Brand is big business. Strong brands thrive and prosper, weak brands do not survive. So how do you achieve and deliver a strong brand?
We knew a year ago that our brand was not strong. Our products, being payroll, bookkeeping, debt collection and other outsourced financial services were sold through separate brand names, Oriel Support, Oriel Accounting, Oriel Collections and Oriel Contractors. We did not have consistent brand values and our logo, stationery, website and brochures were in need of a lick of paint.
The decision was made to rebrand. We knew though, that rebranding is not just about your logo or how your literature or website appears but revolves around the brand values displayed when dealing with customers, suppliers and staff.
So a simple task is in fact much more complicated.
In preparing for the rebrand, we conducted focus groups with all staff and clients in order to obtain a clear view of what staff and clients thought about Oriel, and what could be improved. What came across loud and clear was that people simply want to get on with what they do best - for our clients this meant setting up and growing their businesses free from administrative headaches. Research also indicated that bringing all of the services together under one single brand, Oriel, would provide greater clarity allowing us to service our clients better.
There were many challenges to get everything ready to support the brand launch: operations, systems and processes, sales and marketing, and even organisational structure. We responded to the challenge by setting up special cross-functional project teams to address specific areas. This enabled staff to play an important part in developing the brand, which must be owned by them.
Developing the core values of the brand was vital and will help shape the future success of the organisation. Staff need to truly understand them and what they mean to them, both as individuals and as team members. At Oriel a series of internal meetings and presentations took place, culminating in a major presentation to launch these core values. Key to the success is to understand that the process goes much deeper than pretty brochures, adverts and a nice website.
We have a great new image, but this is only the start of the journey for Oriel. As we continue to build the business I am confident that our new brand image, values, and way of working will be fundamental to our success.
We have been working hard to implement the new brand and a great deal has been achieved so far. Continuous development and keeping up the momentum will be the key to success.
We were particularly proud that our work with the brand and that of our Marketing Executive, Annabelle Clarke, who took a big role in the launch, was recently recognised by being selected as a finalist for the "Communicator of the Year" award at this year's Gloucestershire Business Awards.
Top 10 rebranding tips
- 1. Rebranding goes a long way beyond a visual new makeover
- 2. Carry out research into how your customers, suppliers and staff view you
- 3. Use your rebrand strategy to help create a differentiated market position
- 4. Identify your core values
- 5. Develop a vibrant new logo and use in all communications
- 6. Live the core brand values in all that you do
- 7. Be sure that your products and services can live up to your brand promise
- 8. Engage your staff - in service based businesses, they create your brand reputation
- 9. Get everything lined up properly before you launch - including crucial internal processes
- 10. Don't forget to measure the impact of any changes you introduce, and keep on measuring
