It can happen to even the best brands. After a while your brand loses it’s luster. Keeping your brand fresh helps keep your business relevant. So what do you do when your brand goes stale? How do you know when you need to revitalize your brand?
A few reasons your brand could be losing it’s vitality:
1. Technology obsolescence. New technologies leapfrog old ones. Unfortunately, it’s common for a technology leader in one decade to see its leadership position fade in the next. It’s in your best interest to stay on top of the technology.
2. Business reframing. Many companies have experienced new competitors reframing their business. One minute they’re a market leader. The next, the category has shifted and their business has been reframed. In the U.S. yogurt category, for example, reframing is happening now and leading manufacturers like Dannon and Yoplait are scrambling to adjust. Several years ago, Greek yogurts entered the market, offering consumers a less sugary, fruitier, higher protein option.
3. Losing a customer connection. Strong, even beloved, brands can lose touch with customers quickly if they don’t stay hyper-focused on understanding the target. Don’t forget about how important it is to be engaging with your customers.
4. Marketing missteps. It may be necessary to revitalize your brand due to marketing missteps. The most visible form here is “bad” advertising – advertising that does nothing to establish a point of difference or drive brand preference.
Here are a few tips about what you can do about it!
1. Agree on the problem. Denial is bad business practice. Once you know there’s a problem, define it, align to it, measure it, and develop clarity around what’s causing the problem. If it’s unclear why customers are less enthusiastic about your brand than they used to be, then this step has to include a customer insight research step.
Step 2. Negotiate the time horizon to fix the problem. Since the problem(s) leading to declining vitality were not created overnight it’s reasonable to assume they cannot be fixed overnight.
Step 3. Align to trends. When businesses are misaligned with marketplace trends they must take bold, decisive action, sometimes being willing to change how they conduct business. Without trend alignment, it’s difficult for a mature business to grow because it faces a steady headwind.
Check out this great story about how Burberry’s Angela Ahrendts took their brand and rejuvenated it to become a leader in the fashion industry.
What tactics have you used to revitalize your brand when necessary?