How to Rebrand Your Business in 10 Steps
Tips for success, who to call and when to rebrand your company.
When the Dixie Chicks rebranded themselves as “The Chicks,” it got me thinking about when, why and how to rebrand a brand.
As a copywriter, I help clients in every stage of the process — from fresh startups to established companies looking to rebrand after decades.
In this post, we’ll go over rebranding basics, when to do it and how to rebrand your business.
Rebranding Basics
Rebranding is undoing (or redoing) a company’s current branding. That is, how you, your customers and future customers think of and experience your brand.
Luckily, nothing is set in stone. You can change anything about your brand:
Name
Logo
Brand copywriting
Design
Mission statement
Website
Market position
Niche
Colors
Brand identity
These are just some of the rebranding tasks to cover. But, before you start a rebrand, I can help you decide if a rebrand is right for you (read below).
When to Rebrand Your Company (and When Not to)
Rebranding is a big commitment, so you need to be sure you’re ready for it.
A huge mistake many businesses make is rebranding for the wrong reasons. Then they’re left with a half-completed rebrand, weeks wasted and $1000s spent.
When to Rebrand
Here are some clear signs you need to rebrand now:
An “incident” happened. Outrun your bad reputation before too many people know about it.
A game-changing product is ready. Anticipating huge success from your next product launch? Leverage this with great branding for even greater revenue.
New goals emerged. Maybe you hit your B2C goals… Now it’s time to rebrand to incorporate a B2B audience too.
An “update and refresh” is overdue. Sure, you may be the best in the industry, but customers will judge you on appearance.
New target audiences are calling. More customer segments means more business! Your current branding likely doesn’t perfectly resonate with a new type of customer.
Old values hold you back. Times have changed and so have your priorities. Your mission statement, values and vision should reflect the contemporary directions of the company.
So, do you think you’re ripe for a rebrand? Before you dive head first in rebranding, let’s talk about when to not rebrand.
When Not to Rebrand
Here are some signs that rebranding your business isn’t a good idea right now:
Funds are limited. Rebranding costs $1000s (even 10-20% of your annual marketing budget). It’s a total overhaul but has potential for major business expansion.
Boredom has hit. Do you look at your website and cringe? Just because you’re in the mood for a change, doesn’t mean you should rebrand.
Sales suck. Although branding has a big impact on conversions, rebranding may not fix that if there are other issues. Check here for 36 reasons why you’re not selling enough.
More pressing needs are at stake. Yes, branding is super important. But if you’re starting a rebrand to subconsciously “put off” lead generation, pitching or financial issues, now’s not the time to neglect those.
Only a portion of your content needs fixing. A rebrand is a total undo or redo. Every single image and piece of copy will need to be revised. Updating “just the website” or “just a few blogs” will lead to confused customers who turn away instantly.
How to Successfully Rebrand a Business in 10 Steps
Remember: A rebrand is how you, your customers and future customers perceive your company.
It’s a huge undertaking but the potential for massive expansion and revenue is real.
Here’s how to rebrand in 10 steps:
Step 1 - Refocus Your mission
This is the core of all business dealings, so don’t skip it. Along with revising your mission statement, take a look at your company values and vision.
Make sure these are up to date with the direction you want your brand to go.
Step 2 - Assemble Your Team
I don’t recommend doing a rebrand by yourself. That’s because business rebrands are big tasks that need to be completed from start to finish. Who should you hire for branding services?
Branding Copywriter
Copywriters optimize all brand messaging. From email branding to website rewrites, a copywriter will make all communication with your customers within brand voice and effective at getting conversions. We can even help you at the beginning stages of a rebrand. (I’m one! Let’s talk.)
Graphic Designer
Designers help with logos and color scheme to make your brand look fresh and inviting. Great design will be timeless and work for years to come.
Business Coach
Coaches can be great for long-term, big picture thinking. They often help establish goals that will guide the direction of the brand.
Branding Agency
Agencies can help with all-inclusive branding services. They may have their own writers and designers.
Brand Consultant
Consultants may offer data analytics to help you best define and structure your brand. They can be useful resources for strategy, implementation and market research.
Step 3 - Investigate Your Customers
Did you think rebranding your business had to do with the company?
A successful rebrand is always focused on customer needs and wants. It’s all about creating a brand that current, past and future customers love to interact with.
This is especially important if you’re trying to branch out into a new market or audience. You need to know everything about them to know exactly what they’ll want from you.
What to Find Out About Your Customers:
Age
Income
Preferred method of communication
Main advertising channels
Problems and pain points
Benefits and deep benefits they need from you
Other brands they love
Other brands they hate
Which competitors they’re exposed to
Step 4 - Create or Recreate a Customer Persona
A brand persona is a made-up person (complete with a name and profile). It defines a company’s ideal client. As in, the one they want to target.
If you’re rebranding to expand your customer base, a customer persona guide is a must! More on that here.
Step 5 - Define Your Scope
You can’t sell everything to everyone. The more you focus your scope, the better you’ll resonate and persuade customers to work with you or buy.
If you have multiple avenues (say, B2B and B2C), separate it out. You may want to have a tree or web to conceptualize this.
What to Think About When Defining Scope:
Which customer persona are we targeting?
What problems do customers have?
What solutions do we provide to fix their problems?
What do we provide?
What do we not provide?
What channels will we use to get information out?
What marketing strategy works best to reach our goals?
Step 6 - Develop Your Brand Voice and a Tone Guide
Now that you know what kind of customers you’re targeting… how do you want to talk to them?
When doing a rebrand, your brand voice needs to be uniform across all platforms. Learn how to define and implement brand voice.
Step 7 - Nail Your USP
There must be a reason why a customer should choose you over your competitors.
Your unique selling point/proposition (USP) is what makes you stand out in a customer’s mind.
USP Examples:
The world’s strongest coffee.
A more user-friendly platform than the competition.
Temporary tattoos by real tattoo artists.
Remember: Your USP should be truly unique! Don’t just say the same stuff as the other guys. Infuse your USP into your website, social media and your ads.
Step 8 - Write It all Down
Make your rebrand official with a branding guide. Include all information above, focusing on customers, their problems, your solutions and how you want to talk to them.
Branding guides will be the springboard for all future campaigns. With a great brand guide, your ads will be better-targeted and more effective at getting conversions. Win/win!
Step 9 - Share It with Your People
Everyone in your company needs to know about the new brand. From marketers to IT staff, everyone needs to know because they are all potential touchpoints.
Sure, your ads will reach people, but so will your customer service reps. Your written, visual and verbal communication needs to represent the rebrand.
Step 10 - Implement It Everywhere
Now that you’ve got a rebranding guide and people onboard, every piece of everything needs to bleed your rebrand.
That’s every ad, every correspondence email, every webpage, every TEDTalk.
You know how to rebrand a business, you’ve put the work in and now you have to incorporate it into everything.
Want to get started on your rebrand today? Contact me.
