If you’re considering re-branding your business, it’s worth remembering that effectively you’ll be hitting the reset button – so it’s a decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly. A carefully considered and skilfully executed rebrand can inject new life into a company and massively increase sales. A mismanaged re-brand however can have disastrous consequences.
While there are many businesses that have managed to turn things around with successful re-brands, sometimes (as Gap proved in 2010) it can do more harm than good. So before you make a decision about whether to revamp your company, you might want to consider some of the potential risks that are involved with re-branding:
Re-branding riskNo.1- Existing customers are lost
When it comes to a re-brand, one of the greatest risks all businesses face is that any existing fan-base that’s been built up previously could be lost. Customer loyalty is one of the main goals of successful branding and if your existing clients feel betrayed or can’t connect with the new direction your taking, they won’t want to stick around. That’s absolutely fine if you’ve identified a completely different target market, but if you’re trying to build on what you’ve worked so hard to achieve already, a re-brand doesn’t make good business sense.
Re-branding risk No.2- The buzz is short-lived
In marketing terms, there’s nothing more exciting than the launch of a new brand. From a sales and PR perspective there’s lots to talk about because your company’s story has a new angle and you can re-engage your entire customer base. But ‘new’ doesn’t stay new forever. If you don’t have anything to say in a few months’ time, it’s inevitable that people will lose interest and your brand will be considered as insubstantial. Re-branding isn’t about generating an initial buzz; it’s about creating lasting value.
Re-branding risk No.3- There’s not enough time
Often, the reason a re-brand fails is that organisations don’t realise how much time and effort it takes to seed a new brand. Brand building takes time and you need to make sure you have the dedication to continue to re-introduce your new brand until it sticks in your potential customers’ minds. For re-branding to be successful, it’s important to understand that it isn’t a project. It’s a process that can take up to three years to benefit from positive results, so it’s vital that you have a long-term strategy.
Whether you’ve undergone a re-brand that hasn’t worked or you’ve decided that a complete re-brand isn’t the way to go and building on what you’ve already got might be a better step to take, Gorilla can offer you expert advice to help you make the right decision for your business. Please contact with us using the form below and we’ll do our best to help you put things right.
