Building a solid brand is an essential component of contemporary business. It helps to streamline your marketing efforts and bolster that ever-elusive customer engagement. Indeed, it is particularly vital in our current digital landscape. But it’s difficult to take full advantage of a truly global marketplace if your brand doesn’t stand out. A digital rebrand is about creating a new identity for a business. This includes everything from updating the logo and website to changing the way customers interact with your brand. Creating a cohesive experience across all channels lets customers feel like they belong to the same family.
What are the signs your business needs a digital rebrand and how can you proceed effectively? When is the right time to give your brand that much needed makeover? Let’s take a closer look at this issue.
Perception Misalignment
Like most business owners, you might feel that your company has a relatively clear mission. You’ve dedicated time and energy to ensure your staff understands and maintains the core elements of your culture. Solid business practices are guided and driven by high standards and setting the right goals. Unfortunately, if your consumers’ perception of your business and its mission do not match, you’re unlikely to establish a strong connection to your brand. Indeed, one recent report found that 83% of millennial consumers consider values alignment with brands to be important.
In many cases, the cause of this misalignment is how poorly your digital assets are communicating your brand values. This may be the result of a slip in how your brand voice is applied as part of your digital strategy on social media. Or it could be that there is some ambiguity in your web design or your content. In either case, the end result is that your brand doesn’t necessarily resonate with the right audience segments.
However, before you’re able to make meaningful changes here, it’s important to understand the extent of the miscommunication. Perform some branding market research on your target consumer demographic. Get to know what the current perception of your business is and what informs these opinions. You can then start to effectively strategize your digital rebrand on the basis of reliable data.
Changes in Customer Behavior
One of the clearer signs that you may need a digital rebrand is a shift in how consumers engage with your business. This isn’t likely to be a major issue if only a minor percentage of customers are making changes. However, if you notice consistent engagement issues, it may be your brand isn’t effectively capturing your audience’s attention.
In order to respond effectively and efficiently, it’s vital to make regular analyses of consumer behavior. Among the most effective ways to achieve this is through tracking visitor activities on your website and ecommerce store. Most often, using cookies to monitor the actions of each user or trackers embedded in the code will do the trick. Over time, this builds up an accurate picture of consumer interactions and what aspects of the site are influencing their changes. You can use this data to inform your digital rebranding decisions and improve user experience.
However, it is vital to understand that your brand must utilize ethical practices when tracking consumer behavior. While tracking can help you adjust to customers’ needs, their data is also sensitive and should be treated as such. This includes responsibly managing and protecting any information you store on consumers. Most importantly, be transparent with visitors about how you collect and use their data, and invite them to refuse access to or delete it where required. This helps to ensure your digital rebranding efforts have a foundation of trust and authenticity.
Internal Issues
It may be the case that the sign your business needs a digital rebrand isn’t necessarily a direct disruption between you and your consumers. Rather, it may be the cumulative knock-on effect of various aspects of your internal operations. Any elements of discord, disorganization, or toxicity within your organization can impact the efficacy and reputation of your business.
This doesn’t have to be the more obvious influences, like dishonesty or poor service, either. Something as relatively innocuous as the structure of your departments can make a difference. For instance, organizational silos can disrupt consumer experience (CX) through inconsistent company-wide collaborations. If each team or department prioritizes its individual goals by adopting its own standards and practices, customers are unlikely to get the well-informed and innovative service they need. As such, it is vital to recognize the tell-tale signs of organizational silos. Perform analyses of the customer journey to establish which departments users interact with at different points. Note any potential lost connections between other departments that can derail your brand.
So, why might these internal issues suggest a digital rebrand is in order? Often, it comes down to the fact that everything happening behind the scenes influences your consumer-facing elements. Rebranding is an opportunity to get a range of people from different departments to collaborate on operations that meet mutually agreed upon standards. When there is solid buy-in from leaders from each section, this can be passed on to workers of all levels. The result? A consistent system designed to directly improve customer experience (CX).
Conclusion
Being vigilant of the signs your business needs a digital rebrand can impact your chances of success. This should include performing regular research to understand consumer perception of your brand and where adjustments might need to be made. Utilizing online tracking can also alert you to changes in consumer behavior. This empowers you to rebrand in a way that regains your customers’ engagement. You must be cognizant of the changes in the structure of your organization, too, as issues here can develop into CX problems. By gaining reliable data on these elements, you can strategize a digital rebrand that connects with your customers and boosts your company culture.
About Millennium Agency
Millennium Agency is a nationally recognized, top woman led B2B branding, positioning, and digital marketing firm who knows how to create value that emotionally influences your customer’s buying decision, giving you the competitive advantage. As your trusted partner in B2B software technology and manufacturing, we provide the branding and positioning framework that make an impact – so you can focus on what you do best – run your business successfully. With offices in Boston and New Hampshire, and a worldwide presence, the professionals at Millennium Agency would like to learn more about your business. Visit www.mill.agency or book time here.
