Erin Ferree of BrandStyle Design takes a look at how a re-brand can affect your client base, highlighting some important points. Have a read.
You’ve decided that you need to rebrand your business. You draw up a launch plan, design your logo, marketing pieces and website, write your copy, and get all of your business paperwork filed. You work on it in secret for months, so that you can roll everything out at once and make a big splash.
Finally, it’s launch day! You send out some emails and start forwarding your old website to the new one. And then the emails and phone calls start coming in… but not all of them are congratulatory…
Some of your clients are really quite confused! You’ve rolled out the new brand to an unsuspecting public. This is what things looked like on their end:
Business as usual. You’ve been sending out your other newsletters, updating your social media, and doing all of your regularly-scheduled business activities. Everything is normal, and your clients feel secure.
Kapow! Suddenly your stuff is different. Your website is forwarding to a new and different place, everything looks different, your voicemail isn’t the same and you‘re talking about new things as well! What is going on here?
Changing your brand suddenly can make your clients feel like they’ve been thrown for a loop. They become uncertain about your business’s stability, whether they can count on you and whether you’re trustworthy. That’s a huge hit for your business to take, and if you’re just relaunching your brand, it’s a hit you can’t afford.
How You Can Keep Your Clients In The Loop Instead Of Throwing Them For One
1. Announce, announce and then announce it again. Talk about your new brand as it’s under development. Let people know that change is coming. Tell them that you’re up to something big.
2. Get the word out in different media channels. Your newsletter list isn’t populated by the same crowd who follows you on Twitter. You have different people visiting your Facebook Fan page than your website. You have to make sure that you announce the change in all of the places your clients are most likely to visit. You might even consider direct mail if you do that sort of thing!
3. Let your biggest fans in on the secret. Don’t give away enough of the new brand to spoil the impact of the launch, but do give them a sneak preview so that they’ll feel valued and informed. Tell them that “little bit extra” about what’s coming so that they’ll feel as special as they are to you.
Erin Ferree, Brand Stylist - BrandStyle Design - http://www.brandstyledesign.com/
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