6 questions to ask before rebranding
To rebrand or not – that is the question!
And why address this question?
Well… I had a conversation with a friend who is also a business owner. A friend who is thinking about re-branding her business. She wanted to know what I thought.
My first question was Why? Why do you think you should rebrand?
Her response was “because we had a business consultant in and it’s on their template list of things they said to consider”.
This is sort of what my face looked like in response to her reason
Really??? I mean really??? Because it's on a template list – I nearly fell of the couch!
Now almost every business goes through a rebrand at some point or another.
Choosing to rebrand is a big decision, a
HUGE
decision and it should be made for the right reasons.
It being on a “template list of things to consider” is not the right reason.
So if you are thinking about rebranding, here are 6 questions to ask before you rebrand:
- Why do you need to rebrand?
- Who are you rebranding for(a new market or your existing market)?
If you are targeting a new market what is it about your current brand that doesn’t meet their needs. If you are rebranding for your existing market, does your existing market still connect with your current brand? If so, why do you need to change it? If not, what is it that is not connecting? Are there alternatives to re-branding that can reposition your brand? - What will rebranding achieve?
- What do you want your new brand to say?
- Have you done any research? (on your competitors, your market, your target market, technology, basically any and everything that may affect your business)
- Do you really need to rebrand?
Rebranding can breathe new life into your business, but it should be done with a strategy behind it and a clearly understood process.
Most of all it should be done for the right reason/s.
So, what are the right reasons?
If you Google reasons to rebrand, there are usually seven recurring answers that consistently appear.
- A change in company strategy
- To differentiate from your competitors
- Technological advances
- Your business has changed
- Your market has changed
- A bad reputation
- A merger or takeover
For small businesses, I suggest that there is one key reason to consider rebranding.
Your business has evolved and your current brand no longer reflects your position, who you are and how you want to be/are viewed by your market
Now some of the seven Google reasons may play a part in your business' evolution, but at the end of the day this is the key reason rebranding would be relevant.
So, if your current brand:
- reflects your business’ position in the market
- says what you want to the market place
- is relevant to your market
then why would you want to go through the time consuming and potentially expensive exercise of rebranding?
And if you’re asking yourself what your brand is, your brand is what consumers think of when they hear your business’ name. A brand is the essence or promise of what will be delivered or experienced.
If you can't define your brand, check out my blog on exactly that – defining your brand.
If your brand is already relevant for your business and connects with your market, then why would you rebrand?
