Do or Don’t? Three Big Risks of Rebranding

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This is a guest post courtesy of Christian Muller on three big potential risks that can often go hand in hand with a rebranding effort.

While it’s not impossible to do successfully, it’s also not always easy.

In fact I’d even go so far as to propose it’s never easy!

But if you keep in mind these brief tips from Christian, you can increase your odds of a successful attempt and (possibly) avoid a fiery crash and burn.

I know, I’m such a little light of sunshine today aren’t I? As always, please drop any thoughts in the comment box below this post.

Muah.

Sometimes it is essential to rebrand your company.

If your image hasn’t been updated in a very long time, if your logo is confusing your customers, or if your message doesn’t correctly portray your company or its products and services, rebranding may be just what you need.

But rebranding is not an easy process, and it does not ensure that you will have success. Like any other business venture, there are plenty of risks involved, and you need to consider them before jumping in to rebranding efforts headfirst.

Rebranding Done Incorrectly Can Confuse

Rebranding requires a long and detailed process. Before you can start creating your new image, you have to take a good, hard look at your company and determine how you want to be perceived by your customers, by your potential customers and by others in the industry.

You then need to determine what kind of messaging will highlight your products and services. And most importantly, you need to determine the goals of your rebranding efforts. If you go into rebranding efforts without considering these things, your efforts will not contain any focus.

If rebranding is not thoroughly planned out in advance, you could end up throwing something together and causing confusion among your current customers, potential customers and others in the industry. If your new efforts cause confusion, you could end up losing your client base.

This is especially true with very recognizable logos.

For example, Nike has the famous swoosh mark as their logo. This logo has given them so much brand recognition that they don’t even have to include their name on collateral or products—the swoosh mark alone lets people know the item is coming from Nike.

If Nike were to change the swoosh to a triangle, it could cause confusion among their market. Nike customers may wonder if Nike closed, went bankrupt or changed their product line.

You also need to think about how to market your rebranding efforts. You cannot simply rebrand your company and throw it out in the world without any explanation or forewarning. This too can cause confusion among your customer base.

Rebranding Can Drain Your Marketing Budget

Rebranding is expensive. When you rebrand, you are not simply making a new logo, you are making a new image. This image then needs to be portrayed across all of your collateral, including your website, print material, signage, business cards—anything that includes your old image will need to be updated.

The more items you need rebranded, the more expensive it’s going to be.

If you didn’t prepare your marketing budget for a rebranding effort, you may not have any resources left for other marketing campaigns once you’re finished with the rebrand.

You will then be risking all of your money on one marketing tactic, and if it doesn’t give you the results you want, you could be left without money and without customers.

Rebranding Offers No Guarantees of Success

Rebranding can solve a lot of problems for some companies, but there is no guarantee that rebranding will be the right answer. Sometimes companies rebrand and don’t see any results.

It happens.

Customers do not like change, and unless you seamlessly rebrand without any hiccups, you run the risk of losing customers or not producing results.

Before you rebrand, you need to fully understand the risks involved. Not being adequately prepared can cost you your marketing budget, your current and prospective clients, and your place in the industry.

Decide if rebranding is worth the risk, and take your time to thoroughly develop a solid plan.

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Tagged as: branding, business, client, customer, image, overhaul, rebranding, risks, trust