Rebranding is a great way to attract new clients, but it can also be stressful. However, in the best-case scenario, rebranding your business results in more revenue and growth through cost savings and effective marketing campaigns, as well as a cohesive message throughout all of your company's materials. But before you make the leap into a fresh start, 

There Are A Few Things To Consider First:

Keep Your Eye On Your Goal

The most important thing to keep in mind throughout this whole process is knowing what your brand needs changing and why. Of course, you don't want to lose sight of why you decided to do this in the first place! However, with Visual Planning for project management and keeping your goals in mind, rebranding can seem less daunting and more rewarding when it's all said and done.

Rebranding is a great way to attract new clients, but it can also be stressful. However, in the best-case scenario, rebranding your business results in more revenue and growth through cost savings and effective marketing campaigns, as well as a cohesive message throughout all of your company's materials. But before you make the leap into a fresh start, there are a few things to consider first:

Your Business' Current Situation

Before investing time and money into rebranding your business, you should look at how it's currently being represented. Evaluate its strengths and weaknesses from both an objective standpoint as well as from consumer evaluations. Identify what people love about your brand and what they don’t love about it. This should give you a good idea of what (if anything) should be done to rebrand your business.

What's Your Business Goal?

Why are you changing up your brand? Is it to attract new clients, increase public exposure, or court the media? No matter what your end goal is, make sure that it will produce immediate results (and tell your company exactly why you're investing in a rebrand). 

If your answer is "to do all of those things", then carefully consider whether they're truly necessary. Not every company needs a full-scale rebranding – only those who have the potential for growth and expansion need that kind of attention.

The Risk Factor & Budget

Diving into a rebranding process without a budget is not advisable. A rebranding effort can cost anywhere from a few thousand pounds to a hundred thousand or more – so you should have a clear idea of your company's financial situation before making any big moves. Also, it's important to set tangible goals for the business within the first year. If you don't have any deadlines in place, both clients and staff members will lose steam halfway through the project (if they're still on board at all).

The Process

Your own company should drive your rebranding effort (and how long it takes), but there are some fundamentals that every good rebrand follows.

An Overhauled Design/Interface:

Decide whether you want to create your "new" brand from scratch or opt for a more subtle change. For example, you can keep the same logo and colour scheme but simply modernize them to reflect your company's current state. A good place to start is by analyzing companies who are leading the way in your industry (and making sure not to copy their style).

Be Consistent:

Make sure that all of your branding elements work together as one cohesive unit. From phone numbers and email addresses to letterheads and website headers – everything should match up with each other (and be user-friendly) for ideal results.

Don't Sweat The Small Things:

It's easy to get distracted by little details like font size or logo placement, but those are not the most important elements in your rebrand. So take a step back and make sure that everything is working together before you worry about minutiae.

The Major Milestones:

Think about when you want to have certain milestones completed. If you're creating a company website, for example, then it's best to build the site before anything else (so that it reflects your new branding). If possible, try giving yourself deadlines so that clients can see results quickly after deciding on a rebranding effort.

Surviving Change:

It takes time to get used to change, no matter how long or short of an adjustment period you give employees and clients. When changing something as important as your company's logo or tagline, you should expect a certain degree of resistance from others. However, it's important to understand that rebranding is for the good of everyone involved – not just the owner or CEO.

Own It:

No matter what happens, don't let your business get blamed if something goes wrong during the rebranding process. Modernizing your company's image is an investment in its future, and you need to make sure that both employees and clients see it as such. If someone disconnects with this new identity, it could spell disaster for everyone involved without a clear goal in mind.

Know When To Stop:

Don't go overboard with a rebranding effort! If none of your marketing efforts is working, then there might be a reason why, and it's probably not due to your logo. Instead, keep an eye out for patterns in the way people are engaging with your brand (or disengaging), and adjust accordingly after enough time has passed.

Evaluate The Results:

After completing a massive rebrand, you should take some time to review what went right and what went wrong. For example, what did the public think about the new look? What were the major milestones, and why? If possible, try getting feedback from other companies who specialize in rebrands – they might be able to offer insight that you have never considered before!

Stay Up To Date:

The most successful rebranding efforts are those that never end. It's important to continually monitor your company's look and feel, especially if you're expanding into new locations or fields (which means more marketing materials). Modern trends come and go, but it's essential that your business keeps up with the times, so no potential clients get lost in the shuffle.

Be Prepared To Adjust:

Rebranding isn't something you can do once and be done with – it takes constant fine-tuning and thoughtfulness to stay relevant. If a client asks for a certain logo design or colour scheme, then simply say no. After completing a rebranding effort, you should have all of those decisions made already. If you're not sure what to do with whatever criticism is thrown your way, then simply explain that your new branding has already been set in stone.

Here Is What You Need To Know About Effective Rebranding:

Know Your Goals And Stick With It

It is important that before getting into any marketing procedures, you take time knowing how you want to approach your target market, especially when it comes to actively seek new audiences. 

For example, are you targeting Millennials who have an active social media presence? Perhaps you are looking at the business-to-business market since your new product is an addition to the current one.

Once you have determined this, create a plan with specific objectives that'll help you get there. After all, any marketing campaign will be ineffective if it contradicts your end goal. Have a clear understanding of what needs to be done in order for everyone at your company to follow through.

Narrow Down Your Target Audience

If you want to rebrand effectively, most certainly, there is no room for ambiguity here! Therefore, you need to make sure that whatever image or message you are trying out with regards to reaching out to your market does not go beyond what your product or service is actually offering.

Run a consulting firm that helps start-up companies find investors. Depicting yourself as an organization that helps people make money in the stock market will not exactly help establish trust and credibility with customers. This becomes redundant if you are not really focusing on this aspect.

Mind The Importance Of Images

As mentioned earlier, how important visuals are when rebranding cannot be said enough. You'd want to make sure that you'll use good, well-thought-of visuals in order for customers to get attracted to your brand's message (and ultimately become loyal customers). 

There are several ways for this to happen, but the most common among them include having professionally shot images, infographics, and animated GIFs.

Remember That Your Website Is Also A Rebranding Tool

You can't expect people to visit your Instagram or Facebook when they are looking for information about the products or services you offer. Ensure that all of these platforms are consistent in what they communicate so customers will not feel lost if they navigate through them. 

While social media accounts should be used for updating users with regards to sales and events, your website is where potential customers go when they need more information that goes beyond just promotion.

Have High-Quality Content

Very much like how images serve as representations of your brand's image in the eyes of others, it is also important that you put an equal amount of effort into coming up with words and phrases that do not fail to describe how you stand out. 

Rather than focusing on the features of your product or service, it is more effective if such information is presented through useful and informative content that would help visitors solve a problem they might have.