5 rebranding pitfalls to avoid
The competition is getting tough, sales are starting to stall ... it's time to rebrand.
Wrong.
Rebranding can be expensive and can actually dilute your business results. But like much B2B marketing communication, when it's executed for the right reasons and executed well it can turn your company around.
Here's five rebranding pitfalls to avoid that will, at best take the edge off your rebranding efforts ... and at worst, condemn it to an expensive failure.
No internal alignment
When a rebranding project is conceived and driven by the marketing team, it's probably going to fail. The purpose of rebranding a company, product, service - anything - is to signal change. That change needs to be clear through the entire organisation and obvious at every client interaction. Every part of the company needs to be clear and aligned behind the new brand. Sales, accounts, production, delivery, telephone service ... everyone.
A brand is the sum of the perceptions your customers and clients have about your business. A brand is not something you own, it's what your target audience perceives about you. It stands to reason then that simply changing a logo, but not changing attitudes will be ineffective. Action changes perceptions. Great copy and graphics rarely do. Unless they are backed up with actions from across your organisation that reinforce the promise implied by your rebrand, there will not be much change. It's quite possible you will do more damage than good. It's better to do nothing than it is to imply a new brand promise and not deliver.
Trying to jump too high
The reason you are considering a rebrand is to change perceptions about your company in the marketplace and to reposition your organisation in their minds. However, that position isn't dictated by you, it's based on what your clients believe about your company. The positioning is given to you by your marketplace.
When working inside a business every day, it's easy to lose touch with the reality of the marketplace outside your business. It's easy to be seduced by our own versions of reality. This is understandable because a leader's role is to strive for the vision - what might be - rather than what is. But it also explains the tendency for executives to set the rebranding bar much higher than the marketplace can reasonably be expected to jump. Ask yourself, "What positioning can be reasonably attained by the company and is a logical step in the organisation's evolution to your market?" When considering a rebrand, keep your focus on what is achievable, not the aspirational. If you ask the market to jump too high, they won't believe you and may not jump at all.
Not lead from the top
Regardless of where the rebranding concept originated, the leader must be actively leading. If the CEO isn't on board, don't set sail. It's not sufficient for the Managing Director to 'support' the concept. It's not enough for the CEO to have it 'on her agenda'. The key business leader is the only one who can influence all areas of an organisation. The CEO needs to become the Chief Branding Officer and do what they do well ... set the vision and lead the charge to ensure that all aspects of the organisation are aligned and stand ready to deliver on the promises implied in the rebrand.
Absence of real change
Sometimes a rebrand is simply a tidy-up ... a tool to sharpen the image of a company, brand or product. So don't expect too much from it. On the other hand, don't underestimate the power of it either.
As we've already discussed, a rebrand signals change. Your new look will cause people to give you a 'once-over' to see what has changed. If you are the same old organisation dressed up in a new party dress, you will simply confirm the position that you already have in their minds. The opportunity will be wasted. Opportunities to invite your marketplace to look again and re-evaluate their perceptions are too valuable to dismiss so lightly. Use them wisely.
Positioning without clarity
Rebranding should make your positioning clearer for your marketplace. Your objective should be to make it easier for your clients and prospects to determine why your company should be at the top of their list and that other suppliers can't deliver comparable value. During a repositioning isn't the time to indulge in meaningless messaging. Claiming to be the best is without basis. Words like 'quality' and 'service' just tip the sceptic scale into positive territory.
Use your rebranding as an opportunity to demand focus. Now is the time to better define your offering in a clear and compelling way. This will often mean being more specific about your stated expertise, product or service. Generalised position statements do just that ... position you as a generalist. To win business, generalists have to win with other generalists and then try to beat the specialists.
Rebranding should make you swallow hard. If it doesn't scare you, it probably won't create meaningful change.
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