10 Tips for Strategic Rebranding Across All Channels

Your brand is more than just a logo; it defines your company's position among the competition and conveys your identity to customers. A good brand reflects what you stand for, how you operate your business, and what you offer to the world. Related: How to get your rebranding strategy right Sometimes, your brand might not accurately convey your company's current stance or fully engage with your desired audience. If your business's identity isn't being portrayed properly, it might be time to conduct a strategic rebrand across all of your marketing channels. When should I rebrand? Changing your brand can be difficult and requires a long list of tasks to accomplish. Understanding when and why to rebrand will help identify which aspects of your marketing strategy need to change. Here are a few examples of opportune times to rebrand. After a merger or acquisition The joining of companies or a buyout usually requires an immediate need for rebranding. Don't go silent, though—make sure your customer base understands all of the changes that will come as a result of the merger or buyout. To reposition the business Taking any company in a new direction is difficult, but it's important to inform your stakeholders and consumers about your company's new goals and practices. Some businesses become more specialized, while others focus on expanding their capabilities. Either way, your supporters deserve to be informed. Repositioning may not require a logo change, but much of your content strategy, marketing outreach, and public relations practices must be altered to match your new position. To respond to changes in the market As time goes on, your business might see a shift in its old demographic. Reliable revenue sources can peter out, leaving you no choice but to find new types of customers. This is a hard line to tow for many companies. You don't want to abandon your long-term base, but you also need to secure new revenue streams. A strong brand strategy will be crucial for successfully navigating changes in the market. Tips & tricks for a successful rebrand Typically, a company will rebrand every 7-10 years to keep up with consumer expectations. When considering major changes to your brand, it's important to understand the full scope of work needed to accomplish this shift in identity. Marketing strategies can be complex, but to reach your audience most effectively, you'll have to reevaluate every layer of the marketing stack. Here are some guidelines you can follow to prepare your company for a seamless rebrand. 1. Research & organize your findings Rolling out a new brand requires a lot of pre-production. Before releasing a single bit of information about your company's rebranding, know how you plan to execute. Identify your goals, create a to-do list, and research how you need to accomplish each step. Establishing a solid workflow backed by results-driven data will save you time and money. It's also wise to research how other companies have done it. Learning from others' failures and successes can guide you away from potential mistakes. 2. Check availability Before you get totally sold on a certain brand name or idea, check out the marketplace. This might seem obvious, but it's essential to make sure your new brand doesn't infringe upon or conflict with an already existing company. You don't want to compete for recognition (or invest in SEO) with the same name. Another thing to consider: domain availability. During the dot-com boom, people spent millions of dollars on digital real estate. You might not be able to get your company's new domain name without having to pay someone a lot of money. Prevent a disaster by checking and resolving any problems that could cause an abrupt halt for your rebrand. 3. Know your limit—err, budget Creating content, running tests, and paying for ads all costs money. 10-20% of your annual marketing budget can be spent just on rebranding efforts. Developing a well-designed content calendar will help identify where most of your money will be spent and give you an idea of when you'll need to be prepared for these expenses. 4. Address your audience Once you've established a solid game plan, it's time to announce your decision to the public. Going public is a great way to gauge the current market climate. Your stakeholders could be thrilled to see a change, while customers might be indifferent—or vice versa. If you're met with heavy opposition from either side, you can take this opportunity to refine your plan and reintroduce yourself to the community. Addressing your audience directly will help you capitalize on one of the best forms of advertising: word-of-mouth. Getting your base excited to share the news for you is often more effective than other forms of marketing. 5. Prepare for questions One of the most important pages on your website is the FAQ page. There, you have a chance to help your audience better understand who you are and what they should expect from you. When rebranding occurs, people will seek out information as to why there was a rebrand and what changes to expect. Before releasing any of your new branding materials, it's best to have a rock-solid FAQ page. 6. Demand consistency In this digital age, there are a lot of places to promote your brand, and the goal of any good brand is to be where it matters. As you expand your reach, it's all too easy to leave conflicting information about your company in several locations. This is especially troublesome when trying to rebrand. Everywhere that your old brand existed needs to be changed to match your new identity. Customers are easily deterred by clashing bits of information. Consistency establishes company-client trust, which leads to higher revenues. 7. Content is king An eye-catching logo and flashy visuals mean nothing without good content to back it all up. You might grab the public's attention with a clever marketing tactic, but you won't retain that interest unless your brand delivers substance. Written content is your opportunity to tell your company's story. Content marketing helps you establish trust with your audience, inform customers, and drive more traffic to other marketing channels. With a proper SEO strategy, a well-written piece of content will boost your Google search ranking and increase your brand's visibility. 8. Testing: 1, 2, 3 Taking the time to run tests on your content will help to solidify your marketing strategy. It's not always a guarantee that a rebranding effort is going to be successful. The best way to prevent a failed rebranding is to test your assets before releasing them to the public. Study groups and A/B testing can uncover and strengthen any weak points in your rebranding strategy. 9. Roll out Now that you've created and tested everything, it's time to roll out your new brand. There are countless places and ways to promote your company's new identity. Placing your logo on shirts, posters, and signs will create a real-world brand presence. It's also crucial that your company invests in its digital brand presence, as we've already mentioned. This includes everything from webpages to social media profiles, from business cards to email templates. A brand templating platform can help you set up templates with your new brand assets, so your team stays on the same page. 10. Reach out Roughly 80% of people use some form of social media. Twitter, Instagram & Facebook are your company's windows to the rest of the world. Monitoring your social media presence while you rebrand empowers you to head off any bad publicity, clarify any uncertainties, and thank those who support the change. Rebranding requires hands-on attention to make sure your company's new message is understood and adopted by your base. Key takeaway If done properly, rebranding will take time and effort. It's crucial to take each marketing channel into account, as well as your customers. Being thoughtful and methodical throughout the process will help ensure a successful rebrand that makes your company stronger than it was before. Is it time to rebrand your business or organization? Learn more in our free ebook: How and why to rebrand your company