Is it time to rebrand my company?

As Heraclitus once said, “Change is the only constant in life.” In the digital world that tends to be very true which is why LoungeLizard.com, a leading web design company, feels that businesses need to assess their brand on a regular basis to see if it would be beneficial to a change.

Resistance to change

In general people are resistant to change, regardless of what it is that is to be changed. In the case of a brand there is an additional layer of resistance because of what a brand is; an idea. The ego is strongly attached to ideas and thus the concept of changing a brand might signify failure of this idea to a person which is not something people willingly swallow.

When you add to the time and energy that goes into establishing a brand, even a brand that is not doing well, it can be a tough sell. However the bottom line is that rebranding is often a good idea because it is an acknowledgement of changing consumer appetites and how business changes over time.

Re-branding checklist

Let’s review some basic brand aspects and see how your current brand stacks up. Based on your answers to these questions, you should have a good idea if your brand needs to be updated by the time we are done.

· Does your brand pass the 3 C’s test? - There are 3 C’s a strong brand should have: clarity, consistency and constancy. Think about what those words mean for a brand. You need to be clear about who you are, who you aren’t and what you offer. You need to consistently tell the same story and send the same message. Finally, you need to be dependable. If your brand is missing any of the 3 C’s that should be a red flag.

· Does your brand resonate with your brand targets? - Unfortunately a brand cannot encompass everything. One area some businesses make a mistake in is trying to appeal to an overly diverse target, which practically speaking is not the best method. Every brand needs a specific target which is who your core demographic is that you are selling to or offering services to. So how does your brand resonate with them? If your target group is fresh-out of college 20-somethings, what do they think of your brand? Is it fresh and interesting or dated and tired?

· Is your brand something your employees believe in? - An interesting aspect of a brand is that the more people in a company that believe in the brand, the more successful the business is. When people buy into an ideology they are often willing to invest more time and energy. From a business perspective this equates a competitive edge. On top of that, your brand message will be consistent because everyone is energized and engaged towards the same idea. Think of brands like Samuel Adams, Google, or Apple where you see and hear about owners and staff who love their product and love working for the company as well as promoting it.

How does your brand measure up?

One way an organization can enact change is to re-brand. Even a web design company sometimes needs to re-brand. Today’s business environment is a challenging and fast-paced climate that requires a strong brand to stand out and succeed. If you feel that your brand does not measure up the way that it should then it is time to change. The bottom line is that a business is about making money and the better your brand, the more money you will make.