Every brand needs refreshing every once in a while to stay current and relevant as trends change in the market. Smaller companies and non-profit organizations need to rebrand as well. Here are some of the most common rebranding mistakes to avoid:
1. Believing that you are too small too rebrand
No company is too small to re-brand. If you don’t update your brand with current colors, fonts etc. you will look outdated to customers and you will lose them to your competition. I know I wouldn’t buy from a company using the teal and peach colors popular in the 80′s or a company that had photos of outdated computers on their website. Would you?
2. Not using professionals
A big mistake many companies make is thinking that they can use in-house employees to rebrand. These people may get the job done, but you will risk an outcome that looks less than professional. Leave it to the advertising agency to rebrand your company. It will take them less than half the time and the results will be better than you have envisioned. Let’s face it, what is the point of rebranding if your end result looks like you took some clip art out of a word program and pasted it on your marketing materials.
3. Don’t go all out. A simple face-lift will suffice.
You don’t need to put your entire marketing budget into a rebranding with an entire new look. You will be amazed at what a little tweak to your slogan and logo will do. You will need new business cards, letterhead and marketing materials, but these don’t cost much at all to replenish.
4. Not doing any research
Don’t rebrand on your own. Do research online, see what the trends are, what appeals to the masses. Devoting a few hours of your time for a permanent change to your business will be well worth it. You should also include the opinions of others in the company. Believe it or not, you might not be the expert on what people like to see visually in a brand.
5. Just updating your logo and nothing else
A brand is more than just a logo. This is an extremely common misconception.
