Do you remember the time when you first started your business?

During that time, you most likely thought about how you were going to embrace your very first marketing campaign. Or, maybe, your focus was on garnering a huge audience base.

Whatever it may be, you definitely didn’t think too much about branding.

None of us did if we’re being honest. After all, it’s high time when you’re just beginning to walk the road of being an entrepreneur. You just didn’t have enough time in your hands to flip through fonts, as you were preoccupied with figuring out your audience.

Or, even if you did have a plan for branding at the beginning, a sudden change in planning might have made it absolutely obsolete. However, whatever may have happened, it’s got you where you are right now – and you aren’t happy. Not a bit!

Fortunately, though, rebranding isn’t that uncommon. Many major and successful companies, from Dunkin’ Donuts to Starbucks, have put their hands in it.

And, guess what?

They’ve been successful. So, there’s no way you’ll fail at it – if you follow the correct process of rebranding. Keep reading this article till the end to learn more about it.

The Right (And Not-So-Right) Reasons Behind Rebranding

The concept of rebranding is quite complicated and may carry a gargantuan risk of failing. After all, you’re literally changing how your audience knows your brand.

Even the prominent brands aren’t immune from it – we mean, just take a look at Uber.

After the organisation redesigned its logo, almost 44% of its customers were confused about what it actually represented.

Hence, before you start working on branding design, you need to determine the reason behind making such a change. And, it should be viable, from your consumers’ point of view as well.

When it comes to rebranding, most people tend to opt for it as they want to –

• Connect their sense of branding with the vision and values of their organisation.
• Expand to a new market or location and want to attract your target audience through the relevant usage of colouring or font.
• Reposition their market value to target an entirely new audience. (For example, you were a youth-focused brand before but now want to offer your services to the adults as well. Hence, you’re making the change to stay relevant in their eyes.)
• Cater to the new brand vision, mission, or values they have published. In some cases, many companies rebrand after making a substantial change in their brand decisions.

Now, let’s see the “other side” and focus on why you should avoid rebranding –

• You’re trying to cover up a crisis.
• Trying to make your mark in the market quickly.
• You’re bored and want to do something else with your organisation.
• Seeking attention from your target audience.

Anyway, if you have decided to hire brand designers and work on rebranding, then make sure to follow the next segment intently.

How To Rebrand – A Guide For Budding Entrepreneurs

Before you implement a rebranding strategy, you must begin your journey by identifying if your brand needs a total or partial rebrand. Then, you’ll have to focus on establishing a new target audience for your brand and identify their market behavior.

The final step for you would be to redefine the vision, mission, and values of your company. Once you’re done, you can then use the newly-found definitions as a guidepost to curate a perfect rebranding game plan.

Step – 1: Create A Separate Branding Team

First things first, you have to find a reason behind changing how your brand looks. Once you have done that, then you’ll need to create a new team for rebranding. It should contain people who’re well-versed in –

• The core knowledge of design branding.
• The prospect of rebranding.
• Communication and collaboration.

After all, the process of rebranding can get extremely stressful pretty quickly. Therefore, if you don’t have level-headed people working for you, things can get messy within a day or so.

Now, when it comes to finding the right people for branding, you can opt for two options. Here’s what you need to know about them.

An In-House Team

No one will know your brand as you do. After all, you’ve created it with your hands. Hence, if you have the right knowledge, skillset, and resources, you can always create an in-house team for rebranding. It’ll be pretty safe, considering the people you’re picking.

A Branding Agency

When it comes to rebranding, sometimes, the input of an outside perspective can be valuable for you. Thus, in this aspect, you can choose a branding agency, as they have the expertise, experience, and efficiency to follow your requirements.

Step – 2: Perform A Competitive Evaluation

Executing a picture-perfect rebranding is all about communication – knowing what to say and how to present your brand to the target audience. Hence, when you’re working on it, taking a look at your competition’s branding can be helpful for you.

While you’re at it, make sure to assess their –

• Logo design.
• Tagline.
• Brand voice.
• Design of their website, etc.

When you’ve all the data, try to make sure that you’re doing something different from them. For example, if everyone is using a yellow logo, you can use an entirely different color to make a statement. Just make sure to keep it in the same line with your brand voice.

Step – 3: Know Your Audience

No matter why you’re working on rebranding, the end result of the same will depend on your target audience. Hence, whether you’re designing your logo or changing your brand voice a little – your focus should be on your people.

To understand it more profoundly, you should create a demo logo and share it on your social media handles. Ask your audience if they like it or not. In case they don’t like it, take their feedback and make the change accordingly.

At the end of the day, the reason behind rebranding is pretty simple – is it going to resonate with your target audience or not?

Step – 4: Redefine The Heart Of Your Brand

What do we mean by the heart of your brand?

It is an articulation of what the core meaning of your brand is. Explicitly speaking, the heart of your brand should comprise of –

• Vision: The future you’re thinking about creating.
• Purpose: The reason behind your brand’s existence.
• Values: The way you work or operate in the market.
• Mission: The way you’re trying to create a new future.

The aforesaid elements will influence each and every part of your rebranding. Thus, you must document them clearly and see how you can improve them through the changes you make.

Step – 5: Do A Brand Audit

A perfect rebranding always begins with proper research on one’s brand. The more clarity you have about yourself, the better your creative approach will be.

Before you start rebranding, you need to find out what’s not working, why’s it not working, or how you should grow. Performing a brand audit can be quite helpful in this aspect.

It’ll give you an opportunity to dive deeper into your own organisation – as it stands now. The insights you’re getting from here will influence your decision in the future.

Step – 6: Work On Your Brand Messaging

While doing a complete rebranding, you might feel a little tempted to jump into your visual asset or logo design first. However, remember that your company’s ocular identity is just another extension of your brand messaging.

Hence, you should always begin by articulating the message you want to send through your brand first. Your brand messaging should include –

• The organisational tagline.
• Value prop.
• The essence of your brand (personality, voice, and tone).

These messaging elements can get a little stale over time. Hence, you must curate something that is consistent enough to perform for at least ten years or more.

Up Your Branding Game!

If you’re rebranding for the very first time, it’ll be pretty easy to feel a little stressed during the process. But that’s how it is. As long as you’re persistent enough, you’ll get through it and be successful. There are no two ways about it.

However, if you feel stuck anywhere – whether it’s a creative block or something else, don’t forget to drop an email to Percept today. They will ease up the overwhelming persona of the process and make sure that you’re doing everything in the right manner.

Good luck!