The Importance of Continuing to Grow, Develop, and Change Your Brand
Creating a brand is to develop a word, symbol, design or any other feature that defines one seller and sets them apart from everyone else. It is the face of the operation and because it is the face it must stand out and be identifiable. Many have heard the term that “change is inevitable”, that is why you must have a strategic plan in place. A brand should change and evolve as their consumers do. The evolution of a brand is usually the translation of baseline attributes for current conditions. In order to stay ahead you must look ahead and change is always in the forefront of the future. A brand sets the whole tone of the company.
The Evolution of the Brand “Coca-Cola”
One brand that we like to use as an example when explaining the evolution of a brand is Coca-Cola. The brand Coke came into light in 1985 in response to dwindling Coca-Cola sales. But then it was returned back to the original formula and named “Coca-Cola Classic”. Later the formula was redone again and the brand created other branches such as Diet Coke, Coke Zero and many more. Through time they also changed logo designs and shape, style, and material of the cans and bottles they used for their products.
Coke did all of this to stay up to date and ahead of the game. They changed and evolved their brand several times. The brand “Coke” we see nowadays will change too because like I said earlier - change is inevitable.
The Look
Regardless of the way Coca-Cola has evolved their brand, the one thing that has been consistent throughout is the look and style of their red and script lettering. In marketing these days, many companies go straight into the development of a new look, logo and style regardless of the past. The past is who you are and how you came to be; and, IMHO, something that you should not let go of altogether. This is true of Coca-Cola and it should be a lesson to those thinking that rebranding means losing all elements of the past. When possible, provided your company did not go through some kind of PR disaster and NEED to rebrand, accept what you’ve done to get this far and embrace elements that can bring your brand into the future. Use what you can from the past to bring your brand into the future. Being recognizable will help with name recognition and top-of-mind awareness and help consumers more easily recognize you and note the evolution. You don’t want people to think you are something new. It’s much easier to use elements to help solidify your customer base and see your shape, color, text, etc. brought to new life.
Is your business in need of a makeover?
Here are a few signs that your business is in need of a makeover:
Your mission has changed with the ever evolving market. You have noticed that the things that seemed most important to you when you built your business are not the same as the priorities you face today.
Your brand is often misunderstood. You have to constantly explain to consumers what your business is about and often can not explain it without confusing yourself.
Your brand feels like it has come to a plateau. You have lost the energy that you once were filled with in your business. Just because you reached one goal does not mean you are done. You must constantly set new goals for your brand.
You haven’t updated your look in more than 5 years. Times change quickly these days. Make sure your look is evolving with the times.
Learn, Grow, and continue to improve each day!
In order for your business to succeed now and in the future you have to evolve. Change should not be perceived as a bad thing. In fact, change is a great thing! The ultimate goal for every business should be to learn, grow, and continue to improve everyday. Without taking the necessary steps to insure that this is happening, you are putting your business at risk. The way a brand is perceived speaks volumes about the operation. Everyone says “don’t judge a book by its cover”, but if you give the cover an opportunity to speak for itself then there should be no hesitation.
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