Your heritage isn’t a bad thing. In fact, you should always “dance with who brought you” in one way or another. Heritage consumers got you where you are, and it would be a mistake to completely abandon them during a strategic rebrand for your business.
But sometimes, sticking too closely to your heritage is just as big a mistake. Sometimes, your heritage becomes a liability. A few real-life examples include:
- Homebase CU: Required a rebrand as it expanded beyond its original military base.
- Mountain West Bank: Needed a focused brand to improve its market position.
- Luminate: Wanted a modern, simpler brand to prepare for the future.
“Rebranding” could mean a new name or logo…but it doesn’t have to mean that. You may simply need a new strategic identity to move ahead.
So, how do you know when your heritage starts holding your brand back? Here are a few signs you need a strategic rebrand for your business and what to do about it.
#1: Your Needs Outgrew Your Market
Not every organization needs to be large, but all organizations need at least some growth over time to stay competitive and remain viable. The problem is, your markets may not grow. They might remain stagnant. Or even contract.
This issue pops up when:
- Towns or communities shrink
- Major employers or occupational groups shut down
- A fierce competitor eats into your market share
If this is your issue, recalibrating your target markets is an essential part of any strategic rebrand for your business. What new communities will you appeal to? Are there other employee groups interested in your offerings? Who is your competitor forgetting?
Maybe you shift to more demographic-centered target markets (ex: blue collar, young Millennial families) and target those groups over wider swaths of geography and occupation.
#2: Your Market Outgrew Your Identity
A brand identity must grow and evolve with shifting markets. Many markets nowadays are more diverse, tech savvy and fluid than they were even five-to-ten years ago. Failure to adapt means consumers will soon see you as the local financial dinosaur. So, how are you promoting your brand?
During brand workshops, we run clients through an exercise that asks if they want to be a traditional financial institution or a hip coffee shop. There’s no right or wrong answer – it all depends on your market.
If you sense your market beginning to shun your brand, it’s time to assess your brand heritage. Is it still in line with your market? Do they want a traditional institution or a hip coffee shop?
#3: Your Identity Outgrew Your Messaging
University CU’s AVP of Marketing, Michael Murdoch, recently wrote about how some brand messaging is stuck in a “very polite time loop.” It focuses on rates, neglects emotion, spreads itself too thin and sounds robotic.
Don’t create a killer new brand identity only to compromise it on those little messaging mistakes. Make sure your brand identity is a throughline in all your marketing messages. A fresh strategic rebrand for your business deserves fresh messaging. If it was time to address the big brand heritage questions, it’s time to address the smallest details too.
Do you need to rethink your brand strategy? On The Mark Strategies performs brand research and workshops to help you establish a viable future for your brand. Book a free consultation today!
