Rebranding Your Business During the COVID-19 Pandemic

While the COVID-19 pandemic is certainly not something to celebrate, there are opportunities being afforded to businesses that we should recognize and of which we should be taking advantage. Among those is the time and space to really evaluate your brand and messaging and consider the possibility of rebranding. 

Rebranding is the act of a company reinventing its message or appearance to better appeal to their target audience. Every company that’s been around long enough has done some rebranding, whether in small ways like:

  • Updating company colors
  • Tweaking the logo 
  • Changing tag lines 

Or in larger, more impactful ways like:

  • Completely redesigning the logo
  • Changing their name 
  • Altering their mission
  • Adding or removing services and products

Whether you’ve considered it before and dismissed it as “not the time,” or this is your first time really giving it a thought, Pinnacle Signs and Graphics is here to help lead you through the rebranding process step-by-step and answer all of your questions about how to rebrand during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Part One: Brand Assessment 

A brand assessment is an assessment of your organization’s mission, values, marketing, internal and external messaging, and brand collateral (your logo, colors, fonts, layouts, etc.). This process requires a thorough understanding of your starting point, a definition of your competitive edge, and the creation of trackable goals. After you’ve completed your brand assessment you’ll be able to move on to action items like redesign and ordering new materials. 

Step One: Where Are You Starting?

Start by establishing a solid understanding of where you are. For best results, be brutally honest in your assessment of the following factors.

    • Market Trends – What trends are currently impacting your industry and how will they affect the growth of your company? Are you making a pivot to working from home during COVID-19, or are you having to shift your service offering completely to keep customers? Normalcy will return in increments, but really consider how your business is evolving and how you plan to retain and serve your customers. 
    • Technology – Are there any new technologies coming up that will impact how you do business? Are you keeping up or falling behind?
    • Competition – Make a list of your top competitors and any technology or shifting trends that could replace your business. What are they doing successfully? How is their branding doing better than yours?

Once you’ve answered these questions you’ll have a better understanding of where your company is and how you can improve. 

Step Two: Defining Your Competitive Edge

What sets your brand apart? If you can’t answer this question quickly, it’s time to sit down and really reflect on your mission. Defining your competitive edge helps point out what you should be highlighting in your rebranding efforts. 

Do you offer a bigger delivery radius than your competitors? Are your project turnarounds faster and more accurate? Do you develop or utilize cutting-edge technology? Is your design work or customer service a cut above the rest? 

Whatever it is, this will be at the heart of your rebranding and help you appeal to a wider or more responsive audience. Avoid broad statements like “our customer service sets us apart” or “we’re the best in the business!”. 

Instead, be specific and genuine. “We deliver within a 50-mile radius!” or “In and out in 23 minutes or less!”

Having trouble? Try making two lists: your company’s advantages and disadvantages. What do you do that no one else in the industry offers? What businesses are doing better than you? Knowing the pros and cons of your business model helps you maximize the pros and minimize the cons. Remember – you can’t find a solution if you can’t admit there’s a problem. 

Step Three: Create Goals and KPIs

You can’t manage what you can’t measure so you need to be completely clear about what you want to accomplish by rebranding. Create metrics and measurable KPIs (key performance indicators) that are growth-focused. For example, maybe you want to see a 15% increase in sales, or 30 new calls every day. Maybe you want more traffic on your website or an increase in comments on social. Whatever your goals, make sure you have (realistic!) numbers in mind and track your progress along the way.

 

Part Two: Designing New Marketing Materials

Now for the fun stuff! Now that you’ve assessed your brand and you have a deeper understanding of your mission and your goals, you’re ready to start the work of rebranding!

Tell Your Story With Graphics

A picture says a thousand words, and your brand graphics should tell a cohesive, memorable story. I

f you don’t have one internally, please consider hiring an experienced, professional graphic designer to assist you with this step.

A trained graphic designer will be able to take pieces of your company’s culture and translate them into a usable, compelling design. While rebranding is about much more than just redesigning your logo, you typically will be creating a new logo as part of the process. Since your colors and fonts and site structure and flow will all be influenced by your logo’s design and feel, it’s wise to tackle this step first.

Refine Your Message

Before you order new brand packaging, business cards, brochures, flyers, signs, banners, or newsletters, spend time revising and refining your brand’s message. Avoid making the mistake of tolling out your new brand before you test it.

To test your new messaging, ask trusted employees, customers, and even focus groups before you finalize and order marketing collateral. It’s worth taking the extra time to make sure your message is hitting home with your target demographic. 

Invest in New Marketing Materials

Now it’s time to brainstorm and come up with ideas for marketing materials. Think about your desired demographic when you’re making decisions about which materials will work for your business. Signs help deliver timely messaging about COVID-19 related changes to hours or locations. Vehicle graphics can widen your brand’s name recognition, and reach people as they commute. Wall wraps and giant vinyl graphics can make a bold statement and refresh your building’s image – welcoming employees and customers back to your business and creating interest and curiosity.

No matter what marketing materials you choose to invest in, this is the perfect time to order them. Design and creation take time and instead of rushing through it and anxiously awaiting turnover, you can productively and calmly use this forced downtime. You can use this lull in business to delight and amaze your customers when they return, make your employees more comfortable with internal signage on safety and support, and encourage your community to take heart and join you in using this time for good. 

If you have any questions about how to rebrand your business during COVID-19 or signs and graphic design in Little Rock, contact Pinnacle Signs & Graphics. We can offer consultations, quote, and professional services – custom-designed for you!