The last few months have been a tough time in the world of business on a global scale. Yes, countries have started to lift restrictions now. While the circumstances have begun to settle from the initial shock of the pandemic, companies have started to adopt new advertising strategies. You may wish to be viewed differently in the mind of your buyers in this era of reawakening. With this, the need for rebranding is becoming more and more evident now. The intention is to create a new identity that will differentiate your brand from others. Where many companies have been forced to rebrand after losing customer trust and making missteps, others have been forced to rebrand as their products and services have become less feasible in the age of social distancing. Hence, rebranding in the post-pandemic era is essential for all companies, not just the ones facing the crisis.
Now let us quickly check out how you can use rebranding as a strategy to grow your business in the post-pandemic era.
How Does Rebranding Work in Post-Pandemic Era?
Small changes can be effective to refresh your brand image. So go slowly. You can modernize the look and feel of your brand (fonts, colour or taglines). This is the first step unless and until there are overwhelming reasons for wholesale change. Secondly, try to stay connected. Somehow you need to be connected to your past. That can be through your logo or tagline. Thirdly you need to build anticipation. Instil some drama into the changes you are planning so that current customers and potential buyers feel a connection to them. Lastly, engage your customers. Note that nobody knows better than customers how a brand communicates the values of the business.
Strategy: Rebranding in Post-Pandemic Era
Rebranding is a great marketing strategy if practised properly in the post-pandemic era. Now the question is when you should go for it? This strategy can be used when:
Adding a new product line or service to your existing one. Suppose you are a home-baked bread specialist. You might want to incorporate that element into your brand to differentiate your brand from other local restaurants. This is how you can pull new customers.
You wish to reorient your business with a narrow focus. For example, if you are a trade show marketing company that had a training and measurement offering, but now focuses on measurement only, you might consider rebranding to reach a new demographic.
Growing into new market segments. When expanding geographically, it is important to make sure the brand resonates with new prospective buyers. If moving to a global market, you will want to determine whether the brand translates across cultures.
Your brand is easily confused with a competitor’s brand. New competitors might create a brand image that is close to yours. Or, if you expand into new geographic markets, your brand may be close to an existing one, creating buyer confusion.
Your brand is outdated. Every brand needs to refresh from time to time otherwise, buyers may see your offering as outdated as well.
8 Major Tips for Rebranding
Here are the top rebranding lessons that are always important but are completely necessary during the post-pandemic era.
1. Try to build a community
The new norm, social distancing means that many of us can’t see our friends and loved ones. It also means that our need to connect is stronger than ever. It is now vital to not only promote relationships with your target audience but also to create communities around your brands to attract customers. Use this moment to bring people together and earn loyalty from buyers.
2. Avoid short-term measures
The first few months of the pandemic tend to inspire short-term, reactive measures. But short-term measures only lead to short-term results. Now is the time to start thinking long-term about a crisis that shows no signs of going away any time soon. Rebranding is one of the best long-term investments you can make in your company. That’s because branding’s return on investment has a cumulative effect, building on ever-increasing levels of brand awareness that decay more slowly over time than short-term measures.
3. Understand the needs of your buyers
It may happen that the pandemic has left your company struggling, or thriving. But one thing is certain that your buyers’ needs are not what they were at the outset of the crisis. Understanding exactly how your buyer thinks will affect your business. It is the key to making the most of the crisis and the new normal that will be with us for years to come.
4. Focus on social good
No matter how hard the pandemic may have hit your business, customers expect businesses that are focused on the community. Maybe your bottom line is getting squeezed. But find ways to give back, whether that means donating a portion of your proceeds to a good cause, expressing solidarity with a social movement, or simply helping to educate or organize your community.
5. Evaluate your products and services
Covid-19 has lowered the demand for many businesses’ products and services. But it is not the time to grieve. Rather think about how to increase, whether that means shifting your product offerings or looking at new markets. Use this time to get creative and think about how your business can not only be resilient, but stay fresh, competitive, and in demand.
6. Focus on what you do best
The best positioning strategy is often to simply focus on what you do best. Where do your core competencies align with the new needs of your customers during the pandemic? That is the point where you should be hyper-focused on moving forward.
7. Invest in Social media marketing
Social media is always important. But now that in-person outreach is less possible its importance has increased. Social media marketing can be an extraordinary tool, helping to reinforce your brand across multiple channels and reach new audiences across the world.
8. Concentrate on story-telling
The final key to effective rebranding during COVID-19 is telling the world about the changes you have made in a compelling and relevant way. Humans have a natural urge to connect with people. Our need to feel as if we are part of a larger, greater narrative has never been so strong. Take advantage of this at every step.
References for Rebranding
Implementing these strategies can not only help your business get back on its feet but also give you a headstart against your competitors. The key piece of advice you should keep in mind is to focus on your customers’ priorities as much as your own. Few top-notch references include Pfizer. One of the COVID-19 vaccines was created with BioNTech. It did its most significant brand refresh in about 70 years. Kia is also celebrating its best retail sales year ever with a new logo. Burger King announced a brand-new logo, along with entirely new packaging, uniforms, and signage. So whatever your situation is, rebranding in the post-pandemic era can help you to take advantage of valuable opportunities in a shifting marketplace.
Need help with Rebranding?
In order to gain long-term popularity for your brand, it is important to put the above tips into practice. But when to rebrand and when not to is a hard lesson to learn. Too much change can be disastrous. A slight modification may miss the mark. For that, you need a renowned professional agency that can guide you throughout. We Make Us can help you reach the success point with all efficiency while helping you to rebrand. So Hurry Up! Time is running out. Connect us to find out how the current crisis turns out to be a net positive for the future of your brand. For further information click here.