Why Is Rebranding So Important (and How To Do It Right)?

Rebranding the company can sound intimidating for some business owners. It takes time, careful planning, and significant changes, and there is a risk it won't pay off at all, or maybe it will even make things worse.

However, rebranding is inevitability at every business. Eventually, you'll get to the point where you feel some refreshing needs to be done. The trick is to know when and how to do the rebranding.

Why rebranding?

Firstly, you need to figure out when you should start bringing in some changes in your company's image and mission. Check if any of these things have happened to you recently and you'll know it's time for something different:

• Your business card makes you feel embarrassed – Maybe your website is outdated or difficult to navigate, maybe your business card doesn't present your company properly anymore. Whatever it is, it's a sign you should do something about it.
• Your brand’s name doesn't represent the company's vision anymore – Maybe the name fit perfectly when you founded the firm, but it's not giving the right image anymore. Maybe some cultural changes make it sound odd now. Whatever the reason is, giving a new name to your company means bringing in new personality to it.
• Your brand isn't unique – Standing out from the crowd is a must in competitive businesses. If you think you are the same as your competitors, your brand isn't doing anything for you. Think of something original, which shows that only your brand has something new and different to offer, which is also high-quality. The changes can be in the sense of colors, imagery, or messages you want to send.
• Your brand seems too complicated – If you have been trying to please every customer in every possible way, you'll notice that your brand has become too complex, which leads to decreased effectiveness and long-term results. Try to simplify things wherever possible.
• There has been a merger or acquisition recently – This can seriously affect your company's performance, as there are several sub-brands included, and your task is to connect them in a logical way through careful rebranding that covers all of them.
• You’re not attracting top people – It's simple — the best brands are interesting to highly skilled people. If you have mediocre workers, maybe it means that the best ones are not interested in working for you as a result of a poor brand.

How to Achieve Proper Branding

Once you decide your company needs rebranding, there are a couple of things to bear in mind in order for rebranding to have a positive effect in the end:

1. Maintain the initial logo essence – Don't change it to the point where it won't recognizable as your company's logo. A good logo design means connecting the past and the future, respecting the roots but also giving a nod to a refreshed and improved brand.
2. Determine the reasons for the change – If you have clear reasons why you have decided to rebrand the company, you will also know what you need to do next: do you want better marketing? Do you want to expand your target clients? Do you want to offer new products or services and make it clear to rebranding?
3. State your reasons – You need to have a dialogue with your customers, explaining to them why you feel the company needs rebranding, and there's no better way than to do it on social media or the company's blog.
4. Organize an event – It can be expensive, but it's the fastest way to learn something about your customers, as well as about the competition. There are three most common types of events for this purpose:

• Sponsor a party
• Give support to a local team
• Form a local partnership

Whatever type you choose, make sure you determine what the topic of the event will be, have a detailed plan on how it should look, and don't forget to promote it on social media.

How to Organize a Successful Branding Event

Organizing an event to mark rebranding of your company is not an easy endeavor. You need to plan your steps carefully and cover certain things in order for it to be successful:

1. Send invitations – Clients, both old and potential ones, should get an invitation that announces some changes in the company, so the logo should be the old one, but for example with colors used with new branding so they can get a hint of a change.
2. Retain familiar features – If you have a booth, people may not recognize your company, so set up a big logo and encourage your employees to approach people and give them the news of rebranding.
3. Make people have fun and remember the event – Your rebranding has to be remembered, so come up with ways of enabling people to have fun at the event. For instance, a photo booth hire in Wollongong will not only allow people to have some fun but also share the happy moments with their friends on social media, thus spreading the word of your company. That's free marketing right there; no need for a press release! Another trick for the event to be remembered is to prepare something for people to take home, making sure that your company's name is printed on the gift.
4. Organize a contest – A contest related to your brand will spread awareness faster than you think. Provide people with VIP access and they will be eager to talk about your company. Whatever prize you choose to give, remember to add promotional products to it.
5. Make a survey – You need to know if your efforts paid off, so have some questions prepared for after the event, so you can analyze the level of successful rebranding promotion.

Final comment:

Of course, it's difficult to control everything once the process of rebranding starts. However, making sure the important steps are followed will ensure a successful outcome for your company in the end.