A digital rebrand marks the start of a new and exciting chapter in a company’s journey. Everything about your new and improved online presence should underline your unique message, showcasing your appeal as you move up to the next level. Your audience may know where you came from. Now it’s time to show them where you’re going.
But is a digital rebrand as simple as it sounds? Is it nothing more than hiring a designer to come up with a new logo while you browse the web for a stylishly edgy font? Due diligence can help you to avoid the pitfalls of a misdirected digital rebrand and steer your company toward an even wider and more loyal customer base.
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Transforming your brand – why rebrand?
Before we begin to highlight how due diligence can help you to accentuate the positive aspects of a digital rebrand, we must first consider some of the main reasons that companies undergo the process of rebranding. But why should the reason matter?
If you choose to strip all marketing materials of your company’s former – and familiar – identity, your audience may become suspicious. Why? Because a company that shifts lanes in such a manner could be a company undergoing a takeover, which could spell uncertainty.
Let’s take a closer look at the positives and negatives when undergoing a digital rebrand (beginning with the above-mentioned takeover scenario).
Takeovers
Acquisitions are a mainstay of the business world. One company acquires a competitor to benefit from the subsequently combined market share.
The influence of due diligence on takeovers:
Positives: Research and analysis will uncover the brand with the most reach, helping to drive decisions over rebranding efforts that exploit existing online presences.
On the flip side… You may learn that despite a desire for severe rebranding, audiences loyal to the company being taken over may be significant. It may be beneficial to retain the outgoing company branding (at least in part).
Mergers
Mergers are similar to takeovers, except mergers are more amiable affairs that provide greater scope for the acceptance of data-driven rebranding opportunities.
The influence of due diligence on mergers:
Positives: Due diligence can reveal the true nature of brand performance. Actionable insights could include indications over the effectiveness of tactics such as combining company names/logos or abandoning one brand altogether.
On the flip side… Due diligence can reveal trends in brand performance over time. Where one brand in the merger has suffered from negative press, for example, difficult but necessary data-driven choices can be made over abandoning some or all of the branding associated with one of the companies in the merger.
New Leader (promotion from within the company)
New leaders like to make their mark. Tidying any outdated branding is a common feature of new leadership. But beware that vanity can lead to heavy-handed and problematic clear-outs. That’s where due diligence can help to avoid fixing things that aren’t broken.
The influence of due diligence on rebranding undertaken by new leaders:
Positives: The company may not be exploiting all available opportunities via the most successful areas of the business. Due diligence will uncover where the business is performing well and where the business could be performing better. Analysis of demographics will help to uncover the most natural channels to engage with audiences, steering the digital rebranding efforts towards only what is known to resonate with known audiences.
On the flip side… New leaders do not like to be told no. Actions driven by ego led decision making can mean that compromises not backed by data are adopted. However, due diligence can help to forecast the outcome of such decisions, which will hopefully be enough to convince new leaders of the power of metrics.
Expand Your Reach – Remain Relevant – Grow Your Audience
Sometimes, companies simply wish to rebrand as a means of moving with the times and remaining relevant to existing and new audiences.
The overarching positive influence of digital due diligence in this scenario is that all data-driven decisions are typically welcome. Where the aim is to increase ROI by expanding market share wherever and however possible, decisions backed by data are unlikely to fall flat at the feet of businesses or leaders who perhaps had other ideas.
Let’s take a more granular look at how due diligence can drive your decision-making processes throughout your digital transformation.
Evaluate Digital Best Practices
A deep dive into a company’s digital presence may reveal unexpected perspectives that can lead to better decision-making. For example, where a company has minimal social interaction, branding the company as a trendy and fast-paced “millennial” organisation may drive away any desirable business clients – understanding the relationship between branding and audiences is critical.
Valuation Insights
How does your company value itself? Where do your streams of revenue come from? Does your branding resonate with your audiences? Is there room to rebrand and deliver a more tone specific message to your customer base?
Sell-Side vs Buy-Side
If you are looking to sell your brand, due diligence can help you to uncover, understand, and present your digital strengths (leading to better sales opportunities).
If you are looking to buy a brand, due diligence can help you to secure the data you need regarding a company’s current digital sustainability and future scalability.
Competitor Analysis
How is your business performing in comparison to your competitors? What are they doing that moves the needle further on ROI? Could rebranding coupled with a dedicated marketing focus into more relevant channels achieve better results for your company? Due diligence can reveal where and how to deploy your resources.
Analysis of Current Strategies (& Scalability Implications)
If your teams are not producing the results you need, due diligence could help to uncover any underlying issues (e.g., barriers in training, technology, communication, etc.). Proactively setting up your branding to tie in with scalable marketing opportunities is more sustainable than retroactively attempting to rebrand and scale your business on the move.
Get in touch with me today
For a better understanding of how digital due diligence can benefit your business during all rebranding efforts, get in touch today. It costs relatively little to gather the basic facts. Discover how due diligence could be your most valuable asset when rebranding.
Want to keep reading? Check out this article on Due diligence for buying an online business.