A brand relaunch is like a second chance for ailing B2B companies. This tool can be used to redefine your company, reach additional groups of customers and counteract dwindling sales. However, this often involves a balancing act, requiring a good strategy and experience.
Brand relaunch for the B2B segment: why a new start can make sense
A company must be in dire straits before undergoing a brand relaunch. After all, such a new beginning is a huge challenge for all departments and hierarchical levels involved. And whether this undertaking actually leads to the desired results is not a given. But there are good reasons for a new positioning on the market:
- Slumping sales and profits as well as an ongoing lull in orders
- Customers bailing out
- Old product portfolio
- Increasingly stronger and successful competition
These are often signs of a brand cycle in its final days. And by the time these signs set in, it’s time to take countermeasures. A suitable tool for this can be a brand relaunch. When done well, it can lead to:
- More media attention
- A modern image
- An up-to-date product portfolio
- A strategic realignment
The bottom line is that a brand relaunch can set reanimate a dying product or even an entire company.
Strategy for a successful brand relaunch
The starting point for a promising new start is the right strategy. To develop this, it’s best to begin with a thorough and honest analysis of internal and external factors. These include:
- Market environment
- B2B target group
- Sales prognosis
- Communication channels
- Technology developments
In the end, it’s about taking ruthless stock of the current situation and its causes, on the one hand; and on the other hand, about the desired goals for the brand reorganisation and how they can be achieved. There is no standard recipe for this. But usually the following approaches and measures are helpful:
- Rework of the product and its sales paths
- Redesign of the logo or the corporate design
- Integration of new procedures and processing into the company
- Adaptation of the company’s impression or brand image
- Optimisation of customer communication and acquisition via digital channels
Important: The clearer the strategy, the easier it is to communicate the restart. Which is why it makes sense to bring in the marketing departments in this early phase. This enables, for instance, supporting PR measures to be developed and rolled out later as needed.
Risks associated with a brand relaunch
A successful restart not only requires a customised strategy, but also experience with the task. This is why companies with little previous know-how should check if it would be best to work together with a specialised agency. Otherwise this ambitious undertaking can easily fail. The main risks behind a brand relaunch include:
- Deciding too late to undertake a new start
- Inconsistent and hesitant realisation of the strategy
- Too little financial investment
- Unsuitable communication with the target group
- Regular customers who are unsettled by the reorganisation
- Not enough new customer acquisition
Examples of brand relaunches
There is no guarantee for a successful B2B brand relaunch – but there are some examples of successful brand relaunch projects. Here are two German companies as examples of how a brand can be refreshed and restructured.
ZAE-AntriebsSysteme …
… celebrated the company’s 100th anniversary in 2019. The anniversary was taken as an occasion for a brand relaunch, based on a precise analysis of the industry’s market environment. The measure led to an updated brand image, including a new logo and new visual language. At the same time, the website was optimised and built up to become a comprehensive brand and sales contact channel.
Engelbert Strauss …
… is specialised in workwear and industrial clothing needs. Despite the good numbers, the family-run company decided to undertake a brand relaunch, including a new product line. The aim: To polish the brand’s dusty image and position the own brand more strongly on the market. The company achieved this step by step. In addition to new, robot-controlled manufacturing technology, the modern styled sales rooms and intensive, target-group-specific advertising made a significant contribution to achieving this. The textiles themselves were reworked and designed to be trendier, without compromising functionality. Today, Strauss clothing is also worn in the private outdoor area. This would never have been possible without supporting marketing measures consisting of the right communication for the target group.
