Unexpected Lessons In Rebranding A Business
At Summary Content Marketing, we like to help our clients tell their brand story online. We do this to support their overall marketing efforts, including brand reach, audience contact and communication as well as customer service and sales.
Being a marketing firm, we sometimes feel like the ‘cobbler with no shoes’, but this year we treated ourselves to a little branding refresh! It’s not everyday we get to treat ourselves as the client and focus on all of the things we help our clients’ achieve for their brands, and that’s why we decided this year to give our own brand a little TLC.
Yes, we are pretty excited about our new brand, but we are equally excited that through this process, we really benefited from seeing what it’s like to be the client. Out of that experience, we discovered some interesting pieces of the rebranding process that we had not been aware of before. In this blog post, we’ll cover some unexpected lessons we learned from our rebranding experience that we’d like to pass along to you and your business!
Take Your Time
Believe me, this is a hard one for me. I tend to be someone who makes decisions and then runs with the plan--for better or worse--but this is NOT the approach we recommend you take when rebranding your business. You want a logo, tagline and brand identity that really reflect your company, culture, and will stand the test of time. In other words, please take your time! If you want more guidance and information on the process, here’s a great blog from Forbes on rebranding steps.
Hire A Branding Expert
It can be tempting to cut corners when it comes to branding. This makes sense; rebranding or branding for the first time can be expensive, consuming and in some ways may seem ‘unnecessary’. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking any logo, any tagline, or any name will work. You must be particular, because it does matter greatly. Your brand identity is the first touch point for any customer or community member. It should reflect who your company is and what you offer. That’s why it’s crucial to bite the bullet and hire an expert in branding to help you create a brand identity that is truly YOU!
Keep It Simple
It’s soooo easy to overthink your brand and rebranding can become mired in over-analysis if you let it. Once you’ve found a branding firm or freelancer who you trust, do just that, trust them! Most of the time that means allowing them to fine tune and simplify your name, message, and overall branding.
Consider The Web
It sounds silly, of course you should consider how your branding will translate to your website and social channels, but it’s an often overlooked step. What do I mean by this? Well, it’s simple: Clarity is key when it comes to messaging on the web. This is especially relevant to writing taglines and a strong consideration when naming your business. If you plan to build a social community or engage in online advertising, and let’s face it, most companies must participate in these activities in some way, then you need to also make sure your brand clearly explains what you offer and/or sell. Does this make sense? If not, this article from Chris Ducker will help further explain.
Involve Key Stakeholders
It’s kind of hard to commit to this piece of advice for some companies. I’m sure many of you feel that things go smoother when they are not ‘decided by committee’, but this is folly when it comes to rebranding. Research shows that most companies (maybe you) enter the rebranding process because their original brand no longer reflects certains aspects of the business. Therefore, if this is the case, your team needs to take the rebranding effort seriously. And part of the process must include feedback from employees and stakeholders in your business.
Here is an awesome read from Everett Community College on involving stakeholders in the right way.
Know When It’s Final
Truly, this is the hardest part. We see it in our business all the time, and it’s also true with rebranding. Don’t let yourself get caught in ‘analysis paralysis’! At some point you’ll have crossed all the ‘i’’s and dotted all the ‘t’’s. That’s when you need to take a deep breath and commit to your new brand. Woo hoo! The most important thing to do at this stage is to take the brand you’ve created and make sure to launch a consistent presence across all marketing touch points. This means that you must fully commit to the final articulation of your branding, and then launch it out into the universe to be loved!
These are just a few lessons we learned from our experience rebranding to Summary Content Marketing in 2017, and we hope these tips will help you in your rebranding endeavors!
Sincerely,
Lis Thomas
Chief Decider at Summary Content Marketing