Pro Tips on How to Achieve a Successful Rebrand

When is the right time to rebrand? 

If you feel like you’re treading water and are stuck in a bit of a commercial rut, a well-executed brand refresh can give your business a new lease of life. 

Every successful company will go through a rebrand at some point or other. Even global giants like Pepsi, NASA and Apple need to freshen things up once in a while. While a lot of people think rebranding mainly consists of a subtle update of the logo and colour palette, it’s a lot more involved than that. Yes, those are key elements in the rebranding process, but it’s also about reshaping your brand identity to remain relevant, navigate market trends more effectively and stay connected with your customers as they grow and change. 

A well-implemented rebrand can significantly improve your visibility, boost customer engagement and spark business growth in ways you might not have thought possible. However, it also takes some skill to navigate the rebranding process without losing your core identity – or your audience. As branding experts, we thought we’d share some of the key steps to ensure a smooth and effective rebranding process.  

Expert tips for a successful company rebrand 

1. Do a brand audit 

Before you do anything else, you need to assess your brand as is. It’s always our first step when helping clients.  

For example, when we collaborated on logistics firm RDH Transport’s successful rebrand, we started with a mammoth brainstorming session. That gave us the clarity to move forward in a highly focussed way and align the brand refresh with their key goals of exuding professionalism and attracting larger contracts. 

So, analyse what’s working well for you and highlight every area where your branding is falling short, e.g.: 

• Where do you stand in terms of your market position and main competitors? Where do you fall short and what do you absolutely crush them at? 
• How do your customers perceive your business? Use any customer feedback you gather and do online searches to see what your reputation is like. 
• How does your team see your business? If you have employees, it’s always useful to get everyone’s opinions when crafting your rebranding strategy.   
• Does your current branding still reflect your core values and business goals?  
• Do the visuals look tired or dated? You might love your original logo with a passion but if it’s the marketing equivalent of an 80s mullet, it might need a freshen up. 

Once you’ve completed this exercise, you’ll have the overall brand clarity and specific objectives you need to move forward. 

2. Create Clear Brand Guidelines 

A brand guidelines document is essential. It sets out every element of the branding and gives everyone a rulebook to work from. That way, everything stays cohesive and consistent across your teams and marketing platforms. Key elements of a brand kit include: 

• An outline of your brand vision, values, story and goals 
• A style guide for your visual assets like your logo, colour palette, fonts, imagery, etc. 
• The tone of voice of your messaging and some example brand communications 

We love creating brand packs because they make the process so much easier and ensure you stay on track at every step. It’s especially important if you need to bring diverse elements of a business under one brand. It was a critical part of the process when we worked on a more complex rebrand for foraging pioneers Really Wild Emporium in St Davids, enabling us to merge the various strands of products and services under a cohesive identity.  

Take it from us, if you want the best chance of rebranding success, do not skip this step! 

3. Perfect your visual identity 

The most obvious change in a rebrand is often the visuals – or the ‘face’ of your business – your logo, colours, website, etc. Visual elements convey a huge amount about your brand and need to: reflect your personality and values, hit the right tone for your sector, be distinctive (for all the right reasons), resonate with your audience and be timeless enough that you don’t have to redesign too often. 

If you don’t have professional help to rebrand, you’ll need to get familiar with colour theory, typeface readability, effective logo and web design, as well as building an understanding of how to incorporate your brand elements seamlessly across your traditional and digital marketing channels. 

Once you’ve got the visuals sorted, you can update all your images, graphics, colours, fonts etc. across your marketing platforms.   

4. Let customers know you’re rebranding   

Change can be unsettling for customers. Sharing your rebranding journey both reassures your audience and gives you a unique opportunity to promote your business from a fresh perspective. It also highlights that your company is dynamic and forward-thinking.  

So, use the experience to create a specific rebranding marketing campaign and push it out across your digital platforms, with storytelling content like blogs and social media posts to share your ‘why’, giving customers a ‘behind the scenes’ look at the rebranding process and build up to the big relaunch date.  

5. Measure and adjust as you go 

Once you’ve sailed past the launch, it’s time to start measuring the effectiveness of your rebrand. That means analysing all the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that will tell you whether the rebrand is hitting the mark, such as tracking the changes in your website and social media traffic, evaluating new customer feedback and comparing conversion rates, etc.  

Just like the operational side of your business, a brand is never static. It needs to be monitored carefully and refined according to its performance. For long-term success, your branding needs to adapt and flex as your business grows – stay agile and you’ll be far more likely to maintain a strong brand identity and drive sustainable success. 

Professional rebranding services for your businesses 

OK, so a rebrand can seem like an overwhelming task, especially when you’re busy with the day-to-day running of your business. However, if you want to go it alone, the steps above will give you a basic roadmap on how to plan and execute a business rebrand. 

Alternatively, if you want to fast track the changes and get things right first time, our professional rebranding specialists are ready to help you create a stronger brand that reflects your unique vision and elevates your business. 

We tailor our branding service to your needs. So, whether you want to build a brand from scratch, give your current branding an overhaul or a revamp a specific element – like your logo design –  we’re ready to collaborate!  

To find out more, contact our team today.  

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