All brands eventually need to evolve or die out. Walmart, Starbucks, Microsoft, IBM, and many other household companies have had to change their logos, taglines, names, theme colors, and other marketing collateral over the years. Does your Brand need a facelift, too? Here are the top 4 indicators to consider.
1. Stale Engagement
Prospects and customers who are engaged with your Brand buy your products/services and do the marketing for you through referrals and social proof. According to a Harvard study, an emotional connection beats customer satisfaction. Therefore, you want a die-hard following and a sense of pride among your clients.
One of the simplest ways to keep your clients and prospects engaged is by standing out from the competition. Do you have believable, unique selling points? You know it's time for a fresh feel when your Brand gives the same vibe as other brands.
Although rebranding may be challenging, it will help show off your distinct corporate culture, depict a strong brand, and draw attention. After all, it’s human nature to desire unique and current things.
2. A Decline in Sales/Profits
Brands that stay relevant attract trust, recognition, and sales. If your profits hit a wall or decline consistently, it might be time for a revamp.
Did you know that Coca-Cola spends about $4 billion yearly on branding? This budget goes to show just how seriously successful brands value their relevance. While you don't need to spend a fortune on branding, you want to maintain a fresh image.
You also want to rebrand if you face a negative perception that’s tanking your sales or growth rate. For example, Phillip Morris, the world's largest cigarette manufacturer, had to rebrand as Altria Group to dissociate the holding part of the business from smoking and reflect its cultural growth over the years.
3. You Haven't Updated in a Long Time
Even the most solid brands can only stay exciting for a few years. The market is filled with competition, shifting priorities, and multiple other natural forces beyond your control.
Your engagement could be all right and sales steady, but you need to roll out a fresh new look every few years or risk getting run over by other brands that provide a more novel vibe. In any case, consumer needs are constantly changing, and new technology disrupts industries every few years.
Fast Food chain Subway brought out this need clearly when they had to adapt to healthier standards in 2016. The company launched an all-new, cleaner logo to reflect its changed values. Unfortunately, they were too late to the healthy eating game and paid for it with a decline in market shares.
Moral of the story: the change was necessary but also actualized when it was too late. You want to be the first to shift with the wind or, better yet, blow it.
An outdated design, too, is a big red flag. Coming off as archaic is bad for business. From your logo and slogan to your color palette and website, you want your Brand to appear like it was launched in the future. Otherwise, you risk embarrassing customers and employees, which is bad for internal morale and external promotion.
4. You're Trying to Connect with a New Audience
You may be expanding your geographical borders or trying to attract a new target population. The first thing you want to do is ensure your Brand reflects its values. One survey involving 25 countries found that 70% of consumers prefer brands that reflect their principles.
You may be up to date as far as your slogan, website, logo, color palette, vision, and all the other nitty-gritty go. But when trying to expand into a new market, you have to ask whether your new target population shares your current values.
The same goes for when your products and services have evolved. You’ll want your Brand to reflect your new portfolio. For instance, IBM's logo has changed at least five times over the years as the company evolved from manufacturing time recorders to printers and, eventually, computer hardware and services.
Noteworthy is that the logo changed entirely sometimes. Still, other times it retained the same IBM letters, only changing how they were presented to maintain familiarity and simultaneously reflect a new era. The current striped lettering was meant to suggest "speed and dynamism." Has it helped? Well, IBM is still in business and generating billions of dollars in revenue after a century.
Conclusion
You start wondering why you didn't make an effort sooner once you understand the reasons and benefits of refreshing your company's Brand. Remember, it is not a question of if you will need a facelift but when.