Signs it’s time to re-brand a business

Though it may appear to be a rash thing to do, re-branding a business at regular intervals is essential to keep up with the shifting needs of consumers. When is the right time to re-brand a company? Below, we will share a few examples of when a shift in marketing strategy is warranted.

1) Its product isn’t meeting the needs of a new generation

When a company has been around for many decades, it risks falling out of favor with consumers with the dawning of each new generation. A strong brand can lull a dominant corporation into complacency, in the same way that Microsoft rested on its laurels with respect to web browsers.

People had begun to grow tired of Internet Explorer’s slow load speeds and user-unfriendly design, until Google launched Chrome. This browser solved many of these problems, which allowed it to lay waste to Microsoft’s share of the market for many years afterward.

Windows has begun to reclaim its market share with Edge, which launched around the same time as Windows 10. Boasting a logo that closely resembles Explorer’s, Edge has risen quickly since its release, and has begun to wipe away the bad memories of its predecessor.

Load speeds have improved dramatically, and its user interface have led some to favor it over Chrome, which has begun to suffer feature creep in recent years.

2) The competition has successfully attached a negative connotation to it

Marketing can have a dark side to it, as it often seeks to promote products and services at the expense of their competitors. Often, an established brand can shake off these attacks, but sometimes, a catchy campaign takes root. It has the effect of catapulting the challenging company to success, while damaging the reputation of other market players.

A classic example: the Mac vs. PC commercials that aired between 2006 and 2009. These spots portrayed Mac as hip and cool, while casting PC’s as square and nerdy. They added fuel to the rising fire that propelled Apple during that time, but it also resulted in a noticeable reduction in profits for many PC producers.

Since that time, many PC makers have worked hard to add features and cast their products as hip and stylish, which has had the effect of improving their results in the 2010’s.

3) A new untapped market has emerged

Over the past couple of decades, some of the best opportunities for companies to reinvent themselves has emerged on the other side of the globe.

The rise of the middle class in East Asia has given enterprising businesses a chance to meet the needs of a consumer base that has access to expendable income for the first time in their lives.

In the United States, Pabst Blue Ribbon is a bargain basement beer that is typically drunk by broke college students, but in China, it has been re-cast as a luxury brand. Marketed as an exclusive craft beer, Pabst Blue Ribbon 1844 can sell for as much as $44 USD in the convenience stores of Shanghai.