Is it Time for a Rebrand?

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One day you’re at the top of your game, dominating the market, the next, you realize your brand may not have the competitive edge it used to.

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Is it time for a rebrand? How do you know when it is?Often companies realize they are in need of a rebrand only when it’s already too late – either they’ve started losing market share or worse they’ve become irrelevant. The best brands are so because they are proactive in regularly taking a hard look at where they are and how the market perceives them.

Does your company look like it’s stuck in a time warp?

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Examine your current branding.How do you come across?When your customers land on your website do they think it’s 2016, 2006, or 1996? Be honest. Ask company stakeholders, trusted customers and maybe even an impartial group.

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Going through this exercise will help you identify any gaps in your branding and avoid myopia, or perhaps reaffirm you’re on point.

Take a look at your competitors and peers in the industry, and ask the same question. Visually, what do their brands promise? How do they position themselves through their messaging?

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Do you fear getting sidelined by the competition?

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Whether a disruptive startup or veteran competitor...Brands can be sidelined quickly.If you’re brand has become irrelevant, an update or refresh can help you strike back. There are several companies, that, had they strategically rebranded, they could have avoided their near extinction or at least had a fighting chance.

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The brand endangered list ● Stripe swiped a majority of the market share

Authorize.net long held● Quicken quickly became second fiddle when Mint came

on the scene● Uber pummeled the taxi industry

Each of these has struggled to make a comeback. Primarily because they opted to rely on the brand that got them to where they were rather than take assessment of the current state.

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It has to exemplify your core values and the market position, and enable you to maintain a competitive edge. To start, take a look at what the competition is doing right or wrong. Then take what they’re doing right and start thinking about how to do similar things, but with your own unique point of view.

Your brand has to stand apart.

Is revenue slipping?

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How is business?Are you growing? Is revenue where it should be?Are employees on board with, and excited about, the company and its purpose? Are investors, and all stakeholders, interested and happy?

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Brand can represent 15% of your revenue.

A solid brand will help you hold onto customers and win new ones. Along with a solid product or service, your brand is what customers will latch onto if it’s on point.

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Moore’s Law is in full effect.Companies are wrestling with relevancy every day. And this is true for nearly every sector of business. Sometimes, however, a rebrand can help a brand remain or become more relevant.

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Companies that rebounded:● Lego – the brand experienced significant decline in the early 2000s.

Within a few years, Lego rebuilt a powerful brand by repositioning itself in the marketplace. It now encompasses a theme park, video games, board games, and movies.

● Nintendo – when Sony released the Sony Playstation 2 in the 1990s, Nintendo's foothold began to slip. The brand made a comeback in the 2000s with the introduction of the Wii.

● Honda – through strategic messaging and a new look, Honda shed the old association many of us had of the Civic as a teenager’s first car. The car company is working to make the brand appealing to adult generations.

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“Too many companies want their brands to reflect some idealized, perfected image of themselves. As a consequence, their brands acquire no texture, no character and no public trust.”

Richard Branson