How To Rebrand Your Business

From time to time, businesses need to change their look to align with a new strategy, highlight changes in key product offerings, or simply modernise their image. The average business will go through the process of rebranding every 7 to 10 years. Whether you are updating your logo or launching an entirely new brand, here are the six steps every business owner should follow to ensure a flawless rebranding.

6 Steps To Rebrand Your Business

Step 1: Create A Rebranding Strategy

Rebranding a business takes careful planning to execute properly. It’s important to take time to think about why you are rebranding. The answer to this question will help the team understand the desired outcome and determine what rebranding activities should be included in the project. For example, if you are rebranding because your primary product or service has changed, this will help the team focus on erasing any elements that tie you to your old products.

Step 2: Select A Brand Team

Depending on the size of your business, you may or may not be able to form a team to support your rebranding efforts. Ideally, you would have team members who can specialise in marketing, graphic design, web design, social media, and communications. Most businesses, especially sole proprietors, don’t have these types of resources, so you will need to do the work yourself or hire outside freelancers. Learning how to delegate your rebranding efforts is a good way to improve your skills as a manager and business owner.

Step 3: Evaluate Your Competitors

Evaluating your closest competitors can give you ideas of what design elements are being used in the industry. It can also help you avoid building a brand that is too similar or might confuse your target market.

Step 4: Make A List Of All Branded Items

It’s critical to review and inventory all of your marketing materials, web pages, social media sites, and other items (company t-shirts, etc.) that contain your brand, company name, or company colours. The last thing you want is to rebrand some items and not others. This could leave your customers confused and make your branding appear inconsistent.

Step 5: Create A Communication Plan

When rebranding a business, you want to have a communication plan (similar to a PR plan) in place so you customers aren’t caught off guard. It’s ideal to let them know several weeks in advance that a new brand is coming, especially if you are planning a name change that would alter your website address or social media handles. Use this as an opportunity to build excitement with your customer base about the new look. You could even plan a special sale or event to coincide with the relaunch. Tie this together with an updated business plan and marketing plan to make sure your business is aligned on the new direction you're taking.

Step 6: Design And Launch Your New Brand

This step may or may not be the bulk of your rebranding efforts depending on the level of your rebrand. According to Forbes, the average rebrand takes 12 to 18 months (from concept to completion). Updating just your logo or brand colours, will require less work than a full identity change. Make sure you have a buffer built into your schedule in case you run into any delays to your scheduled launch date.

Protect Your New Image With Business Insurance

If you are rethinking your strategic direction or brand, it might be a good time to evaluate other aspects of your business that could cause risk or liability. Fortunately, most risk associated with liability or lawsuits can be mitigated with a comprehensive insurance policy. At upcover, we want to make sure you are protected. Check out our instant quote generator where you can get an estimate on market-leading insurance in seconds! Simply enter your occupation and expected revenue to get started.