Rebranding: Is it worth it?

As the Corona pandemic continues, all we can hope for is that everyone is safe and well and haven’t yet chewed their own shoes out of boredom. It’s pretty obvious that Corona has had a much bigger impact on the world than anyone could have anticipated. People are locked in at home, businesses closing for the foreseeable future, and all of our care staff working ten times as hard. The only positive out of this pandemic is the integration it created within our nation to help fight the spread of the virus, even the little things such as clapping for the NHS every Thursday at 8 PM and getting your kids to paint rainbows and post them up on your wall. These activities bring a sense of joy and pride, helping people stay positive and look on the bright side. But with all the damage COVID-19 has caused things are bound to change, whether we like it or not, and a lot of businesses have already been deeply affected by it. In this article, we will discuss ‘rebranding’. What it is and how it’s used, its potential positives and negatives and why it might be effective to rebrand your business at this time, to help fight some of the damages. So without any further ado, let’s jump in.

What is a rebrand?

Often, a rebrand is described as a change of your brand visuals, this can be the name, logo or style of your brand. These are the first things consumers notice and potentially draw them into your rebranded business. But an effective rebrand shouldn’t just stop there, when rebranding your business you should also look at your brand strategy, such as your mission statement, brand values and goals, and what your brand stands for. Rebrands are not normally just a case of making your brand look better, that’s more of brand evolution. A rebrand is effectively used to show the growth or change within a business and create its new future, for example; 

• The business is expanding into new areas.
• The business is changing its core principles, values and services.
• The business is taking a different direction than before.
• Or even new ownership of the business. 

Now your question might be “Does it really work?” The answer is simple; it does, if it didn’t then we would be out of a job! But the success of the rebrand also depends on how you carry it out. Having a rebrand just for the sake of refreshing your brand image will most likely not work for anything other than making your brand look different and potentially increasing the interest of customers. Sure, it might catch their eye and encourage them to engage with you, but will it make a sale? Most likely not. 

Consumers tend to use the same brands over and over again and this is called ‘Consumer Loyalty’, which is formed by the brand itself. Simply put, the consumer likes the brand for more than just its looks, they might like it because the brand shares the same values or opinions as the consumer, they might like it because they support other businesses through their production, they might like it because the business uses environmentally friendly measures in their production, or they might like it because the consumers feel like they’re getting something more than just the product or service. The list can go on and on, and often these little points are the key things that set businesses above others.

Really focusing on what could be upgraded and redefined within your brand can really elevate your business to a new level. Does your mission statement still apply to your business, or has it been achieved and needs updating? Does your business still have your old values, or as the business grew you started developing new values without even realising? Does your brand strategy still work for the current market, or did the market change and your business needs to adapt?

How do I know if I need a rebrand?

Normally, businesses would think about rebranding when they have changed in some way. This way they can reach out to the customers and show them that they have grown and become better, that maybe they are ready to provide a new level of service. Customers like to stay in the loop and know what’s going on, hear about things that have been updated, especially brands they use. By doing this as a business, you are letting your customers know what you’ve been up to and are refreshing their memory. With a revised set of your brand information and strategy, you are reaching out to the people you are targeting and building your brand loyalty. With this being said, your rebrand may have also changed your target audience, and in order to focus on them more effectively, you may need to tailor your brand towards them to appeal to them more, both visually and through your use of brand messaging. 

You may also need a rebrand if your brand is outdated, this often applies to businesses who have established a long time ago and have carried on with the same style of branding through all this time. Although it may still work and bring in your customers, it may limit the number of new potential customers who actually choose you over other businesses. An up to date brand, with a modern or “current” style work to be much more appealing and convincing to the general public, making your brand seem much more trustworthy, professional and memorable, resulting in an increase of customers coming to you. 

Advantages & Disadvantages of Rebranding

The advantages of rebranding can be quite big. First of all, it attracts new customers to your business. With a new look and strategy, your business can expand into a new target audience, gaining their attention and interest. The new brand can also rekindle the interest of your existing customers. 

The second advantage is that it might make your business achieve new goals. By reevaluating your existing strategy and implementing a new one, you are focusing your efforts on allowing your business to grow and achieve new goals.

Another advantage is the recognition your brand can gain because of the rebrand. When making a change, your business can make a big splash about it, and use it to get people talking about your brand on social media. This increases the popularity of your business and essentially allows it to compete in the spectrum of popular businesses. 

Rebranding can sometimes have negatives too, but these negatives often only happen when the rebrand hasn’t been planned and implemented correctly. Often, the first hesitation from rebranding is the amount of time it takes to complete. The process of evaluating what your brand strengths and weaknesses are, and finding out what your brand lacks and what it needs to develop in can take some time, often business owners don’t like that and instead, they prefer this work to be carried out at a quicker pace, which effectively results in poor results.

Do you see what I’m heading to now? 

This is where rebranding can help push that growth even more. Show the world how you have adapted in this difficult time and overcome it, let people know that your business has learned from all this and it is coming out of it even stronger and ready for the future.

The post covid-19 life can also rekindle old businesses or businesses which have been shut down by the lockdown. Trying to re-emerge with the lockdown bruises and scars can be hard, and actions such as having to let go of your staff or not being able to keep your promises to your customers can have a negative effect on your business’s rating, therefore a rebrand can help. It can help through reestablishing your business and creating a statement of ‘we learned from the past and now we’re different’, a new identity can show people that you have left your negatives in the past, and this is the time to fix them. Also, with a negative rating of your business, it can be a perfect way of putting your brand back up on the market and gaining some attention and positive publicity. 

In conclusion, businesses are going through a tough time right now, even more so, with some not having any work at all. And all we can do for now is try and prepare for when this hell is finally over. Now may be a good time to look back on your brand, evaluate what damages have been caused and how these can be solved, maybe even use that time to take a closer look at your brand and see if there is anything that needed refining before this pandemic, maybe in actual fact your business can do with a rebrand? We have had all this time off forced upon us, but we can still put it to good use. The lockdown will end sooner than later, and you’ll be better off coming out of it prepared, so look back, evaluate and implement, don’t let your business suffer get in touch.