{Don Debelak’s new book, Turning Your Invention into Cash is now available on Amazon for $3.49. Go to Amazon.com and enter inventions Don Debelak to purchase. From the author of Entrepreneur Magazine’s Bringing Your Product to Market.}

Reinvent Your Invention’s Image

by Josh Wallace

May is International Business Image Improvement Month.  Is your business or product’s image stale, tired or out-of-touch with your target customers?  Try a makeoever!

Makeovers have become a popular trend with people because they like the idea of reinventing themselves and the attention they gain from the experience. The same concept can also be applied to your company and/or products. You could rework your current logo into a more modern, professional symbol. You could update your brochures, promotional and marketing materials with a new look, focus or attitude. Or you could come up with a brand new, unique ad campaign to put yourself in a different light. There are many possibilities and any route is going to generate interest.

Corporations get makeovers all the time. This process is called rebranding. A brand is the overall experience and association with a company, its products and/or services—it’s the identity that makes the company stand out. The central point of most brands is the logo, which can sometimes even become the reason why people spend their money on certain products. Logos never stay the same over their lifespan. Companies need to progress with time and with their marketing focus. Here are a few examples.

After the logo comes everything that it’s printed on. The rebranding flows into the look of the business collateral, the experience of the website, the feelings behind the packaging, the direction of the advertising and so on.

Rebranding is prominent among corporations, but every company large and small has a brand experience that could be tweaked. Rebranding (and branding for that matter) can cost millions at the corporate level, but at a smaller scale, it doesn’t need to be so intense. Start with your logo(s). How long have you been using this logo? Could it use an update or does it make sense to keep it the way it is? Does it work as well as it could? Does it target every possible audience? Does it succeed locally, nationally or globally if needed? Your logo is your most important advertising piece and a new or updated version can really improve your image, amend the confidence with your current customers, create a new sense of interest with potential customers and ultimately generate more sales.

If you update your logo you’ll also need to consider everything else that is used to promote and advertise your company, services and products, but if you decide that your logo is fine you should still ask the same questions to figure out if your collateral does the best possible job portraying you.

One key factor to remember during any rebranding is to keep your clients in mind throughout the procedure. Depending on the depth of the rebrand, a methodical approach should be used to refrain from alienating your existing customers. It never hurts to consult a branding specialist if your plan calls for radical restructuring, otherwise consult an advertising/design professional to help you revamp your materials.

Rebranding can be a useful process to re-identify and reposition yourself in any way that you see fit. It can be as detailed or as simple as you need or have the budget for. No company has a perfect brand experience, but periodic improvements will ensure greater success. It’s all necessary to stay fresh in the eyes of your customers and to gain the market share that you could be missing.

Josh Wallace is the graphic design associate at the One Stop Invention Shop.  To learn more about Josh, click here.  To see a list of his services, click here.

Do you need web content?  Don Debelak, who has written 15 books published by major publishers such as McGraw Hill and Entrepreneur Press is currently writing web content.  Check out more information at:

http://onestopinventionshop.net/web-content-writing-services

 Don Debelak offers affordable patent work. Check out http://patentsbydondebelak.com/