While you might need to rebrand your entire business operation in order to reach a much larger client base, there’s always a risk that you could lose the most loyal customers you already have. If you’re changing your image, then people might feel that you’re no longer in touch with their needs.
Worse, there’s the possibility that they might think you’ve gone out of business. Some people might not immediately connect your existing brand with the new brand. They might not even realize that they represent the same firm.
Fortunately, you can effectively rebrand your business without losing a single customer. The first step is to design a new visual identity that’s striking enough to attract your old clients as well as new ones.
Finding a New Visual Identity
You can’t risk presenting yourself as a bland company, but at the same time you want to be professional. Create a logo that fits with your company’s vision. Obviously, a straight-laced insurance company is going to make use of a very different design language than a company that sells spare motorcycle parts.
Try for something exciting that makes sense with what your firm does. If you have at least something from your previous brand that you’d like to preserve, then make sure that you incorporate it somehow. A company that once had a small rodent as a logo could turn it into an edgier streetwise rat or a family-friendly cartoon mouse.
It all just depends on the kind of design language you’re going for and the graphic artist that you’re hiring. While you might be tempted to go it alone, you might not want to create your own material in this respect unless you have some experience with graphic design.
Even if you have the best designer, you’re going to need to specifically define the reasons you plan on rebranding, however.
Ask Yourself Why You Plan to Rebrand
Unless you’re drastically shifting the scope of your operations or have merged with another business, you’ll want to primarily focus on what’s changed for your industry. Is there a new big company that’s shaking everything up?
If that’s the case, then it’s important to keep an eye on them while you’re rolling out your new brand. However, trying to copy off the competition is a common mistake that many companies make. Your existing consumers don’t want to buy from a clone of your competitors. They want to continue buying from the firm that’s served them so well for so long.
Consistency is always the most important thing. Some experts have opined that there’s a huge risk in jeopardizing the trust you’ve built with your current customers. Perhaps the best advice is to make sure that your entire team is onboard with the changes so that you don’t look out of sorts.
The last thing that you want to do at this point is suggest to your original consumers that you’ve lost your original vision and plan on experimenting unnecessarily.
Involving Everyone in the Project
As well as your team, you can involve your existing consumers in the journey as well. Make sure that you properly promote yourself on social media and ask your consumers how they’re feeling. Managers often make the mistake of not paying much attention to their customer’s input, which in turn can make them feel as though they’re not valuable to your brand.
At the same time, you shouldn’t sacrifice functionality at all. Your apps, site and shopping cart should all work every bit as well as they always had. That being said, you should take the opportunity to make a few adjustments if necessary.
For instance, your customers might have often been abandoning their cart before they paid you. You could potentially consider new offers that fit in with your new brand that might more effectively convert these leads into sales.
Perhaps the most vital thing to remember is that you must have a strategy in mind the entire time.
Building a Rebranding Strategy that Works for Your Business
All strategies have to be scalable enough to match the size of your company’s operations. Obviously, a larger firm that’s heavily invested in its target market is going to find it much more difficult to change its brand image than a smaller firm.
Don’t forget that this is an opportunity to market yourself to your existing clientele as well as new shoppers. Reward your most loyal buyers with special offers and free bonuses.
They may end up rewarding you with increased sales.
