The COVID-19 pandemic has been incredibly painful for many businesses all over the world. One study found that over 200,000 businesses shut down as a result of the pandemic.
Many businesses have been hoping to resume normalcy. Unfortunately, it seems that COVID-19 has created some long-term challenges that companies will have to accept. These long-term concerns include employees being worried about their health and a potential permanent transition to dependence on e-commerce.
Every company will have to consider the possibility that they will need to change their brand to reflect the new normal after the pandemic. Here are some post-pandemic rebranding considerations that every business owner should keep in mind. If you are unsure how to go about rebranding properly, you may want to work with a company like experience marketing agency.
Take a close look at the company mission statement and see if it needs to be tweaked.
One of the golden rules of branding is that you should never deviate from a company mission statement. However, as with all rules of thumb in business, you can’t be too rigid about applying this principle.
Sometimes you need to alter the direction of your company completely. You will need to determine whether or not your mission aligns with the economic reality surrounding your business. Since this has permanently changed during the pandemic, you will need to decide whether it is necessary to overhaul the core principles of your company.
Make sure that your e-commerce strategy doesn’t detract from your primary brand.
Numerous companies have started creating e-commerce channels during the pandemic. This can be a prudent business decision since so many more customers have started purchasing online to avoid being exposed to COVID-19. The global e-commerce market rose to $26.7 trillion during the pandemic.
However, you have to ensure that you don’t undermine your local rebranding effort when creating an e-commerce platform. For example, you might be tempted to significantly alter the copy and content on your website to appeal to people outside your area. However, this could confuse your local audience.
Evaluate your company’s current position in the market before committing to any serious rebranding efforts.
Some companies plan to make significant changes in response to sudden disruptions in the market, such as a COVID-19 pandemic. These ideas could be necessary if the business is starting to falter or the company can capture a larger share of the market. However, there are other instances when major rebranding decisions could be unnecessary or even backfire.
You don’t want to invest substantial resources to rebrand your company if it isn’t going to pay off. You will waste money and likely confuse your customers.
Instead, you should thoroughly review your companies standing in the market. You must estimate your market share and see if it dropped during the pandemic. If you lost customers, then that might be a sign that your competitors are doing a better job responding to the new normal. In this case, it will be a good idea to overhaul your brand image. If you have as much market share as you could hope to capture, you will probably want to be more conservative with your rebranding efforts.
Get as much external input as possible.
Far too many companies make significant business decisions based solely on the perspectives of their management. You have to remember that groupthink is a big problem in many businesses.
The members of your management team might collectively think that a major change to your brand is worthwhile. However, other stakeholders might have a different perspective.
You can’t make major changes to your brand on a whim. You will need to make sound, pragmatic decisions when undergoing such a monumental process. This means getting the perspectives of outsiders that can help you plan your rebranding campaign properly. Here are some guidelines that you want to follow:
- Speak with your customers. They can give you the best insights as to what they are expecting from your company. You should never conduct any primary rebranding strategy without speaking with them first.
- Consult with competitors that you might be on good terms with. not all industries are fraught with unfriendly competition. There are instances when it is in everybody’s best interest for you and your competitors to consult with each other. You might learn about some of the problems they faced during the pandemic and what changes you might want to consider making with your rebranding efforts.
- Read industry publications to learn more about a potential source of any problems that you might have encountered during the pandemic. You might know that the issues are based on issues other than what you thought.
It is important to do your due diligence when collecting intelligence on your company’s problems during the pandemic. It is best to get as many different perspectives as you can.
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