Do You Need a Rebrand in Boston for the New Year?

As a Boston-based business taking its initial steps into 2021 and being faced with the economic uncertainty that lies ahead, one of the last things on your mind is whether or not you should be considering a rebrand. But let’s face it, this isn’t any other normal year, and having survived the massive attrition of the pandemic-ravaged economic conditions that characterized 2020, it is worth at least considering the question: does your business need a rebrand?

In this discussion, GoingClear is going to break down business conditions that might create a situation where your organization would benefit from a brand overhaul and then go over branding strategies for accomplishing the rebrand working with a marketing service provider such as GoingClear.

Signs That You Need to Rebrand

The question that we posed to you at the head of the article isn’t one that should be asked lightly, or worse, carried out whimsically without serious consideration. Your brand is how your clients find you and it ultimately represents you across the entirety of your online real estate. Using the inquiries laid out below should reveal whether your brand is in need of immediate restructuring to be more in line with your mission and market segment. 

You’ve Evolved into Offering Different Services or Products

Consumers in 2020 became understandably laser-focused on identifying and locating essential products and even shifted brands in order to ensure they were getting the right value in their purchases. As a result, many organizations were forced to pivot and either add services and products or adjust what they do completely in order to remain relevant and afloat throughout the recession period early in 2020.

If your brand has expanded or evolved to include services or products that weren’t on offer when you first launched or opened as a brand, then it’s likely time for a rebrand to bring your messaging and vision in-line with your sales inventory. 

Your Branding Limits Expansion

On the other side of the expansion coin, perhaps you’re looking to pivot and add services or products, and your existing branding wouldn’t reflect those changes. Before going through with putting your new services or products out there available to the public, you’ll need to revise your visual messaging to open those doors more effectively.

Changing Times, Changing Brands

There might be nothing wrong with your brand, except that your company recently was bought out or merged with another business, and the resulting brand isn’t quite represented in the old branding. 

Your Brand is Confusing or Doesn’t Stand Out from Competition

Whether it’s in the wording or the visuals, sometimes a brand just doesn’t work with the business model and confuses customers more than not. If they are left initially scratching their heads, it might mean you should take another stab at your overall approach.

Worse, what if your branding is too similar to other competitors on the market, or brands that have nothing to do with the industry in which you operate. That sort of confusion can leave your products on the shelves and services unclicked in search engines. 

Your Brand Becomes Associated with A Bad Reputation 

Things happen in the business world. Poor service, poor quality products on the shelves, or just overall a history in the company of being focused on profitability over anything else. Whatever the reasoning, it might reach a point where it makes more sense to rebrand and reemerge as a stronger brand without the attached baggage of the past.

Your Branding Doesn’t Match the Premium Quality of Your Products

Whether your intent was to offer premium services from launch, there’s a chance your marketing and branding was designed before it became apparent that you were catering to a higher level of clientele. It’s never too late in the game to reflect that in your branding and messaging in order to better align your visuals with your services.

The Art of Rebranding

So we’ve established that your company does in fact need a rebrand. Whatever you have in place, it’s just not working. Below, we break down what you need to know about the rebranding process and how we’ll help support you through it. 

Revisiting Your Mission and Values 

One of the most foundational components of your business – why does it exist? When your organization launched and opened its doors, what did it set out to do, what problem did it set out to solve? If rebranding is on the table, chances are you either didn’t get this right the first time, or the organization has changed enough that it needs to be realigned to the direction in which your business is now headed. Identifying what drives the business at the core will go a long way to providing your marketing team the insight they need to realign branding.

Take This Opportunity To Reassess Your Brand’s Position Versus Competitors

For whatever reason, your current branding isn’t working, but chances are your competitors are doing something visually that is. While you don’t want to copy the competition directly, so as to avoid brand confusion, you want to have an idea of what is working for them. Use research to position yourself as fresh and on the cutting edge of your industry to give yourself breathing room against being considered dated too quickly on the market.

Have A Plan To Bridge What Was To What Will Be

Whether you’re performing a full or partial rebranding, you’ll need to have a plan in place to transition from the old branding visuals to the new, so as to minimize brand confusion. If partial, try to reutilize assets so that the rebranding isn’t jarring and your client base won’t lose sight of you relative to competitors. If you’re performing a complete rebranding, make an event out of it so you create a way for consumers to link the new branding visuals to your company.  

Need A Brand Reboot in Boston? GoingClear Can Help

Branding is a tricky business that is difficult to balance even with all of the research in place. This can especially be true in an economy that has businesses pivoting as quickly as consumer trends emerge. At GoingClear, we want to help your brand regain relevance and outperform the competition. If you feel that it’s time for a rebrand, call our team today to learn about our services and how we can help.