“I absolutely love your company.”
This was the message a complete stranger sent us a few weeks ago. It was a simple statement, and yet, brought me (almost) as much joy as that first glass of long weekend wine.
She had never worked with us. We hadn’t paid anyone to say that for the sake of a great blog topic. But this stranger’s opinion was deeply meaningful to me. Why did a random person who had stumbled across our website feel so compelled to reach out?
This stranger had, quite simply, fallen in love with our brand.
That brand love feeling.
Do you have a brand that you absolutely love? Come on, everyone has one.
Were you at Disneyland, smiling to yourself as you posed for a dorky picture with a fairy princess, and then buying a pair of rose gold Minnie ears afterwards? Were you smitten with some light pink plates and compelled to buy them because an Instagram influencer had some and you wished your kitchen looked like hers? Okay, you probably guessed, all of that was me.
But still, surely you must have one too?
Maybe you were you at the gym, super pumped about your new fitness gear that you know must make your ass look damn good, even if it costs double the other brand. Or, have you just told, like, everyone you know to go to a certain restaurant because the food and wine list is to die for? (Okay, okay, that was all me again.)
But there are just certain brands that have your heart. Brands that you feel compelled to buy, to brag about, to be a part of. You spend your money with them, you follow them on social media, you love their vibe, you might even wear their swag, and you stay loyal to them.
Now here’s a big a-ha moment for you: Do you feel that way about your very own company?
If the answer to that is no, then you, my friend, need a rebrand.
But, do you really (like, really) want a rebrand?
A rebrand is a lot more than just your logo, it’s the image you present to the world in order to find and attract like-minded people. It speaks to others who believe what you believe, those who see a common connection that they can relate to and support. These are what marketers refer to as your tribe—the people who will become your best customers and ambassadors.
The reason I ask if you really want a rebrand is because it’s something that takes a lot of soul searching, hard work and a splash (or more) of wine. It begins with thinking about who your company is. What do you stand for? What are your values? How do you want customers to perceive you? How do you want employees to feel?
After some deep reflection and/or being plenty drunk enough to answer these deep, philosophical questions, you can create the foundation of your brand. Having a clear vision and direction of who you are and how you want to be perceived will allow you to write a meaningful why statement or mission statement to define your purpose and give you a guiding principle to follow.
Once you have your mission statement and direction, the really hard work begins. You will begin setting the voice and tone of your messaging. Not every company can be sassy and swear-y like us. For example, a financial company might need to take a factual, no-nonsense approach to build authority and trust with their target audience. Although really, I’d totally hire a sassy, swear-y accountant, just saying.
The next phase of the rebrand will be the visual aspect of your brand, how you want the look and feel of your website, social media, logo, signage, vehicle wraps, even your office. Your rebrand should reflect what you stand for, be memorable and visually appealing, but most of all, be something that your employees and customers are attracted to, and that they support.
Finally, a rebrand moves into the implementation stage. This is the time when you introduce your brand across all your marketing channels, which today primarily means digital marketing. This requires consistency, making sure the tone and look of your social media, Google Ads, enewsletters and blogs (for example) all work together. Launching your new brand out in the world is how to find those magical tribe members who love who you are.
As you can see, a rebrand is much, much, more than just a logo or website; you’re going to have to really do some soul searching, spend some money on wine, and put in some hard work both internally and externally to make it a success.
Okay, I’m ready, but will a rebrand be worth the money?
We are all running companies with a budget and bottom line to watch, so this is a question that will take some of that soul searching I was referring to earlier. The value that you get back from a rebrand all depends on the extent you are willing to stand behind and implement your new brand.
Every day I work with companies who want to spend money on a new website or logo without evolving any other aspect of their business. Yes, this will bring a certain degree of success, but if you are going to get the maximum value from a rebrand then your values, your voice and your mission statement need to be echoed throughout your entire company.
Sales people have to be on board, employees have to support your values, customers need to feel like when they come to you they are going to get an experience consistent with the brand they loved on your website.
If you think you can truly get behind a rebrand and roll it out in a consistent and company-wide manner, a brand is worth a lot of money. If you want to know how much, well, since you asked, we happen to have a brand calculator that will tell you such a thing, give it a try by clicking here (it’s free and non-gimmicky I promise).
Fall in love.
I love our brand. I love our sassy vibe and owning up to our wine loving ways. I love the look of it. But most of all, I love how our team gets behind and supports our brand. Everything we state on our website, in our sales materials and in our digital marketing runs through the veins of everyone in our entire company.
I want your company to have that too. If you don’t, hell yes you should rebrand. It’s time to fall in love with your company, to have employees who believe what you believe, and to feel empowered and excited about what you do and where you work.
And if you’ve done it right, a complete stranger will tell you they love it too.
