Before we talk about rebranding, you need to know what brand identity means. This is the part of the rebranding strategy where you develop the visual elements that will communicate your brand. A brand is so much more than just choosing a logo, colors, fonts, images, packaging, messaging, and so on. Your brand is your company's identity. A good brand communicates what your company does and how it does it, and builds trust and credibility with your prospects and customers.
A company's brand identity is something different than the company's brand. Brand identity consists of the visible elements of the brand, including colors, design, and the brand logo. It is the way a company, firm, or business presents itself to the public and how the company presents itself in the minds of consumers. Your brand identity should align with the purpose, mission, and goals of your new business. Before you create anything, do thorough market research to understand the cultural tensions, ideals, and needs of your target audience. After all, you are creating your brand for that audience. It is what you, your customers, and potential customers can see. A strong brand identity not only helps you appeal to your target audience but also helps you stand out from your competitors in the industry.
Oftentimes, we see businesses re-branding themselves. The decision to re-brand is one that involves a lot of financial and operational weightlifting and should not be taken lightly. For many successful companies, their brand is one of their most important and valuable assets.
Here are some mistakes you should avoid for successful re-branding.
Ø If you are planning to rebrand your company, first ask yourself if it is necessary. Outline the specific aspects of your branding that you want to improve, and list the aspects of your current branding that are working well and should remain relatively unchanged. This will help you identify the goals of the re-branding project as a whole while maintaining current brand equity.
Ø Re-branding a small business is certainly a challenging task. It can refresh your current customer base and attract new customers to your business. However, you need to do the rebranding wisely to maintain the current brand value. If your new branding alienates your current customers, you'll be worse off than before. It's a big mistake not to maintain brand equity during a rebrand.
Ø In the field of branding, there has been a recent trend toward minimalizing design. Unfortunately, this can cause brands to lose their personality and risk losing their identity. If your brand positioning is strong, it can hold its own with or without a minimalist design. Minimalist branding has proven to be effective because it allows the non-design elements of the brand, such as brand positioning, to shine. Do not follow a design trend that has nothing to do with your offering.
Ø Re-branding will have a big impact on your daily operations. And if you do not set a reasonable schedule, things can get very complicated to the extent of going awry; costs can spiral out of control and your regular business can suffer. With an organized schedule, you can keep your efforts on track and ensure that the re-branding goes in the direction you want.
Ø Your logo and website are the most important visual representations of your brand. However, a brand is much more than that - it is the overall experience a customer has when they interact with you. For this reason, you will not get the results you want if you just change the aesthetics without going deeper. If a brand is struggling with customer service, a fresh logo and shiny new website will not do much good if customers still are not getting the support they need.
Ø You should understand your customers' lifestyles and what they need and want from your brand. You need to be a leader, but you also need to understand how your product or service fits into your customers' lives. Understand your customers' emotional connection before you make the switch.
Ø Develop a plan to promote and strengthen your new brand. It is also important that you build the brand so that it communicates not only the name but also the reputation and expertise of your company. It must convey your market positioning. Building a brand is different for professional services. Start with a solid rebranding strategy. Find an experienced partner. Give the rebranding the attention it deserves, and success will follow. A well-positioned company that clearly communicates its brand is indeed a formidable competitor.
Markets can be fast-moving and volatile. Learning from common re-branding mistakes can help your company avoid major pitfalls and make the right moves.
Now you are aware of the mistakes that can be made when rebranding. Stop worrying about rebranding and start worrying about how to do it. Here's the solution.
Ø Reevaluate your vision and mission - During the rebranding process, you will need to refine several elements. As a business grows and evolves, your brand needs to be updated over time. Once you have decided to rebrand, you'll need to revise your vision and mission to reflect the new company culture. The vision is one of the most important aspects of corporate strategy, as it sets the current and future goals of the company. If the vision has changed over time, you need to make sure that your company's employees have a clear understanding of the goal so that everyone is on the same page. In the context of rebranding, the vision would influence every aspect of rebranding. The mission statement defines the purpose that the company fulfills for its customers and society in general. When you redefine the mission, it can affect every aspect of your communications, from the audiences you connect with to the messages and tone you use. If your brand can no longer carry the old values, you need to make the necessary updates to reflect the actual underlying philosophies that guide your company and its employees.
Ø Redesign of your logo - If you want to rename your logo, be very careful with it. This will be your brand image. Use new colors for your brand materials or even create new brand guidelines. Here are some common changes you can make as part of y our rebranding strategy. Your logo is one of the most memorable components of your brand. When rebranding, avoid making your brand too recognizable by trying to keep the parts of your old logo that worked. If you can manage to maintain a sense of continuity, you can take away some of the recognition value of your old logo. Avoid unimportant elements and keep them simple.
Selection of new colors - Color is more powerful and influential than many initially realize. The colors that represent brands, individual products, and other aspects of a company play an important role in consumer perception, marketing, and brand association. If you only want to enhance your brand and not completely change the look and feel, I would recommend not changing the colors completely or at all. Perhaps you can play with different accent colors to give your brand a new flair. You can edit your brand in different lights or tones. Choosing new colors when rebranding can completely change the identity of the company and how consumers perceive it. Shades of red can be good for conveying passion, attracting impulse buyers, and creating short bursts of adrenaline. Green, on the other hand, can encourage creativity, convey an image of healthy living or environmental friendliness, and create a positive feeling. Blue, on the other hand, can represent stability and confidence and have a calming aura.
Revision of typography - Companies have changed their fonts to enhance their brand. Using a high-quality font in all online and print materials creates a consistent brand image. While it may take time for audiences to get used to a new look or brand, eventually people associate a brand's look with the product, company, or customer experience. It's important to use carefully selected, consistent and repetitive fonts to support brand objectives. Fonts that harmonize with a brand will catch on, while fonts that do not can become problematic over time. If you are not sure how a font or typeface will look online or in print, do some research. Conduct online user testing, analyze font contrast, and conduct surveys to better understand how people perceive the fonts you plan to use. When developing applications and websites, it's often a good idea to carefully limit your font choices and types to improve clarity and usability. Many developers recommend using between two and five font families - and some advice limiting yourself to two or three.
Ø Brand guidelines and Launch - Brand guidelines are especially important for logos. Logo guidelines should make it as easy as possible for customers to see, recognize and remember your logo - offsetting the loss of familiarity that comes with a new brand. Consider these elements when creating your logo guidelines: Logo Elements, Color Variations, Free Space, and Prohibited Uses. Launching a new brand is not as simple as changing colors, fonts, or the logo on your website. It also involves placing ads on the web, in print, on TV, on the radio, etc. Then you should announce the launch of your rebranding with an ad on your website and a post on your social media channels explaining exactly why your company needs a rebrand and what this rebranding means for the future of your business.
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