The 10 Questions You Need to Ask When Rebranding

In 2003, well-known toy company LEGO experienced cash flow problems and faced mounting debts. Once a popular choice for children, LEGO had fallen out of favour and was deemed old-fashioned compared to other toys on the market. Rather than accept impending doom, the company chose to embrace change, embarking on a rebranding campaign that prompted a turnaround of epic proportions.

LEGO set about modernising their image, adding digital channels, movies and venues (such as LEGOLAND theme parks) to their repertoire. Consumers started to take notice again, customers engaged with the brand and sales increased. LEGO gave their brand a makeover with dazzling results, but this strategy isn’t for the faint hearted.

A rebrand involves adopting a market strategy that will transform your corporate image. This could involve a number of changes such as devising a new name, coming up with a logo, changing a slogan or re-designing packaging. The key is to showcase your newness, stand out from the competition and capture the attention of your target audience.

How to Lead a Rebrand

Collecting a multitude of views and opinions can prove helpful when rebranding, however, it can also be distracting and chaotic. Interaction can be useful, provided you are a proactive leader. Gather your workforce and prepare to innovate, create, guide and moderate. You will need to be ready to state your case and justify your beliefs.

You will need to work closely with your team, managing contractors, marketers, designers and others to ensure you all work together toward building the same vision. There’s no doubt this can be a difficult task – rebranding is challenging and will require a huge amount of effort – however the rewards can be amazing.

Sharing Your Rebranding Goals

Do your best to instil confidence by explaining that your end goal is to showcase the values of the company. It might be challenging getting the whole team on board with your vision, so be prepared to talk up your ideas!

Feedback can be useful, but you don’t want to have to deal with lots of disagreements about the best way to engage with customers. Nip this in the bud by getting employees together for a Q&A session designed to educate, bring employees together and share the rebranding concept.

Don’t Get Lost in the Detail

You do need to understand your brand and the image you want to convey but try not to get bogged down with too many questions. You might be tempted to delve into the personality of your brand, whether you want to be perceived as fun or serious, etc. You might start classifying your brand by carrying out comparisons and characterising it, e.g. if my brand was an animal what would it be – a pet dog or a lone wolf?

The truth is, you can ask a plethora questions, but your end goal is to work out what your brand can offer consumers. You also need to get your team on board in order to build a brand that people will need, want and love. It’s time to consult your workforce and ask them a few key questions.

Prepare for Question Time

It’s not always easy to get employees talking; some people find it uncomfortable to talk openly or share thoughts in front of colleagues. You won’t be able to sit everyone down together at the same time, so opt for smaller groups of approximately 10 people – this way everyone gets a chance to air their views. Everyone involved should feel comfortable enough to share their views – senior managers shouldn’t hog the limelight!

Ask the key questions we have listed below and encourage participation by prompting when necessary, e.g. “That’s an interesting comment, can you expand on that and tell us a little more?”

Keeping track of information is as important as carrying out the research itself, so record all answers. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the key questions you need to ask:

How would you describe our current brand?

This is a great kick-off question, designed to provide a brief overview of how employees feel about the company and what it stands for. It’s important group participants are honest and open; they shouldn’t say what they think managers want to hear, but what they really do feel. Body language can give a lot away too – so keep an eye on gestures, etc. to gain a real feel of the mood in the room.

What would you like consumers to understand/know about the brand?

This should provide an insight into what employees see as the highlights of what the business has to offer. You can ask employees to discuss their own experiences with customers and ask what they would expect if they were in the shoes of a consumer.

Are there any other brands our company could or should resemble?

Answers are likely to include similar businesses, e.g. delivery company employees working for a small independent firm might talk about DHL and FedEx. However, this is an opportunity for people to think outside the box and look at other industries. For instance, a sportswear brand that has launched a memorable marketing campaign or a restaurant chain that has recently relaunched with an exciting new look.

What do you admire and dislike about the industry we are in?

This should draw some interesting comments! There will be some positive comments, but plenty of negative ones too. Encourage participants to talk openly, without filtering their opinions.

What do you think of our competitors?

Get the conversation started by guiding the participants if they are reluctant to comment on this. You could ask about a particular competitor and ask people directly how they feel about that company.

Is our brand better than others?

Feedback and review websites provide tell-tale signs as to how your product or service measures up compared with others. Website analytics can also prove insightful. Ask the participants how they think your brand measures up – do they think your brand resonates with the consumer?

Who will buy our product/service?

This isn’t about the ICP (ideal customer profile) that has been presented to employees in the past. The ICP is useful, but this is about personal opinion. Encourage employees to describe the type of consumer they think will be interested in your brand.

What will our brand say to consumers?

Ask participants what message your brand conveys to consumers. They will be able to share their own feelings and might also be able to add insight from people they have spoken to about the products and services on offer.

Can you describe the consumer before they buy your service or goods?

This is all about identifying the issues your target consumers might have, such as bad breath or problems with yellowing teeth. Are consumers looking to rectify these problems and have they already tried to in the past?

Can you describe the consumer after they buy your service or goods?

Do customers routinely turn to your company to help solve their problem? Do they see your brand as helpful and one to depend upon? Do they feel better after obtaining your product or service? Satisfied customers are a bonus and testimonials can prove useful in attracting new customers.

Analyse, Consider and Act

Following the question and answer sessions, you will be left with lots of information – views, opinions, ideas, reflections – but what are you going to do with all of it? Analysing responses will enable you to identify patterns – are there comments or ideas that come up regularly? Along with giving you plenty of food for thought, the session also brings employees together – involving your employees in the rebranding process will help them to feel more involved in the business.

Book a free 15 minute consultation call with Let’s Love Sundays to learn more about how we can help with your branding or rebranding project: https://calendly.com/letslovesundays/15min