What is Rebranding?

  1. Rebranding is a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design, or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new, differentiated identity in the minds of consumers, investors, and competitors. (Wikipedia)

What IS a Brand, anyway?

A brand is like a personality.  It’s what your customers think about your company.   It includes things like logos and company colors, but goes much further than that.

Rebranding can be a minor update (to keep your brand fresh), or it can be a complete overhaul (if your current brand isn’t working at all).  For many small companies, the issue is a lack of branding.  Customer don’t think much about them at all.

Should You Rebrand?

Before you rebrand, here are a few important questions for you to consider.

1. How distinctive is your current brand?

Consider how your current brand is doing. Is it memorable? Does the brand relate to your audience?

If not, it may be time to change your brand name, the look and feel of your website, and perhaps even your URL.  Consider how you can better reach and appeal to your target audience and make your brand more distinctive.

2. Have you run a brand preference test with your target audience?

If you haven’t run a brand preference test and you are considering rebranding, now is the time to test! You can test to two different groups; one that is familiar with you and one that is not.

Test your current brand against the ideas you have for a new brand.

You may ask your target audience which website they would use to buy your product, which website they can relate to, and which they like best. Answering questions like these should
help you understand what your audience wants and how you can best provide it for them.

Rebranding is a tough process and not the wisest decision for every business. If you find that your brand is effectively reaching and relating to your audience, is unique from other brands, and traffic growth does not justify the financial cost of changing the brand, then it would be wise to keep things the way they are. However, if you find your company needs a stronger and more relevant voice, rebranding may be the answer.