Brand revitalization is necessary for all businesses at one point or another. The marketing environment is always changing. Consumers develop new preferences and competition grows, so brands need to react to those changes to stay relevant.
Even the most successful brands cannot remain static—they need to be kept fresh to stay top of mind in the eye of consumers. Revitalization isn’t only useful when a brand experiences dips in sales or loses market share. Businesses should regularly reexamine their brand’s direction to help them grow with their customers.
If you haven’t considered a brand refresh recently, here are six reasons why you should.
1: Refocus on Your Core Business
One of the most important reasons to reexamine your brand—especially during periods of success—is because your business has likely grown and innovated over time. Perhaps you introduced new products, shifted focus to a new target market or changed your market strategy. When these changes happen, there’s a chance that your branding no longer reflects what your business has to offer.
Refreshing your branding efforts to more accurately represent what your brand stands for can help your business achieve its goals. Since brands are built from the inside out, your internal team will benefit from a clear refocus. Rebranding allows everyone to get on the same page, share your brand’s message more accurately and create a solid foundation for growth.
2: Reconnect with Customers
Similarly, as your brand grows and changes, disparities can occur between what you want your brand to stand for and what it actually stands for in the minds of your customers. If your customers don’t understand what your brand is about, they might gloss over your products and services.
A refreshed brand that matches the messages your business is sending can help with brand recognition, trust and customer loyalty.
3: Stay Relevant
Although longstanding brands may have more recognition in the marketplace, refreshing your brand is essential to staying relevant in a modern and fast-changing marketing environment. Outdated brands are quite noticeable—and not in a good way. Improving the relevancy of your branding efforts is critical to the brand’s health.
In today’s consumer economy, trust is extremely important to consumers in their purchasing decisions. Brands must show that they understand their customers and want to connect with them beyond merely providing them with a product or service. When brands are no longer relevant, customers might begin to believe that the brand does not understand them anymore and choose to shop elsewhere.
4: Stand Out from the Competition
Even if you’re a well-established brand, your business is not immune to competition and changing consumer tastes. You may have been the only luxury-positioned brand when you first opened your doors, but the market might be saturated now. When this happens, your sales and customer retention could suffer.
Examining what makes your brand unique and special can provide inspiration for how to differentiate yourself from the competition. Refreshing your brand using this new positioning will help you continue to stand out and maintain market leadership.
5: Generate Excitement
Many businesses look at a large-scale rebranding effort as a negative, but refreshing your brand can actually be a powerful way to create a renewed passion for the brand, both inside and outside your company. Loyal customers get excited by rebranding efforts, since it often means that new and exciting things can be expected from you. Refreshing your brand gives you the opportunity to make a big splash and get people in your community talking.
Rebranding can generate excitement within your team for the same reasons. Businesses on the rise understand the importance of rebranding, and a new branding effort can reignite your staff’s passion and loyalty.
6: Drive More Sales
Aside from generating brand loyalty and refocusing outdated messages, refreshing your brand can lead to increased sales in many ways. Armed with a fresh brand, your business has the opportunity to charge a premium price for your products and services, since customers are more likely to perceive your brand as one that offers greater value than others in the marketplace.
Additionally, increased exposure from the launch of your rebranding effort can bring in new customers and remind existing customers about your offerings. A renewed passion and interest in your brand can drive long-term sales.
Finally, rebranding shows that you care about your business and its future. This can help you attract high-value employees and increase team engagement, reducing costs and improving productivity. A happy internal team can have a big influence on your sales.
Source: https://www.inc.com/tracy-leigh-hazzard/boost-profit-with-constant-brand-consistency.html