Change is good!
Every sustainable business will change and rebrand throughout the years. It’s what keeps your business growing and improving. Whether it’s internally through the business plan and the products and services, or externally through the branding and logo design, change in your business is inevitable if you want it to stay relevant and provide consumers with something of current value. Staying up to speed with the trends and technologies of your target audience is important, and coming up with new ways to engage and share your business’s messaging is crucial. Major corporations that we all know and have seen have decades of business success and relevance, like Pepsi and Apple for example, know this. Even those famous golden arches have changed and modernized over time.
If your business or company is stagnant, or seeing a decline in sales, consumer interest, brand recognition, or online traffic and engagement, perhaps it’s time to…..CHANGE. Changing your business direction and revamping your brand does not mean you have failed. It means you’re being a wise business owner and adapting to changes that need to be made. If you are a business owner that found your way to our blog, we want to encourage you through this post. If you are an employee of a company looking for new ideas, or a person thinking about starting a business, we want to provide you with meaningful and beneficial insight on where to start developing your brand.
We’re speaking from experience.
In this blog post we’re speaking from experience, as well as from our knowledge as marketing consultants. Our company, Pearl Marketing, is in the midst of a rebrand itself. We’ve changed our company name from Pearl Marketing “& Design” to reflect the new direction and focus the company is taking to bring the most value to our clients and increase employee productivity. Our goal as a marketing company is to increase our clients’ return on their marketing investment (ROI) and allow business owners to confidently work IN their business knowing there are experts working ON their business. One way that helps us recognize the need to define and refocus our brand is through running a brand audit!
Brand audits allow you to reflect on your business’s internal and external attributes, values, and goals and how well those have translated to employees (internal) and logo, marketing collateral, social media messaging and website (external). Organizing your business’s current strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis) helps you to better understand what you should focus on, what you can improve upon, and what is or is not going to help your business grow. It also helps you to evaluate the current market your business brings value to in the way of competition and helps you understand the changing trends of your target audience.
Knowing how to set your business’s brand apart from your competition and reach your target audience effectively is key, and over time what was understood and worked in the past might not work in the present. Brand audits also help you organize the important elements of brand representation that you will update, like a defined brand statement, slogan, catch phrase, and elevator pitches, an eye catching logo, and a refreshed, user-friendly website.
Preparation and follow through is key.
While your new and improved brand is coming together, we suggest preparing your current audience and clients for the change. Be sure to use your social media, your website, your email newsletters, any blogs, and press releases to avoid brand confusion BEFORE you incorporate your rebrand. This also creates excitement and hype around your business or company, so use this time to your advantage! Once you have launched your new brand, be sure to be consistent with the changes made. If you change your business name and update your logo, make sure your social media pages, website pages, etc. are updated to reflect these changes, or people will become confused and won’t know what to call you, or how to search for you online. It’s important not to overlook a single spot where your brand may be represented online or in print, including the metadata associated with your website (metadata = how people find your website on search engines like Google).
You don’t have to do it all yourself!
Hiring a marketing coach or consultant during this time to stay on top of these aspects of rebranding and to ensure the audit is done right is another recommendation of ours. Partnering with a relationship marketing company, like Pearl Marketing, strives to make sure you are maximizing your business’s brand potential. Pearl Marketing can run the brand audit for you and walk you through it step by step so the process is understood and completed effectively. We also take care of the redesign elements that come out of a brand audit, like an updated logo and website redesign. Once the audit is processed, we can guide you through the transition – the before and after relaunch – to make sure the new brand is incorporated seamlessly and without any brand confusion.
Consumers have now come to expect businesses to reach out to them with personalized messages based on their interests. A successful rebrand will have a plan in place through lead generation that will provide consumers with the information they want and the business with a standardized process to nurture those relationships. Your beautiful new brand won’t be effective if this is not understood and followed through with.
The reasons above are why Pearl Marketing works to implement creative messaging that captures consumer attention, and we strive to educate our clients on search engine optimization (SEO), which is a way to make sure your rebrand is reaching your target audience. Our marketing coach and consulting services help businesses to run effective campaigns and advise on proper lead generation tools. This leads to an increase in brand awareness and keeps messaging consistent across channels while nurturing leads that turn into sales or new clients.
In conclusion…
From one business to another, don’t discount how far you’ve come and throw in the towel. Just get creative and get to changing/rebranding! Pearl Marketing is here to help, so if you need a hand, just let us know! To receive expert coaching and consulting services on rebranding, brand strategy, and lead generation, contact us at 603-732-9070, or email [email protected]. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn for updates and more insight. Visit our website at www.pearlmarketing.com.
Stay tuned for more info about Pearl Marketing Academy, which will provide business professionals with a complete education and training experience focused on marketing fundamentals, lead generation, brand management, and highly developed skills for any social media platform through seminars, trainings, and online courses.
