Looking to change your style at the bar tonight? Need to look more professional for work? Maybe you snag some new glasses or try a new hairstyle and add a little color. Even changing your t-shirt from round to v-neck can convey a different message about you. You're still you, just updated. Once in a while, the change elicits immediate reaction in others - whether positive or negative. Most of the changes you make though go unnoticed but add up and when you look back over time you realize how much you've changed - ideally for the better.

A company's brand can be similarly considered - especially companies that have been around for many years. A new look or tagline can mean reorienting employees, customers, and shareholders to the brand. A large change can also force stakeholders to take another look and reengage in a new and different way. Other smaller updates may be necessary to 'stay ahead of the curve' or 'keep up with the times'.

Paying attention to your brand and tagline as you evolve is critical to getting the attention you want from new and existing customers and the focus you want from your employees. A powerful brand, logo, and tagline can mobilize customers, employees, and shareholders toward the common goal of driving adoption and can keep you from becoming outdated, old, and not relevant.

The Decision to Change

Changing a brand of course isn't as easy as trying on a new shirt. In fact, given the costs involved in revising one and the fact that you can't really go back, it should be driven by thoughtful discussion across various functional groups in a company from marketing to engineering to customer service to sales and more. There is also the risk of upsetting loyal customers when you change a brand. If there is a strong emotional tie with the current brand, the change must be done in a way that brings those loyalists along and makes them love you even more.

Some reasons that may warrant a company changing its logo and/or tagline are:

• the product line is different than what it was originally
  
• the company has evolved - startup logos tend to be more icon oriented, while larger brands focus less on icons and more on the actual name of the brand
• customer needs and/or demographics have changed
  
• overall the industry has changed and is higher 'tech', more 'modern', or the times have just...changed
• the brand is seen as seriously flawed in comparison with competitors

Asking customers, prospects and even employees could help you understand if a change is warranted. Also, placing your brand next to other competitor brands and doing some testing can also help you understand if there is a problem. The decision cannot be made lightly and input is required. If the brand is not resonating with the people who work to build and use it or the target audience you are trying to acquire, there is a problem.

Important Considerations When Changing A Brand

If a change is warranted, usually larger brands are careful not to sway too far from the original. The original brand has a lot of brand equity and people recognize it. Changing the brand drastically may mean losing that equity that you've built up. For some of those companies, at first glance, a customer may not even recognize a change. It can be subtle but powerful.

Other brands need a significant face lift. Getting a thoughtful designer who doesn't just execute but truly understands the company, its stakeholders, its goals, and its competitors is critical to any brand update. Doing your homework can make or break the launch of a new logo or tagline.

Communicating Your Brand

Significant time and effort should be taken on identifying the best way to communicate the changes of your brand. Most people underestimate how much change can impact someone. Change is usually a good thing in the long run, but in the short run it can elicit skepticism, disappointment, unhappiness, and downright anger in some cases. Companies need to consider if the change in brand elicits some sort of 'announcement' about it or not. If it's subtle, maybe it goes unnoticed. If it's a big change, it needs to be explained and you need to bring your customers along for the ride. Your customers may demand answers to questions such as 'why did the change happen?', 'what is the point of the change?', and 'how should we be thinking about the newly revised brand?'. It's also important to reiterate what hasn't changed and how the new brand still represents the amazing things about the company in terms of the values, the service, the products, etc. Change is tough to digest, so the more you can manage the change through effective communication, the more likely your customers will get on board with the changes faster.

Measuring Impact

Many people believe that brand impact cannot be measured and therefore should not be done. Impact can be measured in many ways - large companies hire agencies specifically designed to test out new brands, how they resonate with the stakeholders, how it may change buying behavior, and changes in things like market share, demographics, and acceptance in press and social media networks. Smaller companies can understand brand impact in terms of lifts in brand awareness. Looking at how many more people are searching for your brand is one way to see if you are driving improved awareness. Also understanding how those folks are converting and engaging with your brand overtime can help. Lastly, while not measurable, getting anecdotes from stakeholders as to how the new brand makes them feel and act is another way to understand whether or not the impact that you intended is actually occurring.

Good luck with the decision! Here's a great graphic of  some changes big brands have made overtime. Think about how the changes some of these brands made may have impacted your life.

Let me know if you stopped by by adding a comment. Also tell me what else you want to hear about!!

You hate doing taxes. So you use Turbotax. You hate paying bills, so you set up Autopay. You hate writing emails, so why are you emailing the same information over and over again??

Automate it and forget it.

Today, tons of tools exist to automate your emails like Constant Contact and MailChimp. Every time you collect an email address, throw it into your email system of choice to build up your list either manually or automatically.

Once you've set up your email system, it's time to set up your first automated email campaign.

1. Define Your Customer.

Are you trying to get new customers to use your product? Are you trying to keep existing customers loyal? Automated email campaigns work really well for both nurturing new leads and for engaging new customers to become more loyal.

2. Set a Goal.

If you don't have a goal you won't know what you are trying to achieve. A goal can be as simple as getting prospects to buy your stuff. Set a goal and make sure that every email you send is getting you closer to that goal.

3. Create Content.

Content that is relevant, short, and to the point is easier said than done and requires some planning. If the primary goal is to get a prospect to start buying stuff write down 1) the 1-2 key pain points your product solves, 2) the top 2-3 features of your product that really make it worthwhile to spend money on it, 3) the 2-3 steps required to get started. If there are more steps than 2-3 you may need a couple of emails to guide them through the process.

This can be the basis of your campaign. For each email, focus on one of these points. Adding quotes or links to customer testimonials, case studies, reviews, and videos can help to drive your point home and provide an additional way for your prospects to interact with the experience you are providing. Sometimes the biggest hurdle people have to using a product is actually figuring out how to use it. Send an email out to show the 2-3 easy steps they need to take to get started - and maybe even attach a video or a testimonial. Your content should be wrapped in your company's style and brand. If you are a company with a witty voice, bring that out in the emails you create. If you have a more serious tone, ensure the emails reflect that same voice.

4. Titles Matter.

Whether it matters or not at your start up or small business, in email, titles matter - ALOT. The subject line is the most important part of emails. Without an interesting, eye catching subject line, your emails are sure to go unnoticed and unread. Test a few out to see which ones work and which don't. Document what you test so that you remember for future campaigns.

5. Incite Action.

Try to incite action in every email you send. This helps to continue the conversation. Plus, you will be able to see metrics on click through rates to see how engaging the content is. Be sure to have a compelling call-to-action that also gives the user a sense of urgency to move forward.

6. Timing is everything.

You may have the best content in the world, but if you don't reach your users at the time they want to be reached, your effort may result in just that. Test different times of the day to send your emails or different days on which to send them. You may also want to test how far apart to send emails. Timing is critical to understand to get high open and click through rates.

That's pretty much all you need to do to set up  your basic campaign. The email tool you use will guide you through how to set up an automated (aka Drip) campaign.

Let me know you were here by leaving a comment or liking it!

P. S. Here's a good article about the basics of Email Marketing.

Navigating Through The World Of Marketing Via Email (federico-online.com)