By Jennifer Ruwart
You’ve Launched Your New Brand. Now What?
Going through a rebrand or a brand refresh is such a major milestone, yet it’s all too easy to fall back into business as usual once the work is done.
Maybe you are too busy to slow down and get the word out. Or maybe it simply doesn’t occur to you to make a big deal out of your new brand. Either way, not showing off your new brand is a missed opportunity to reinforce to existing customers why they love and stay with you – and to attract new customers that will soon feel the same way.
We've seen this shake out in many different ways with our clients over the years, so we'll share some lessons learned to help you make the best kind of splash with your new brand.
Do announce your rebrand
This is no time to fly under the radar. Not announcing your rebrand or putting it out there only once is a missed opportunity to put your best foot forward.
Think about all your customer touchpoints and make a plan to announce the rebrand on each one. This could include social media platforms, emails to existing customers and prospects, outreach to key partners and trade organizations, and more.
A press release can be another great way to get the word out about your new brand. Platforms like PR Newswire can distribute the news wide and fast, or you may opt for targeted media outreach to publications that cover your industry or have written about your company before.
Treat this as an opportunity to show your customers that you are evolving as you grow, and that it's all for the purpose of serving them better.
Don't make it about you
If you worked with Roger That on your rebrand or brand refresh, you know that it starts and ends with the customer. Your announcement of your new brand should, too. Explain how the process of rebranding brought clarity that will help you better serve your customers. Focus the message on your unique value proposition – what benefits your customers gain by working with you – and how the rebrand supports that.
Your new brand is carefully tuned to highlight your best features, so now's the time to put those new visuals and language to work. The cosmetic changes will speak for themselves, but it's up to you to communicate the intent behind them.
It's also important to understand what kind of emotional investment your audience has with your brand and be sensitive to that. Bring them along on the journey of why you decided a rebrand was necessary. Maybe your old brand was repelling the people who need you most, or sending the wrong message about your values. Acknowledge how much thought and intention went into the rebrand process, and you'll avoid any perception that you carelessly threw out a treasured legacy.
Do be consistent
Brand presence tends to drift over time, so you may find differences in the way your company describes itself on various platforms. This is a wonderful opportunity to clean it all up for a fresh start.
Go back to that list of external touchpoints and see what needs updating. Anything that has a logo or company overview should be refreshed with your new brand assets. You'll also need to update documents and collateral that carry your brand, like proposal templates, presentation decks, business cards, email signatures, social media templates and recruiting materials.
The goal is to make sure you're putting out the same image and message on all of your external touch points to reinforce your new brand.
Don't forget brand is internal, too
A rebrand is not just about your customers. It's about your employees, too. Everyone in your organization can benefit from the soul-searching and centering that went into the rebrand process. Right before announcing their rebrand publically, DH Sutherland took an afternoon to roll out their new brand guidelines to their whole team.
Making your brand part of company culture helps a lot with consistency, because so much of your external communication is in the hands of the people doing the work and talking directly with customers. Give your team the tools they need to infuse your new brand into their everyday communications: “This is who we are, this is our customer, this is what we say, this is how we say it.”
Do improve processes and systems to better align with your brand
Take a look at your internal processes and systems to make sure those align with the values of your new brand. Hiring and onboarding are great examples. If your brand personality is supportive, empathetic, responsible and empowering, that could describe the types of people you want on your team, too. Write those values into your recruiting materials and employee manual to describe the culture you want to cultivate at your company.
If you promise great customer service on your website and other marketing touch points, do everything you can to deliver on that promise by implementing training and policies to support it.
Not sure where to start?
Your relationship with Roger That does not stop when we send you home with your new brand. We're here to make sure you have everything you need to successfully roll out your brand and start reaping the benefits.