Avoid These Common Rebranding Risks

Rebranding isn’t without risk. Get a grasp of some of the most common rebranding risks so you can avoid potential pitfalls and focus on a successful rebranding experience.

Rebranding Risk #1 – Losing or Alienating Existing Customers

It’s possible that you could alienate or lose existing customers who are comfortable with your established brand and uncomfortable with change, but a strong customer engagement strategy will reduce that risk.

Your customers drive your company’s success, so it’s important that you understand what they want and need from your brand. A simple survey is a great way to involve your customers from the beginning and can ensure you understand and keep their buy-in.

Ask your customers what they want, listen to what they say, implement their feedback and suggestions where it makes sense, and then keep them updated on the rebranding process through email, your website and social media, press releases, and/or word-of-mouth.

Rebranding Risk #2 – Lacking Multi-Contextual Use

Branding doesn’t exist in just one context, especially with all of the technology and outlets available at your target audiences’ fingertips. All of your branding elements have to be able translate from desktop experiences to mobile devices, televisions, social media, small and large-scale advertisements, and corporate stationery, such as business cards and letterhead.

Working with an experienced branding agency will allow you to create different formats of logos and visual assets, ensuring there are multiple options that will work in different contexts. And they will provide you with a set of brand guidelines to ensure your visual assets are always used in the right contexts.

Rebranding Risk #3 – Breaking Your Web Assets

You’ve put a lot of thought and effort into your online content and SEO, and you can’t afford to lose it all when you rebrand with a new name, logo, and/or web domain.

Make sure you set up redirect links, which will direct users from your old site to the new pages seamlessly. Google Webmaster Tools make it easy to let the search engine know you’ve changed your web address, as well as Google Analytics.

For SEO and search purposes, it will probably be helpful to include your brand’s former name or other information on your site—an “About” or “History” section would make the most sense—so that searches for your old name continue driving traffic to your site.

You will also need to reach out to sites that are hosting your links, or directories where you’ve listed your business, to update to reflect your rebrand.

Rebranding Risk #4 – Not Budgeting for Marketing

Your rebrand won’t market itself, so if you haven’t planned for marketing, or have exhausted your resources early in your rebrand, you won’t be able to share the news about your revitalized business. It’s not just about updating your collateral; you want to get your new identity out where people will see it.

The rebranding experts at C-leveled will help you seamlessly navigate rebranding risks for optimal success. Download our free ebook, The Strategic Guide to Rebranding Success, and contact us for a free brand consultation to find out how rebranding can revitalize your business.