Brands that have been around for a while can tend to get a bit bogged down and lose their glamor. If a company’s brand is a little lackluster, it should consider taking steps to refresh the public’s opinion of their business.
Several methods exist for a business to create new interest in their brand, ranging from rebranding to changing their logo, outlook and mission. Each of these has different levels of success, depending on the industry involved and the mindset of the core customer base.
Below, 14 experts from Forbes Coaches Council expound on several strategies they employ to refresh a company’s brand and explain why these methods are so successful.
Forbes Coaches Council members suggest strategies for giving your company brand a much-needed refresh.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.
1. Focus On The People
Understand both employees and customers and design a better experience for them. Focus on the people and the numbers will come. Focus on the employees and they’ll advocate for the brand. Focus on the employees and they’ll deliver a great experience for customers, who, in turn, will say great things about the brand. The experience is the only true differentiator today. – Annette Franz, CX Journey Inc.
2. Evolve And Freshen Your Look
Many companies “evolve” their logo or look over time. Often, this is a facelift with a new pop of color, tagline or slight graphic update. If your brand feels flat, pull out your vision and values and dig into how you can showcase that in your look and feel. Just freshening up the look will create an overhaul of your material, marketing and messaging. This attention and effort will breathe new life. – Christy Geiger MCC, CPCC, Synergy Strategies Coaching & Training
3. Identify Your Unique Value Proposition
Hone in on what sets you apart from competitors. The clearer and more distinct your unique value proposition, the more you can charge for your product or service. After you’ve carved out your niche, you need to communicate it to customers in a way that speaks to their needs. What problem do you solve? What solutions do you offer? How are you different from those offering a similar product or service? – Kyle Cromer Elliott, MPA, CHES, CaffeinatedKyle.com
4. Go Back To Your Own Values And Beliefs
Your brand should be a representation of your values, beliefs, strengths, mission and vision. If it’s a bit lackluster, it’s probably because you’ve lost touch with these things and have allowed external expectations and influences to take you off course. Go back to the basics and reconnect to yourself and your message. From there, I’m sure, a vivid new image and vision for your brand will emerge. – Carol Parker Walsh, Carol Parker Walsh Consulting, LLC
5. Peel Back The Layers Of The Onion
A brand is the promise of the experience others will have with you. Before making changes, verify whether or not the brand is indeed “lackluster.” If yes, it may be advantageous to conduct intensive research to determine the gap between what stakeholders want and what is the current reality. The worst thing is to change the brand if it is dear to your audience in its current form—ask New Coke. – Karan Rhodes, Shockingly Different Leadership
6. Connect To Your Potential
Branding is about connecting with your audience. Your company has a powerful audience both inside and outside the walls of the organization. Survey and poll to find alignment in both and then design the brand that this audience is influenced by. Align the authentic nature of your company with the brand they are attracted to and watch how effective this will be in reaching your potential. – Russ Watts, The Watts Group
7. Dare To Be Bold And Different
“What is your unique story?” is an excellent start to dig deep to identify that bold and differentiating “wow” factor. Through this process, so many golden nuggets get discovered, as well as an opportunity to make a quick yet impactful transformation. – Izabela Lundberg, Legacy Leaders Institute
8. Rekindle Your Burning Desire To Serve
Business owners become burned out when they repeatedly offer and implement the same services. The brand vitality they once emanated dwindles to a flicker. To reignite their brand, they should lunch with their top clients. A conversation centered on their client’s future, and new services the client anticipates from them, will rekindle the owner’s desire to serve and to rejuvenate the brand. – Rita Coco, Rita Coco Consulting
9. Immerse Yourself In The Customer Experience
Improving brand awareness requires an understanding of how customers experience and perceive the brand. I work with clients to take a human-focused, empathy-based approach to understand the customer’s point of view about their brand. Immersing in the customer experience reveals their needs and the challenges the brand has connecting with them. The insights gained help brands reimagine themselves. – Jonathan Silk, Bridge 3 LLC
10. Go To The Streets
If your brand is lacking the oomph it needs to deliver results (sales, visibility, reach, engagement) go to the source! Survey your customers or constituents, focusing on what they really need or want to give you key insights that can drive changes in everything, from product design to marketing. See if your assumptions match this reality, and then make whatever shifts you need to connect and win. – Joanne Heyman, Heyman Partners
11. Poll Your Happiest Customers
Ask your happiest customers what they value most about your business. Your happiest customers love you because you fulfilled some intangible brand promise they valued. Far beyond a logo, your brand is the essence of every aspect of how a customer experiences you. Leverage this insight to refresh (or totally renovate) your brand around a distinguishing element even you may not yet see clearly. – April Armstrong, AHA Insight
12. Get The Leaders To Create Content
Many executives I coach don’t create the content for their brand, their business or their area of supposed expertise. They delegate. I press my executives to author their first articles, personally participate in marketing collateral and become involved with content. Instead of delegating the content lifeblood of the business, the leaders need to lead and communicate with their client base. – John M. O’Connor, Career Pro Inc.
13. Use An Authentic Human Story
We value and are inspired by authenticity in people and brands. So actions to boost your brand vitality should be aligned with what it stands for. Gain a deep understanding from both your core and lapsed customers about your brand DNA. Then tell a human story about your brand—consistent with its identity—to create resonance and to bolster emotional connections and customer relationships. – Orly Maravankin Ph.D., PCC, Edge Consulting, Inc
14. Think National
Most companies that have lackluster brands often think locally rather than nationally. National brands have a clear and crisp look and feel. Most local brands look amateurish, which will often cause those companies to lose business and the confidence of the customer. When a local company focuses on what a national brand would look like, it inspires the team and engages the customer. – Ken Gosnell, CEO Experience
