Whether you’re interested in expanding your brand into the international sphere or revamping your image to stay in step with the times, rebranding your business can provide many benefits. From broadening your reach to remaining relevant to increasing your revenue — all are possible if you commit to a sound rebranding strategy.
And yet, as ethical as your motivation to rebrand might be (and as clear as your vision may seem), you could make some easy mistakes if you’re unaware of the most common errors.
Top 10 Rebranding Mistakes That Hurt Your Business
From Uber creating a logo deemed unidentifiable to Weight Watchers changing a name that resonated with consumers since the brand’s inception, there are several ways that your rebranding efforts may backfire. Therefore, it’s important that you note these prevalent rebranding mistakes so that you can dodge them.
Not Doing Your Research
Solid market research is crucial to a successful rebranding campaign. That is, you must have a solid grasp of what your audience values in a brand — research reveals that 82% of consumers want a brand’s principles to reflect their own.
A handful of the most prized values a brand can demonstrate include:
- Sustainability
- Authenticity
- Consistency
Depending on your niche, market research may entail a combination of qualitative analyses (examining your competition and consumers) and quantitative research, which will urge you to dig deeper to explore audience segmentation and brand positioning.
Not Using a Brand Style Guide
Authority, credibility, and trust are built through consistency through every touchpoint of the consumer’s journey. This includes everything from the color scheme on your social media to the voice you use in your posts.
To this end, a brand style guide is imperative. It functions as a rule book that establishes how your brand is presented, ensuring that every facet of your organization (including everything from your logo to how your phones are answered) represents your brand’s vision, personality, and mission.
Lack of Cross-Channel Consistency
Imagine a prospective customer discovering your brand on TikTok (thanks to your bright, riveting content) but finding your email blasts are totally out of character with the personality represented on the social media app.
You must foster a bond with your consumers to boost conversions. Statistics back this: 67% of customers will continue doing business with a brand only if they trust it. This means you need to prioritize consistency across all of your channels, such as:
- Advertisements
- Social media
- Direct mail
This reinforces the necessity of refining your corporate identity (based on market research) before you start rebranding your business.
Copying a Competitor
Imitation may be one of the greatest forms of flattery, but mimicking your competition can work against you. It may:
- Fail to differentiate you as a unique entity — and consumers may choose to go with a well-known brand they trust rather than a newcomer
- Decimate profit margins because you’ll be forced to keep your prices in line with your competition, even if you’re delivering a superior product or service
- Result in humiliating online attacks from your competitors and consumers, which could harm your reputation
Your competition should inspire you to do better, but there’s a huge difference between finding inspiration from another and mimicking their style and actions.
Rebranding Only Your Logo
Rebranding only your logo is the equivalent of installing a new door on your house and calling it a home renovation. However, rebranding your business is far more profound. It’s an enterprise that should result in a fresh, improved makeover that covers the entirety of the experience you’ll provide your consumers.
Also, if your logo has proven to work and is a large part of your identity, enhance it instead of reinventing it. Just look at Gap and Tropicana for one of the biggest rebranding mistakes you could make: Changing your image so completely that you become unrecognizable to consumers.
Changing the Name Unnecessarily
Unnecessarily changing your name is much like rebranding a logo that already works. It will almost surely cause whiplash in your audience.
Not Communicating Your Rebrand/No Rollout Strategy
Remember the importance of consistency? This applies to how you manage your makeover. “Surprising” your consumers with a rejuvenated brand identity — even if it’s better — will only cause frustration, confusion, and, quite possibly, the loss of their loyalty.
Playing It Safe
It’s safe to say you’re committed to rebranding your business to attract new customers. But a rebrand that fails to take risks (which in itself may capture attention) risks falling into the noise of the 31.7 million small businesses currently operating in the U.S. today.
Rushing the Process
Your consumers can feel the effects of a hasty rebranding effort. Therefore, rebranding should be conducted thoroughly and meticulously from start to finish and beyond. Further, changing too rapidly may prompt a negative reaction from your consumers.
Failing to Understand Why You’re Rebranding
Establishing your reasons for rebranding must be front and center before you start the process. A new brand philosophy, for example, must guide every single decision you make. If you’re rebranding your business because of a new location, this should heavily influence your rebranding strategy.
Rebranding vs. Refresh: Which Is Right for You?
If you want to enrich or modernize your brand, you might not need a complete overhaul. In fact, this may counter your marketing goals and result in a loss of revenue. Ask yourself:
- Does my present situation justify a rebrand?
- Do I just want to be perceived as more relevant and contemporary, and attract new consumers?
If you fall into the latter camp, a rebrand may be a waste of your time and resources, and you may be better off simply revitalizing your image and investing in content marketing.
Avoid Rebranding Mistakes with MARION
You may have the best intentions with renovating your brand, but it’s too easy to take a wrong turn and inadvertently create a rebranding disaster.
MARION ensures that you accomplish the opposite. We concentrate on three primary marketing practices — traditional marketing, digital marketing, and brand and design — to help clients like you surpass their potential.
Explore our services today to make your rebrand or refresh an absolute success.
