Your branding is the heart of your business—what makes it memorable, what gives it identity. It touches all your stakeholders, from customers and prospects to employees and partners in the communities where you live and work. So if you’re considering rebranding—be it a facelift, an overhaul or something in between—you’ll want to ensure that your time, and your dollars, are well spent. As our EVP of Operations, Erinn Steffen has compiled the four questions you’ll want to answer before getting started.
1. What’s your why?
Let’s start with a simple question—even if its answer is complex. Why are you looking to rebrand? Is it because of a strategic shift in your core offerings? Do you need to further differentiate from category competitors? Or are you just looking for a new aesthetic? Understanding what’s driving your rebrand will set parameters for how deep you’ll need to go. Rebranding can be a lengthy process—and, if you don’t know the answer to this simple question, it might indicate you’re not quite ready.
2. What are you willing to invest?
Determining how much you are willing to invest (dollars and hours, both for your team and any partners) will shape how you approach your rebranding. The greater the investment, the more thorough you’ll be able to be, from market research to creative design and marketing strategies—and the better your chance to position your company for increased visibility, competitiveness and growth potential.
3. What’s your timeframe?
If you’re looking to undergo a large, well-informed rebrand, plan on spending at least six months. While a shorter turnaround is feasible if you’re working towards a hard deadline like a product launch or a specific tradeshow, you’ll have to make tradeoffs on the depth of research you’ll be able to leverage to inform your new brand strategy. You’re likely to be guided more by internal knowledge and gut instincts than by audience insights. So, keep timing in perspective—in the scheme of your brand’s life, taking an additional ten to fifteen weeks to launch isn’t that big of a difference.
4. What does success look like to you? (We know, it’s a loaded question.)
But it’s one of the most important ones you’ll need to answer. Defining a successful rebrand with clear metrics and goals is crucial to managing stakeholder expectations. Brand awareness and perception take time to build, particularly if your rebrand is comprehensive. You’ll want to think of your timeline in terms of years, not months. Smaller, more immediate changes can—and will—still be noticed as a value-add, but don’t anticipate a full view of the results within the first twelve months.
The marketplace is ever-evolving. To keep step, your brand should be, too. Whether it’s a minor update or a complete rebrand, a little reinvention ensures relevance—and readiness—to capitalize on new opportunities.