Elon Musk rebranded Twitter. Should you follow his lead and rebrand your small business?
Before you bite the bullet and rebrand your small business, here are seven things to consider:
1. IT’S RISKY
Rebranding is risky. Consider the colossal risk that Elon Musk took when he rebranded Twitter to
X. It is still not clear how this will all play out for him in the long run. It might work out, but it
might fail. Many experts on this subject think he’s going to fail.
We have to wait and see what actually happens to Musk but as a small business owner with
pockets significantly less deep than Elon Musk, you have to really analyze the risks of rebranding
your company before you do it. You have spent so much time building your small business from
nothing to something you can be proud of. Your customers have come to think of your business
as a “brand”. With that comes customer expectations. Your core clients and customers typically
expect that things will continue as they always have, with some improvement. This is true no
matter the size of your business.
Imagine, for example, if MacDonalds suddenly decided to change the name of the “hamburger”
to “bunburger.” Or even more dramatic, change the name of the company from “MacDonalds” to
“Z”. How do you think customers would react? Similarly, if you decided to re-brand your small
business, how do you think your customers will react? Do you think changing the name of your
small business, or its logo, or its core products and services will lead to higher profits, or would
you just end up losing customers? It’s a huge risk that, as a small business owner, you must
carefully analyze before deciding to rebrand.
2. IT’S POTENTIALLY REDUNDANT
A rebrand could potentially be redundant if you are not offering something significantly different
than you were before. Before you spend resources on rebranding, figure out if you’re offering
anything different, or if the rebrand is really redundant. In an article in CNN Business, Twitter’s
rebrand is the next stage in Elon Musk’s vision for the company. But does anyone want it, the
author seems to suggest that if the rebrand is not offering more than just a name change, it might
be dismissed as a “desperate attempt for attention.” It is not good for your company’s image to be
dismissed as “desperate”. A rebrand that is seen as just a desperate attempt for attention could
potentially render your small business redundant.
3. IT COULD BE THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT YOUR CORE CUSTOMERS WANT
Before you decide to rebrand your small business, you need to ask yourself whether there is any
demand for this rebranding from your core customers and clients.
Consider carefully the business model you have used all along and whether your customers want
you to keep this model or change it. This is important because when your core customers become
dissatisfied or disillusioned with your business you, lose them. One way that companies lose their
core customers is by rebranding to something that is not what their core customers want. So, if
you are a small business owner who is thinking about re-branding your business, be sure that this
is what your core customers want. One way to do this is to ask them. Have them fill out surveys
or answer questionnaires about the rebranding to gauge how they feel about it before you do it.
4. IT COULD BE TOO AMBITIOUS
A rebrand is ambitious no matter how you slice it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being
ambitious. But if the ambitiousness is not well thought out and executed, it could backfire. It is
painful to grow, and everything takes time. No point in trying to grow too fast and too big if more
time is needed to achieve your goals. A gradual rebranding effort might make more sense than a
sudden change, in some circumstances. In other circumstances, a sudden change could work. As a
small business owner, you have to figure out the right strategy for you so that you do not turn off
your core customers and clients by being too ambitious under the circumstances.
5. IT’S COSTLY
Rebranding will cost a lot of money. For one thing, you will need new letterhead. You will need
to update your website, you will potentially need to hire new people, train old staff and even
relocate depending on the situation. It could end up being extremely, if not prohibitively
expensive. Don’t misunderstand: the cost could be worth it in the end. But the cost is something
you need to weigh as a small business owner before you decide to rebrand your business.
6. IT COULD LEAD TO INCREASED/UNEXPECTED REGULATORY ISSUES
Rebranding, depending on the nature of your business, could mean exposure to increased
regulation, or regulation where before there were none. This is something that a small business
owner needs to consider before deciding to change their core business model. Because with
regulation comes more oversight, more reporting responsibilities, more expenses and more
exposure to liability. Is it worth it? Only you can decide for your specific situation.
7. LEAVES AN OPENING FOR COMPETITORS TO STEAL YOUR DISGRUNTLED
CUSTOMERS
Rebranding could expose a small business to increased competition from competitors because
core customers could be dissatisfied with the new you. This is why a small business should
carefully weigh whether rebranding really makes sense and whether the rebrand is something
their core customers and clients really need and want. For example, if you own a weightlifting
gym, and you decide to rebrand to a yoga studio, this could be a problem if your core customers
want to lift weights rather than do yoga stretches. Even a name change of a business could turn
some customers off –even if the core business model remains intact. Again, there is risk and as a
small business owner, you have to weigh those risks before deciding to rebrand.
In conclusion, if you are a small business owner who is thinking of an Elon Musk type of
rebrand, be sure to think things through carefully, especially from the standpoint of your core
customers and clients, before you do it.
