involve? ⚡
Rebranding is a strategic process that transforms your image and messaging. While the specific elements involved vary according to your needs, wants, and goals, it often involves these three elements:
A more modern design
Updating your brand's visual identity to reflect a more current aesthetic sends a powerful message to existing and potential customers that you’re thinking about them and offering an authentic experience. When you hire a graphic designer to do a rebranding, they may rework your logo or create a new one, refresh your color palette, update the design of your web pages, or consider one of many other options.
An updated mission
When rebranding, revisiting your business’s mission and vision statements is key. Consider them, and edit to pivot to a better alignment with your new brand. This may involve light or heavy refining to reflect your new values, goals, or services.
A brand-new name
In some cases, you may even switch up your company’s name. While it’s quite drastic, sometimes a new name — or a modified take on the original — might better encapsulate a company’s updated identity. Consider this carefully, as significant changes like this have the potential to greatly affect how people think and feel about your company.
How to rebrand your business in 7 steps 🌱
Rebranding a business has its challenges, but it’s often a rewarding move. If you’re planning a rebrand, here are seven steps to follow:
1. Identify your new target audience and buyer persona 🎯
Who is your new target audience, and what are their specific needs? Identifying this will help you tailor your branding efforts. Consider their online behaviors, pain points, preferred content, and languages, and conduct comprehensive market research to understand their persona clearly.
2. Update your brand story and vision 🔭
Revisit your brand story and vision to ensure they align with your new ideas, goals, and target audience. Craft a compelling narrative that resonates with your new audience by focusing on the important elements of your rebrand. For example, if you’re stepping up your focus on sustainability, reflect that in your updated vision.
3. Redesign your brand identity 🎨
Creating a new look and feel for your company through colors, fonts, and graphics is one of the best parts. A unique appearance distinguishes your brand from others and helps grow your customer base. If your brand isn't distinctive, you risk potential customers choosing a more recognizable competitor. To get inspired, check out these seven style guides.
4. Think up a new name and slogan 🪪
Does your current name and tagline still accurately reflect who you are and what you do? If not, choose new ones that are clear, snappy, and simple. A great way to generate ideas is by analyzing your most successful brand campaigns and gathering feedback from your audience.
To select a compelling and memorable new brand name, consider all implications. Whether it is a term, a word, or a name, check its availability, what it translates to in various languages, and how to most effectively present it on social media.
5. Plan the launch 🚀
Plan a marketing strategy for the launch of your new brand identity. This may include establishing a coordinated date to release your updated website, publishing announcements on your social media accounts and other marketing materials, and promoting the rebrand to customers through paid ad campaigns.
6. Track and measure brand awareness 📏
Analyze how your rebrand is being received by using analytics tools, some of which are available for free online. Is it impacting your revenue, and are you gaining new followers? Once you know how your plan is going, you can adjust it if necessary.
7. Scale your brand 🎢
Lastly, continue to grow your new brand. Adapt and evolve as time passes; this helps you stay relevant and continue attracting your target audience. Take what you learned from tracking and measuring your brand awareness, and apply it consistently to achieve your goals.
4 examples of successful rebrands 💯
For some businesses, the rebranding process is a necessary step to continued success. Here are four examples of companies that made major, successful changes to keep up with evolving trends and consumer preferences:
Zoom 🤳
Following its explosive growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, Zoom launched a comprehensive suite of visual communication tools, including Zoom Whiteboard and Zoom Contact Center. To position itself as more than just a messaging app, Zoom rebranded itself with a new logo design and visual identity to appeal to a broader audience.
Chobani 😋
When Chobani rebranded itself in 2017, the popular yogurt company not only gave itself a new logo. It also put a fairytale spin on its marketing vision with a new slogan: "Fighting for happily ever after." Chobani launched new products to show their commitment to health and nutrition, including Less Sugar Greek Yogurt and Chobani Flip Yogurt. Their packaging also received a makeover to feature colorful 19th-century American folk art.
Dropbox 📦
Dropbox's rebranding positions the company as more than just a service for file-sharing. As the company evolved to provide a comprehensive suite of tools, its new brand identity followed suit, featuring a vibrant color palette and bold graphics. The new logo, featuring a collection of surfaces rather than a literal box, symbolizes Dropbox's evolution into an open platform for creation. With a shift in mission and a reimagined visual identity, Dropbox has successfully communicated its expanded capabilities.
Dunkin’ 🍩
In 2018, Dunkin' Donuts announced that it would be dropping "Donuts" from its name to become simply Dunkin’. The revised name reflects the company's shift to focus on coffee and is also catchy, aiming to generate a new, younger energy for the brand. Nevertheless, the rebrand retained the company's iconic font and pink and orange colors to keep the brand recognizable. The goal was to simplify and modernize while paying homage to the brand’s heritage.
Contra’s here to help 🌟
Rebranding is a strategic decision that can take your brand to new heights. From updating your visual identity to revamping your messaging and redefining your target audience, Contra’s here to help! We’ll connect you with top-notch graphic designers, brand designers, marketing strategists, growth marketers, and social media marketers who can bring your ideas to life. We represent an incredibly diverse range of Independents, and our commission-free platform ensures that they get paid while you get high-quality products and services. Here’s how to hire your rebranding squad.
