As we’re all aware by now, an unexpected global pandemic has a way of altering the market in lasting and meaningful ways. It’s safe to say that regardless of which industry you’re in, things are not the same today as they were in the halcyon days of pre-pandemic bliss.
To fundamentally reimagine your brand in the midst of so much uncertainty, might not be the most obvious strategic decision for many business owners. But there are more than a few reasons to rebrand in a pandemic.
Many of the challenges brought about by the pandemic are the very reasons why rebranding is such a good idea. And smart business leaders have always seen periods of uncertainty for what they are: opportunities to gain market share.
Let’s take a look at five of the many reasons businesses are likely to benefit from rebranding in a pandemic.
1. You’ve Seen a Decrease in Leads and Sales
At the beginning of the pandemic, a drop in sales was easier to explain away. Maybe your customers were being conservative and taking a wait-and-see approach. Sales will improve when things get back to normal, you thought.
But at this point, it’s clear there’s no going back to normal—at least our pre-pandemic perception of normalcy. Customer needs and behaviors have fundamentally shifted as a result of the pandemic. If your customers are no longer searching for your products or services, what do they need instead?
Answering that question is the key to not just surviving the pandemic, but actually thriving in the months and years ahead. The best way to answer this question? Just ask your customers.
Customer interviews are the best way to understand changing needs, motivations, and trends. They also shed light on which customer segments make the most sense to target in the current economic climate.
Rebranding in a pandemic gives you the chance to leverage customer insights, effectively reposition your offerings, and create brand messaging that addresses their current needs.
2. Your Marketing Budget Was Cut
Budget cuts are an unfortunate reality for many businesses in a pandemic. Especially a pandemic the size and magnitude of the current one. And the unfortunate reality is, marketing spend is usually one of the first items on the chopping block.
But a constraint like reduced marketing budgets can be the ideal time to reevaluate your brand’s key offerings. Less marketing bandwidth often calls for a reprioritization—or even repositioning—of the focus you place on your various offerings.
Are you are spending a disproportionate amount of your time and energy promoting an underperforming product or service? Are you supporting a legacy program that’s well past its need-by date?
Rebranding in a pandemic allows you to take a more efficient, or altogether different, approach that makes better use of the marketing budget available to you. Repositioning your brand for the new market landscape based on insights from customer research, enables you to focus on products or services that your customers need most right now.
3. You’re Trying to Connect with a New Audience
The pandemic’s widespread effects on the market means that many brands are looking to attract entirely new audiences than they were in pre-pandemic times.
Whether you’re looking to expand your reach to make up for dwindling demand or court a new customer segment that’s emerged as a result of the pandemic, trying to connect with a new audience is a great reason to rebrand in a pandemic.
That’s because attracting a new audience isn’t as simple as just launching a new marketing campaign. Rebranding to attract untapped customer segments starts with market research to understand the needs and challenges of the segment you’re looking to target. Only a rebrand lets you deftly reposition so you can connect with new audiences in authentic and meaningful ways.
4. Your Brand Is No Longer Relevant
Pandemics have a way of dramatically shifting customer priorities and behavior. Just as your business has had to cut budgets, reallocate resources, or reprioritize focus, your customer is likely facing many of the same decisions.
As your customer needs change, so must your brand. If it doesn’t, you risk becoming irrelevant. Remember: Relevance is not the same as trendiness. A brand is relevant when it meets the needs of its customers. The moment you stop doing that is the moment customers start losing interest.
Rebranding in a pandemic is the best way to reclaim relevance in a market that has shifted beneath the feet of your customers and competitors alike. Taking the time to reevaluate customer needs and reposition to meet them in new and innovative ways will give you a leg up on the competition once the dust has settled and the uncertainty of the market is in the rearview mirror.
5. Your Digital Experience Is Behind the Times
The pandemic has meant a shift away from in-person events like trade shows and conferences. For many brands, what were once live, in-person interactions have become online, digital experiences. Some brands were better prepared for the transition than others.
Struggling to get by with a cobbled-together digital experience to meet the growing demands of remote customers and employees? A rebrand gives you the opportunity to create a digital experience that’s an extension of a visual identity built on data-driven positioning.
A reimagined digital experience should be more than just a new website for an old identity, after all. The best digital experiences are built from the ground up, inspired by purposeful positioning that is itself informed by insights from customer research. Only a rebrand in a pandemic gives you the strategic direction you need for a robust digital experience to meet the needs of an increasingly remote audience.
The Takeaway
The pandemic has posed newfound challenges for brands in nearly every industry. But for every challenge, there is also an opportunity. Like any period of uncertainty, pandemics are a great time for forward-thinking brands to gain market share.
Rebranding in a pandemic is one way to capitalize on opportunities that your competitors may have overlooked. Only rebranding gives you the chance to candidly assess what is and isn’t working with your brand—and rebuild stronger for the new market ahead.
Brian Lischer
A prolific blogger, speaker, and columnist, Brian has two decades of experience in design and branding. He’s written for publications including Forbes, Entrepreneur, Inc. Magazine, Fast Company, HuffPost, and Brand Quarterly.
