4 ways rebranding hurts your marketing strategy

(AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT)

*This is a guest post by inbound marketing specialist Amy-Lynn Denham. See the end of this post for her bio!

You’ve decided that it’s time for a company rebrand. Maybe your visuals are feeling dated and stale. Maybe you’ve decided on a new direction for your company. Or maybe you just want to spice things up. Whatever the reason, you’ve committed yourself to this rebranding journey, so what do you need to consider before executing it?

I can’t tell you how many brands I’ve worked with who had quite a big mess to clean up after rebranding 🤦🏻‍♀️

Let’s look at WHY they had such big problems and the simple strategies you can use to AVOID those problems!

Spoiler, I’m gonna offer you a FREE rebranding checklist to make sure you don’t mess up your marketing 🤫  You can get it now by clicking here👈

1. Loss of Brand Recognition

Picture this: You eagerly joined Coca-Cola’s mailing list, but then they transformed into BestTaste Cola with snazzy blue and green colors. Surprise! Now, you’re getting emails from a brand that feels totally unfamiliar. And guess what? You might not even spot them on social media anymore.

What would you do?

Most people would remove themselves from the mailing list, unfollow on social media, and some people would even report spam! 🫢 (oops, I said a very bad word).

2. Mismatched Messaging + Inconsistent Identity

Consistency is key! Whether it’s promises, values, or promotions, ensure your messaging aligns across all channels – website, email, social media. This is especially vital for evergreen content, like opt-ins and automated emails, where consistency really shines. 👍

Unfortunately, opt-ins and automations are the very things that most brands forget to adjust when they REbrand.

3. Lost Backlinks

If your rebrand includes changing your company name you might have had to change your URL, too. Now you run the risk of having bad links on your social, in your emails, and between blog posts and pages! And don’t forget about all the pages and sites that link to your site as a reference or feature. Their links will be broken now, too.

4. Negative Reviews

Yep, you read that right. All of the issues above can lead to negative reviews by customers which means you’ll be less likely to get new customers. But don’t worry. You’re going to avoid ALL of those problems by using the planning framework below.

How NOT to Screw Up Your Marketing During a Rebrand

Honestly, all it takes is planning.

You CAN do this. It might take more time than you expected. You might need to hire on some help for the project. But it IS possible to do this if you follow the steps below.

1. Be clear on which changes you are going to make

Fully develop your plan for your new brand approach. Don’t just wing it and throw things together and start making changes. Know WHAT you are going to change and what you AREN’T going to change.

👉 Asia has a great brand strategy guide you can see here

2. Plan your rebranding strategically

This step begins now but carries on throughout your entire rebranding process. To ensure cohesive and coherent messaging and to minimize confusion it’s important to make sure you execute things on the proper day and time.

Put your branding plan to pen and paper. Don’t just track WHAT you’re changing, but also WHEN you’re changing it. Some of the things listed below can be scheduled in advance and some need to happen in the moment on your rebranding date. 

👉 Contact me today to help you build your business rebranding plan and to build a custom Trello board to ensure your project’s success.

3. Check EVERYTHING for consistency

Create (or download) a thorough list of everything and everywhere you need to check for consistency. As you realize all the changes you’ll need to make and where you’ll need to make them, it’ll be easier to plan WHEN you need to get everything done.

👉 You can download my Marketer’s Guide to Rebranding Checklist here.

You might be asking yourself, “Do I really need to rebrand? Is it worth the time and effort?”

That’s a tough question. Sometimes it can be worth the time (or the money it costs to hire someone else to do it) but sometimes it really isn’t necessary. Not sure if rebranding is what you need? Read this post Asia wrote on my blog to see if it’s right for you.

Amy-Lynn Denham is an inbound marketing expert who’s passionate about helping small business grow their online presence in a huge way. As an ADHDer with a chronic illness, Amy knows that the traditional workplace isn’t for everyone, so she loves creating safe spaces for overwhelmed and overworked women who are trying to turn their side-hustle into a sustainable business. She works one-on-one with small and developing brands with the goal that they outgrow her services!