A Small Business Guide to Rebranding: What You Need to Know

What is Rebranding?

Rebranding is the process of changing the image and messaging of an organization, to create a different identity. This strategy includes a new name, strategy, and identity for an already established brand.

Rebranding helps a company pivot to new demographics and stay relevant, especially if it's lost relevance with its target demographic, by changing its strategy to benefit its customers' current needs, adapting the brand identity to the current market, and open new revenue streams such as entering new markets or expanding product offerings fostering long-term growth.

This strategy is often used during mergers to help unify marketing and spread brand awareness, by building trust and familiarity with customers by changing and improving brand strategy, identity, and products or services. Or distance itself from outdated or negative associations, and connect with new demographics by conveying a shift in direction, values, or changes in its offerings.

There are two types of rebranding strategies...

Proactive Rebranding

When a business grows to reach new customers. Or evolves to stay ahead of trends.

Reactive Rebranding

Is a complete brand transformation. In response to a merger, legal issue, negative publicity, or shifting market demands.

When to Rebrand

Think of rebranding like a controlled burn in farming. To cultivate healthier, more abundant crops, farmers set fire to old, depleted fields. The burn clears away the past, replenishes the soil, and makes way for new growth. Rebranding allows your business to shed outdated perceptions, and enrich its foundation. To create space for something stronger and more aligned with its future. It may feel drastic, but in the long run, it fosters renewal and a thriving brand ecosystem.

Your current branding doesn’t connect with your target audience.
If you’ve been in business for a while, getting rid of what's not working can help you adapt to the current market.
Your business is completely changing its identity, products, or services.
If you have new owners or are entering a new market with new partnerships. You need to reflect those changes in your branding and reintroduce yourself.
You want to attract new clients.
All things change with time. If you're moving on to new markets, a rebrand will help you introduce yourself to your new audience.
You need to rebuild or merge identities to be consistent.
If you're merging with another business or entering a new market. You need to build a brand identity with clear and cohesive visuals and language.
Your visual identity needs to adapt to a new market or audience.
This is your chance to make an entrance. Analyze your competitors and reassess your branding and positioning for new markets.

Rebranding Process

Compared to a brand refresh a rebrand is a more extensive overhaul of your brand identity to reposition it in the marketplace, so thoughtful planning, execution, and communication are essential for success.

Before diving in, take these steps:

Understand Your Audience: Who are they? What do they care about? What challenges do they face?
Audit Your Current Brand: Keep what’s working and improve what’s not.
Communicate: Explain why you're rebranding to everyone in your business, and give them access to your brand guidelines.

1. Define the Reasons for Rebranding

Business growth: Expanding to new markets, or offering new products and services.
Reputation issues: Addressing negative perceptions or public relations challenges.
Competitive pressure: Adjusting to new competitors or market trends.
Mergers or acquisitions: Combining brands or aligning under a unified identity.
Brand alignment: Realigning your brand with new values, missions, or goals.

2. Conduct a Brand Audit

Evaluate current brand assets: Review your logo, color palette, fonts, imagery, and messaging.
Analyze brand perception: Ask your customers, employees, and stakeholders for feedback.
Assess market & competitors: Analyze your industry and competitors. To identify gaps, opportunities for your brand to evolve.

3. Research Your Audience and Market

Refine target audience: Clarify your audience and what they expect from your brand.
Rebuild customer personas: Update customer profiles to reflect their preferences and behaviors.
Study trends: Understand cultural shifts that should influence your new brand identity.

4. Define Your Brand Strategy

Clarify your mission, vision, & values: Align these core elements with your brand direction.
Establish your unique value proposition: Identify how your brand differs from its competitors.
Determine positioning: Define how you want to show up and how you’ll communicate that.

5. Develop Your New Brand Identity

Create a new logo: Make sure your new logo aligns with the new brand direction.
Update your visual identity: Redesign key visual elements including imagery, and design styles.
Refine brand voice & messaging: Update your tone, taglines, and messaging to align with your new brand personality.
Develop a new brand story: Write a narrative that conveys your brand’s evolution and purpose.

6. Design and Create New Brand Assets

Logo and visual system: Apply your new logo and design elements across all touchpoints.
Website and digital presence: Redesign your website, social media, and digital ads.
Marketing collateral: Update business cards, brochures, email templates, and packaging.
Physical spaces and products: Rebrand physical assets. Including signage, uniforms, product labels, and stores.

7. Test and Validate the New Brand

Mockups and prototypes: Develop mockups and test them with focus groups.
Feedback loops: Gather feedback to ensure the new brand resonates as intended.

8. Plan the Rebrand Launch

Internal launch: Explain why your rebranding, what’s changing, and how it aligns with the company’s goals.
Customer communication: Explain why the change is happening and how it benefits them.
Marketing campaign: Plan a rollout across multiple platforms. Including your website and social media, to unveil the new brand. Explain why the change is happening and how it benefits them.
Launch events: Host physical and digital events, to generate excitement around the rebrand.

9. Implement across All Touchpoints

Update all marketing materials: Ensure everything from business cards to email templates reflects the new brand.
Change signage & product packaging: Update in-store displays, signage, and packaging.
Optimize digital channels: Update your online platforms, including your website and social media.
Ensure consistency: Prepare clear guidelines for how to apply the new brand.

10. Implement across All Touchpoints

Track key metrics: Track engagement, sales, and social media reactions after the rebrand.
Customer feedback: Collect ongoing feedback to assess perception and make any necessary adjustments.
Adjust strategy as needed: Tweak elements if they are not resonating as expected.

Rebranding is a major undertaking. But with the right strategy, it can breathe new life into your business. Thoughtful planning, execution, and communication will ensure a successful rebrand.

A Guide to Rebranding your Small Business