A new start
As a business owner, you fall into one or two categories: you may desire to rebrand, or you may dread it. You may be comfortable with your brand’s image, judging it by the stability of your sales and income. In this case, the idea of rushing into a rebranding with all the design and identity talk involved, may not appear very appealing. On the other hand, you may be a business owner who is eager to rebrand, because you think your image is outdated. You compare your brand to all the new shiny startups out there, and wonder why would customers knock at your door rather than anyone else’s.
Unfortunately, both approaches -while respectable- are inherently flawed. In fact, it’s not so much about the reputation you think your brand carries. Rather, it is about how your customers perceive your brand.
Tools to rebrand
1. Audit your target group
You may think along the lines of a “if it works, don’t fix it”, but the only way to know if it is truly working, is by auditing your target group.
Perhaps the best way to gain more insight is by asking your customers directly. Conducting a small survey (3 to 5 short questions) at the end of a telephone converation or e-mail usually has a positive impact. It will make your customer feel that his opinion matters, and that you are listening. Don’t we all appreciate being asked about our opinion?
Once you have collected that data, make sure to make some changes -however small, or your customers would feel their feedback was not taken into consideration.
2. Use Web analytics
A second indirect way to collect information about how your customer interacts with your brand, is through web analytics. Web analytics serve to analyse what your customers do when they reach your website. It will help you find out what they are interested in reading, where and what they click. This behaviors can help you reset and improve your online communication strategies.
The only downfall of this task is that it requires a little more time and expertise, and thus it may require the services of a web team.
Master your rebranding: focus on the customer
As you can see, these two rebranding approaches depend solely on your customer perception. Your role as business owner is to listen to your customers to serve them better. You want to rebrand to better retain their satisfaction later.
Your personal perception of your competitors -and of your industry as a whole- will define these approaches. For example, are you in the same league as your competitors? Do you achieve similar results? If so, how do you differentiate yourself from them? Can you define what should influence a customer to choose you over them?
Summary
The more different you are from competitors, the more chances you have in being selected, or discarded. But at least, the people choosing you will have a stronger emotional connection with your brand and product. So listen to your customers, take notes, then react accordingly. Following their review -whether positive or negative- will send you in the right direction towards a successful rebranding.