Your brand is the heart and soul of your business, affecting how customers perceive and relate to your company. It’s what sets your business apart from competitors and fosters a sense of connection between you and your clientele.
People, trends, and markets are constantly changing, and your branding needs to evolve with them. Otherwise, you risk falling behind and getting left in a trail of your competitors’ dust.
Rebranding is always risky, so it’s important to get it right the first time around. Luckily, you can take steps to ease the process and ensure a smooth transition into your new brand identity.
When should you rebrand your business?
No hard and fast rule dictates when you should rebrand your business. It’s often a cumulation of several key indicators that leads a business to rebrand itself.
Some signs it’s time to rebrand your business:
- Your audience has changed. Your brand needs to cater to your customers’ unique needs. If you notice a change in your demographic, you need to curate your branding to resonate with that demographic.
- Your business goals or brand vision have changed. Customers need to be up to speed on what your company has to offer. If your company values have changed, you need to make them clear to old and new customers.
- Your brand name no longer reflects your values. Language and culture are constantly evolving, so your brand name might not fit the current cultural landscape. If this is the case, you may want to consider changing your brand’s name. Changing your brand name is precarious and should only be done when necessary.
- You’re getting lost in the crowd. Rebranding is an excellent way to modernize your brand and differentiate yourself from competitors. If your current branding is indistinguishable from other brands, you may want to consider rebranding.
- Your brand has lost its way. If your branding isn’t cohesive, it can feel confusing, and your message to customers can become unclear. If you feel your brand identity has gone haywire, it may be time for a rebrand.
Remember that there’s such a thing as too much or unnecessary rebranding. A faulty or unnecessary rebrand can alienate your client base, so it’s important to weigh the pros and cons of rebranding before diving in headfirst.
Remember Your Vertical
In marketing terms, your vertical is what differentiates you from your broader category of competitors. It’s what your company does best and who it serves best. By tapping into your niche, you can market to a specified demographic and tailor your brand to better suit their needs.
Your Website is Square One for Rebranding Your Business
Your website is the home base for customers looking to learn more about your brand. It’s how they get to know you, your product, and your brand mission. An out-of-date or uninformative website can drive customers away from your business, so it’s important to update your website as your brand evolves.
Don’t Overlook Changing Your Tone
The tone you establish for your brand will affect how your customers relate to you. Before rebranding, it’s essential to ask yourself what your voice and message are.
Remember that tone is conveyed through more than just words. Things like images, behavior, and brand design all play a role in the tone you convey. Failing to establish a cohesive tone throughout your business can make your brand appear disjointed and untrustworthy.
Make sure your tone aligns with your brand’s ethos and goals, as it will lay the foundation for a successful rebranding.
Keep an Eye on Your SEO When You Rebrand Your Business
Rebranding often entails an entire revamping of your website, but that doesn’t mean your site should lose its SEO value. You can maintain your site’s SEO value by auditing its pages for high-value content worth preserving.
Make sure to audit your current URLs so you can set up efficient redirects. Auditing your URLs can also help you eliminate any duplicate content. Duplicate content can seriously hurt your site’s SEO ranking.
If you’re changing your website’s entire domain, make sure to take care of backlinks. Backlinks exist to drive traffic to your site, so you’ll want to make sure your customers end up on your new website and not a broken webpage.
Lastly, you’ll want to analyze your website’s current rankings. Find the keywords driving the most traffic to your site and carry them over to your new website. Analyzing your rankings will help you understand what type of content is benefiting your SEO ranking.
The Takeaway
Rebranding is a daunting task, but most businesses will have to face it at some point. If you feel your company has hit a wall in terms of image and identity, it may be time to reach out to a branding agency that can help you bring your brand vision to life.