Brands mean big business. This is equally true for one or two-person companies as it is for global corporations. Brands help products or services stand out from the crowd, deliver increased sales and allow businesses to charge a premium.

But brands matter most to consumers – they’re a recognisable and trustworthy badge of origin and a promise of performance. So when a consumer opts for a particular branded product or service they’re assured it will not just do the job, but they’ll feel good about the purchase too.

SUCCESSFUL BRANDING STARTS WITH PEOPLE

First and foremost, products have to perform and meet a need but brands should deliver so much more. Be clear about your features and benefits, define your values, personality and your brand promise and you’re already making a stronger connection with consumers.

Branding should be a commitment – a way of life touching every part of the business – but it’s people that create and consume brands. And it’s people that make a difference between successful and ‘me too’ brand experiences.

We’ve all bought airline tickets – often paying ‘top dollar’ and expecting a service to match – only to find cabin or checkin staff who are rude or unhelpful. Or we’ve phoned a company which claims to put customers first but then forgets that being kept on hold for ages isn’t the best way to start a conversation. Any brand that builds expectation is bound to cause disappointment when it’s not delivered.

Getting the promise right and helping customers select your product is one of the founding principles of branding. So when market share data suggests you’re losing your edge, it’s time to seriously consider the pros and cons of a rebrand.

NEED A BRAND REFRESH OR TOTAL OVERHAUL?

There are lots of good reasons to consider a rebrand. Brands have a natural lifecycle. Their value can erode through new or more aggressive competition, they become ‘locked in time’ with consumers ageing fast, or there’s a significant new market opportunity that needs to be addressed.

But it’s amazing how many companies get dazzled by the rewards and forget one small word as they wade into renaming, repositioning or repackaging themselves. Trust.

Trust is fundamental because brands are about strong emotional bonds with customers. They give customers a degree of certainty that the product or service bought this week will be the same as it was the previous week.

Do anything that undermines the ‘trusting relationship’ and you run the real risk of damaging the business. Some companies have invested large sums of money in rebranding programmes only to go backwards, and for some the adjustments have proved fatal.

But it doesn’t have to be like this. Rebranding is a high-risk strategy but with the right mix of expertise, sensitivity, insight and, above all, clear thinking it can deliver stunning results.

There are six priority areas to consider when debating the merits of making the change, but these ideas apply equally to initial brand creation and development as well as rebranding.

 

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