For individuals, the new year is considered a time to reset and renew goals, adopt new habits, and begin to transform areas of our lives. And the same can be true for businesses. As we flip over from one calendar year (and for many, one fiscal year) to the next, it’s a time to reevaluate what worked over the past twelve months and what might need some fine tuning or even overhauling.
For many businesses, that might mean overhauling the brand.
Why Would A Business Need a Rebrand in 2023?
In the business world — as in much of life — it could be said that the only constant is change. This is especially true after the disruption caused by COVID-19. Consumer and B2B buying habits have changed forcing brands to adjust their offerings and changed the way they interact with their target audience.
Yet, given the turmoil, the primary focus has been staying afloat by quickly adapting to meet the needs of consumers. And now that these new business products, solutions and strategies are in place and the waters have smoothed a bit, it’s time to be sure your branding is in line with the “new you.”
Even in the best of times, however, there are plenty of reasons a rebrand, or at least a significant brand refresh, might be in order. Perhaps your products and services have evolved or your target audience has changed, and your current branding no longer conveys quite the right message to quite the right people. Maybe you’ve noticed a dip in market share and you’re looking to improve your competitive position. Maybe you’ve merged with another brand and you need a new look and feel that reflects what both of you bring to the table.
Three Things to Consider Before Rebranding
In short, there are any number of reasons a rebrand could be in order. If you suspect it’s time for your business to take the leap, consider these three questions as you start strategizing.
How Can You Communicate More Effectively With Your Target Audience?
As Hanover Research notes, a successful brand is about more than just logos and taglines. Rather, rebranding includes “requires careful examination of positioning, messaging, and value proposition statements for all core audiences and an understanding of how that translates at every level of the company, from customer service to advertising campaigns.”
And who is all this rebranding in service of? Your audience. Customers and potential customers must be at the heart of any rebranding efforts, with their needs, values, and communication preferences driving the strategy.
Use your customer personas to focus your efforts, and don’t be afraid to collect input from real customers, as well, through focus groups, brand surveys, and even in-depth interviews. After all, the snazziest graphics and most expensive business cards and flyers are worthless if they’re not conveying the right message to the right people.
How Can You Enable Brand Representatives to Maintain the Integrity of the New Brand?
A big challenge in branding — particularly for franchises, retailers, and other multi-location businesses — is ensuring that every local brand representative is creating collateral and campaigns that adhere to the brand promise, identity, and voice. (And, in fact, brand dilution caused by local reps “reinventing the wheel” or “going rogue” may be a reason the rebrand is necessary in the first place.)
So as you start to conceptualize the new brand, be sure to consider how your organization will enable every team member to uphold the new brand’s integrity as they interact with existing and potential customers. Our suggestion: empower brand reps by creating a centralized content and resource hub and giving them easy access to trusted production partners. This way, anytime they’re putting together a localized marketing campaign, they have all the preapproved assets and messaging they need at their fingertips.
Who Will Manage the Logistics of Producing New Brand Materials?
Finally, a rebrand comes with a significant inventory overhaul. From print marketing collateral like postcards, brochures, and signage to items like company letterhead and new business cards for employees. Procurement, distribution, and storage of all these materials can be painstaking and costly — and even more so if local reps are printing their own.
While the logistics headaches can take away precious time and resources from the strategic conversations and initiatives that really drive brand reputation and success, the reality is that ignoring them can lead to haphazard ordering, low-quality products, inflated pricing, and significant waste. That does nothing for your brand.
Our recommendation is to find a partner that can simplify print marketing management to ensure high-quality materials, streamline workflows, and ease the burden of doing business — all without busting the budget. That way, you can rest assured your print materials and collateral are doing your powerful new brand justice every step of the way.
A rebrand can work wonders for a business, no matter the reason for the change. And yet, it’s a serious undertaking, and a trusted marketing management partner can make the process much easier.
At OneTouchPoint, we pride ourselves on easing the burden of procurement and distribution (whether you’re rebranding the business altogether or merely planning an elaborate 2023 marketing campaign). And we make it easy to maintain brand integrity through our U.Connect platform, no matter how many cooks are in the kitchen.
Learn more about how we support our clients’ most important print and online marketing initiatives, and when you’re ready, we invite you to contact us or request a quote on your next project. Our experts will provide insight and ideas to deliver phenomenal results at a great price.