Is it time to rebrand your professional services firm?

These days a lot of firms are coming to the conclusion that it is. But rebranding a professional services firm can be a costly and time consuming undertaking. And worse still, if not done properly it can leave you no better off than when you started.

So it is a big decision. In this post we want to give you a good understanding of why you might want to take the leap and what you stand to gain in various scenarios. But let’s start by clearing up any confusion about what rebranding is or is not.

Rebranding Defined

Rebranding refers to the process of developing and rolling out a new or modified brand for a professional services firm. It is more than simply refreshing a logo or updating your website. It reflects a new position in the marketplace to gain a competitive advantage.

It typically involves three stages. The first is getting the strategy right. Strategy should be based on research on your target clients. The second stage is building out all the tools to communicate your new brand. These tools range from logo and tagline to website and marketing collateral. The third phase is rolling out the new brand.

For more information on the rebranding process, including costs and timelines, check out our rebranding kit or our just released book, Inside the Buyers Brain.

Reasons to Rebrand

There are many possible reasons to consider rebranding your firm. Here are some of the most common and most compelling. Do any of these apply to your situation?

  1. You need to compete at a higher level. As your firm grows and changes you may find yourself competing with larger, more sophisticated competitors. Many larger firms are also aggressively going after business that they formerly ignored. This means you may be forced to compete at a higher level. What used to be quite acceptable, no longer is. By comparison your brand image can seem “small time.” A new brand image can put you on a higher level, give your team more confidence and lead to more wins.
  2. Your brand no longer reflects who you are. Firms change over time. You may not be the same firm you were five years ago. Yet your brand may give the impression that you are. This is not a good thing. It’s equivalent to unilaterally giving up the competitive advantages you have worked so hard to develop. Why would you do that? If you have to instruct potential clients to disregard what they see on your website or in your marketing materials you may well be in this situation. The benefits of rebranding in this situation are obvious. Your new brand reinforces who you are rather than fighting with it.
  3. Your firm is part of a merger. Most firms in this situation are confronted with a name change at minimum. Often time the name is part of the formal merger negotiations. But that is only the beginning. The combined firm may have all of its brand equity associated with an old name and be virtually unknown in some markets or industries. The opportunities for confusion and lost business abound. Here a rebranding can do wonders. A brand strategy that takes into account the combined strengths of the new entity can help launch you into new markets and garner new clients. An often-overlooked benefit is that it can also help the combined staffs rally around an exciting new brand identity. This is also helpful in mitigating any “us v. them” feelings.
  4. Your firm is spun off from an existing brand. While this scenario seems similar to a merger, it has a somewhat different set of challenges. You may well have an established brand that has a great reputation and high visibility. But suddenly you are forced to establish a completely separate identity over a very compressed time period. These transactions are rarely announced far in advance of the event. As if that weren’t enough, the new entity is often short on funds and preoccupied with a host of administrative and operational tasks. The good news is that this is the perfect opportunity to inject new energy and focus into your firm. It can set the stage for a serge of new business and new hires.
  5. Your brand image is old fashioned and out of date. The world is changing. What looked up to date and completely acceptable a few years ago no longer does. Even if who you are hasn’t changed, styles have. The net effect is that staying the same is really falling behind. There is a special challenge for firms facing a significant anniversary, such as a 50 years. You have a major selling point related to stability and longevity. Yet, on the other hand, you could very easily be seen as behind the times. A rebrand can solve this dilemma with a strategy that captures the best of both.
  6. You have a legal reason compelling you to change. Sometimes you are forced to change your name or other aspect of your identity. Perhaps when you started the firm you did not invest in a comprehensive trademark review and one day you received that ominous cease and desist letter. Whatever the specific reason, you are faced with crafting a new identity. While it can be a royal pain it can also be a golden opportunity to craft an exciting new identity. As firms compete across a wider geographic area this becomes more and more common.
  7. You need to simplify and focus your message. Over time branding and marketing messages get expanded, twisted, turned and cobbled together. That’s the real world. Sometimes it is necessary to hit the reset button and start over. Rebranding is the ideal way to accomplish this task as it always starts with where you are today and looks toward where you are going as a business. A fresh look with an unbiased branding firm can get you past legacy thinking and started down the right road.
  8. You have a new marketing team. New marketing teams bring a new perspective. This is often the perfect time to give the new team the tools they need to be successful. Nothing is more helpful than rolling out a refreshed and reinvigorated brand. The rebranding process forces you to look realistically at where you are today and where you want to be in the future. Then it helps you assemble all the tools you will need to get there.
  9. You are launching a new service line. While branding a major new service line is technically not a rebrand (a brand extension is more accurate), it does involve many of the same tasks and decisions. Brand extensions are quite common as firms seek to enter new markets with new target clients. Sometimes firms will choose to (or be legally compelled to) create a new legal entity to emphasize its separation of the parent firm. Unfortunately these new entities will often get little help in creating their own brand. This is unfortunate as it limits their ability to succeed.
  10. You want to position your firm to compete in a new market. Perhaps one of the most common reasons to rebrand is also one of the most compelling. For example, you may be an IT security firm that has focused on financial services. You have concluded that you need to add health care as an additional target market. Do you just tack it on to your existing brand message and hope for the best? Not if you want to succeed. The very same positioning that helped you in financial services may well set you back in health care. A rebrand is often the most efficient and effective ways to insure success.

Rebranding your professional services firm can be a challenge, especially if you are new to the process. If done correctly though it can be the spark that ignites unprecedented firm growth and prosperity.

Here are a couple of resources to help you along the way. First check out our free rebranding kit. You will also get a front row seat into how professional services buyers view the firm selection process and much more in our just released book, Inside the Buyers Brain. Enjoy.

Lee