Feed the Animals

The More Things Change

Contrary to popular belief, the modern business management model is a far cry from the traditional model from the industrial revolution with its roots in the rigid, military-style chain of command that most of us still swear by.

The relentless advancements in business technology coupled with the emergence of new markets have made the global business environment more competitive than ever, triggering the evolution of the traditional business management model.

“Tomorrow’s winners will be those of us who are capable of dealing proactively with the chaos that is the result of increasing competitiveness.” Tom Peters: ‘Thriving on Chaos – Handbook for a Management Revolution.’

As markets change, new competitors arrive, customer expectations change and your company's strategies change. So you may want to change your branding at some point, and it is likely that you will have to change your brand eventually.

What does this mean for your brand?
The new business management model with its principles of flexibility, adaptability, creativity, radical ideas, risk-taking and the need for constant response to change go against the principles of Branding 101 – which tell you to develop your brand through repetition, consistency, and fulfillment.

How do you know when it is appropriate to change your brand? How do you change it without alienating old customers? Why should you change your branding? Why should you keep it the same?

When to change your brand
Your brand represents a message that you craft, with some value proposition that you make to the customer. Consistency is important for several reasons:

• You want the audience to memorise the message
• You want a consistent reputation
• You want to build longevity and market share

But when your message becomes irrelevant, for example there is a market shift and new competitors adopt your innovation, start peddling the same message and drowning yours out, your advantage shrinks and the message fails to connect with your audience – it may be time for a change. Other typical disconnects include:

• There is no recognition
  This is when your audience doesn't understand your message (you may have expanded and your business now operates in other countries). Therefore, they don't absorb it. In other words, there is no resonance, so there's no recognition.

• There is unexpected recognition
  The audience may know your brand well, but they associate it with a totally different message. For instance, all your advertising reinforces your customer service promise, but your customers repeatedly say they prefer your superior product selection. What you assume the customer values and what they actually value may not match.
  

How to Change Your Brand
When it's time to change, you need to do it carefully so that you don't alienate all those customers who originally came to you because they liked the old message.

Be gentle
A radical shift in message is hard to accomplish; take baby steps. Evolving your value proposition from high-quality service to superior products is hard enough, so don't try to dramatically shift your image from say Mr. Price to Stuttafords.

Be consistent
Your old brand was developed through consistency or maybe it wasn't (that's why you're leaving it behind). Now that you are trying to get a new message out, be even more consistent. You are basically starting over by teaching the audience a new way of looking at your company, so be patient and persistent.

How Often to Change Your Brand
The answer to the question of how often to change is simple: as seldom as possible, and as often as necessary. Remember, the first law of branding is consistency. Building a brand and recognition takes time. Every time you change your brand, you are almost starting over.

Little is good
There are little changes, such as a shift in advertising strategy, which may not affect recognition. Small shifts are normal and even healthy: As your market and your company evolve, so should your message. For example, the image of Mrs. Balls has evolved slowly over time, but the brand has remained strong and true to its original values.

Medium is sometimes necessary
There are larger changes, such as revamping your logo and colors, which might confuse your existing customer base but improve your reach with new markets. Carefully weigh the pros and the cons: Will this alienate our existing customers more than it will attract new ones? These changes should be the exception. Tiger Brands is a great example of a company that retained its strong, old brands while reformulating the messages to reach new markets, one market at a time.

Big is bad
Then there are big branding changes that come about when you change your company name, management, and proposition. This should almost never be necessary. Unless you specifically want to leave behind an old audience or start from scratch in winning them over, avoid complete abandonment of your old brand.

The best brands never noticeably change but never stagnate. They somehow evolve with the times without losing their core identity. How can you develop such a timeless brand? Listen to your customers instead of listening to trends. Base your brand on universal principles of style, service, or quality, rather than flash-in-the-pan hipness.

Evolution should be a slow, natural process that helps you reach more customers. Anything else would be rash.

Changing your brand and change is general is like walking a high tightrope – a tricky balancing act. If you take your time and don’t look down you’ll get to the other side safe and sound. A balancing pole like Creative Zoo Advertising to keep you steady is always a handy advantage to have over the competition!

Before you get cold feet and walk away from the tightrope, consider W. Edwards Demming’s immortal words: “It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.”

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