Q: We are going through a rebranding exercise at CBIZ and want to send a survey out to our clients to determine how strong our current brand is and the effects of changing it. Do you have any documents to help with this?
A: Rebranding Campaign Having a recognizable brand is very important in today’s highly competitive environment. There are several important things you should do in determining the steps to take in your rebranding campaign. Start From Where You Are Rebranding is a technique to change an organization’s image or to reposition the organization in the perception of the public. Slowing sales, increased competition, remaining contemporary in a changing environment are all reasons to re-brand or reposition. The first step is to start from where you are and to gather information that helps you understand the image you have in the larger community. How do your customers see you? How does the broader public perceive you? You can start with your customers. Ask them questions such as: Why do you come to our program? What attracts you to take courses with us? What one thing would you tell a friend about us? What do you like best about your experience with us? Describe our organization in one sentence. Schedule some meetings with a group of your best customers. They are going to give you the best insight into your current identity and will also be able to tell you about things you could do differently to broaden your appeal. They will have friends who don’t appreciate your brand, and they can tell you why their friends prefer the alternatives. Don’t forget to gather information from your staff. The front line staff in your organization know more about perception of your brand than anyone else in your organization. They hear everything that is said about you. They hear the praise, and they hear the complaints. Mine this resource for the valuable information it contains and use it in your rebranding effort. You can also try to find out what your image is in the larger community, although it is most important to know how you are perceived by your supporters. That will give you a lot of ammunition for repositioning your brand without losing the people who are already customers. Here are some examples of questions you could use in a brand recognition survey with a broader audience than your customer base: What is the first brand that comes to mind in when you think about professional development and training (or whatever you want to have known about your brand) What organization stands out when it comes to providing customized programs and training (or whatever you want to be known for)? Why does this organization stand out in your mind? What characteristics of this organization make it recognizable? Do you know anyone who has taken classes from this organization? What makes this organization more visible than others who do the same thing? What is your impression of this organization? What comes to mind when you think about this organization? What is your opinion of this organization? (Positive, negative, neutral). Know where you want to go When you undertake a rebranding effort, it is critical that you know where you want to go and how you want to change the perception of your brand. You should also have a good understanding of what you will need to do to change perceptions. Here is one example. McDonalds was blamed for making people fat. This was not good for their image or their business, so the company made an effort to reposition and rebrand as a “healthy” fast food alternative. Instead of French Fries, the company began to include fruit in Happy Meals. Instead of soda, the drink included was changed to milk or fruit juice. They incorporated a salad option, low-fat ice cream, and yogurt parfaits along with other more traditional offerings. This example demonstrates what is included in a rebranding effort: 1. Determine what your current brand image is. 2. Determine what you want your image to be. 3. Develop and implement a strategy and make changes in how you present your organization to the public. Once you have determined how you want to position yourself in the eyes of the public, communicate your message both verbally and visually at every opportunity. Use you brochure, your logos, any images that appear in public, your stationery, your website, your facebook page, and any other social media presence to emphasize your brand. Look Before you Leap Before taking the rebranding leap, there are some questions you need to ask yourself? • Why are we rebranding? • What are our specific goals in making this effort? • What is our timeline? • How will we measure success? • What will happen if we don’t re-brand? • Are our stakeholders aware of what we are doing? • Do we risk losing loyal customers by shifting our brand? Strategies for Rebranding 1. Phase in/phase out This strategy is often used among lifelong learning/continuing education. It simply involves tying the new brand to the old brand for a period of time. The new brand gains recognition and the old brand becomes less prominent until it finally disappears. 2. Combined branding This strategy involves combining the new brand with the old brand and retaining elements of both. 3. The third is the “heads up”. strategy. This approach involves alerting your customers before you make changes and continuing to communicate about the changes after you have made them. 4.A fourth strategy, which is unlikely to be something you would need is the eradication strategy. This occurs when a brand has become negative or toxic, and an organization needs to create distance between itself and the brand. The old brand is simply abandoned and a new brand with a better image is reborn in its place.
Questions
Rebranding Survey
May 23, 2018 2:17:35 AM
by
Jordan Kivley
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