Last week we went live with our new application. Our new brand – Growth Panel – was born!
Since many of our customers have asked for case studies of companies at specific stages of our marketing process, I thought I’d share our thinking and the initial results of the rebrand.
The decision to rebrand came after reviewing feedback from user testing conducted in February. Most of our customer testers commented that our updated version was much different from our previous app, and deserved a brand that better expressed its capabilities.
I have to admit, the rebrand was a painful process. We were on a tight development schedule, which can sometimes interfere with getting the creative juices to flow, and quality results aren’t always compatible with short deadlines–especially when the team is already overworked.
When you force it, you often get weak results, or worse yet, utter garbage (like MarketWok or SparkSauce!)
The Anatomy of a Rebrand
Our initial list of names contained 156 options. Many of the names we liked didn’t even make the list because I wanted the .com URL to be available. There are simply too many variables when negotiating with third-party domain squatters, so why even entertain it?
We had some really crazy names on the list, but in the final stages, the choice became clear. We wanted a name that would support and complement all our stakeholders’ brands:
- Marketing & business consultants
- Their clients
- End-user marketing teams
- Partners with co-branded and private-labeled versions
The cool thing about Growth Panel is – it works!
Then we had to decide how to describe it. The new app doesn’t fit into any existing product category. Growth Panel contains online project management, document management, plan-generation functionality and electronic customization for the career’s worth of content that’s included in the offering.
During testing, users started referring to our new baby as a marketing platform. We liked that and we decided to go with it! Growth Panel is a marketing platform.
We also don’t fit into any of the existing software spaces that the analysts have created: EMM, MRM, marketing operations management, analytics, planning, marketing automation or basic project management (though Yahoo seems to think that we’re solely project management).
Maybe we’re closest to EMM (enterprise marketing management), but since we’re focused on SMEs and loaded with marketing intelligence that most SMEs don’t already have, we decided to call our space Intelligent Marketing Management.
Growth Panel Messaging
So here’s what we settled on for our basic messaging:
Marketing Content + Online Project Management = Intelligent Marketing Management
Growth Panel is software-as-a-service (SaaS) that blends a career’s worth of marketing content with online project management. It’s a marketing platform that enables users to create marketing solutions, add their own expertise to make it their own, and organize and manage their marketing activities.
Join the Conversation
We’re starting our soft-launch and laying the foundation for our social media Internet marketing strategy. We expect to ramp up over the summer, so join us and be a part of the conversation. You’ll find us at:
Take a Peek
We have plenty of screenshots and full audio/video screencast demos on the new website, but you check out a few screenshots below:
“The sweetest word in the brand universe is your brand’s name.” This obvious quote is from Bill Schley & Carl Nichols, Jr. in their unheralded book “Why Johnny Can’t Brand.”
Your name is the first and most powerful part of your brand. A great name can help you stand out in a crowded market. It can position you as a leader, convey your culture, even explain what you do in a word or two.
Conversely, a weak name can neutralize or even negate the work you do to build a brand and market position. A weak name is easily forgotten and can limit your opportunities in other markets if you plan to expand.
Consumer product companies understand this, and tie their brand names directly to their brand strategies. Most B2B companies take a more haphazard approach. Those that don’t put any effort into branding simply choose a name, charge forward and end up being “branded” by the market. Or worse yet, they’re simply ignored.
It’s a big undertaking to change your brand name. When is it worth it? Consider changing your name if you’re redefining or repositioning your brand. Here are three reasons to do it:
- Change to distance yourself from a negative event.
- Clarify a confusing or non-descript brand.
- Better represent an upgraded product/service that’s outgrown the existing brand.
Quantify the Costs
Did I mention that changing a brand name is a big undertaking? As with any business decision, it’s important to weigh the costs and benefits. Break down the costs into hard materials and the time and effort to replace them. These can run anywhere from tens of thousands to millions of dollars, depending on your company size.
Corporate Identity/Product Packaging Items
- Letterhead
- Business cards
- All printed materials
- All promotional items, signage and banners
Sales Literature and Tools
- Website
- Company brochure
- Product / service data sheets
- All presentation materials
- Product demos
- Folders
- Templates
Interactive Tools
- Email newsletter
- Electronic branding on other websites
- Company blog
Evaluate the Benefits
It’s straightforward (though not easy) to estimate the cost to change your brand name. The benefits aren’t so easy to quantify. Many of them are intangible and subjective. While this is pretty easy for a branding expert to pinpoint, most SMBs don’t have branding experts facilitating this decision-making process and are left fending for themselves.
Start by considering the following:
- How many years have you been using the existing name?
- Would a change alienate or confuse any existing customers?
- How much goodwill is built into your existing name?
- If you were to change your name, would you lose any revenue as a result? Estimate the dollar loss (if any) over a period of one year.
Now review your brand strategy. Is your name in sync with your brand? Does it reflect your brand promise? Carefully evaluate your position in the marketplace and your last 3-5 years of sales revenue. How well does the market respond to your exisiting brand? Are your revenues growing at the same rate as your competitors? Do your marketing programs produce large quantities of new leads? Or is it a battle just to keep your existing customers?
If you’ve significantly changed your product or are trying to distance yourself from a negative brand, this decision is easy. The tough decision comes when you’re attempting to jumpstart a weak brand. Many times, a weak name and indistinguishable brand cause the above problems. A fresh name and well thought-out brand strategy might open new avenues for growth that far outweigh even substantial rebranding costs.
If you doubt it, check out how many celebrities have changed their names to become more marketable:
- Vincent Damon Furnier to Alice Cooper
- Eleanora Fagan to Billie Holiday
- Demetria Gene Guynes to Demi Moore
- Ilynea Lydia Mironoff to Helen Mirren
- Eilleen Regina Edwards to Shania Twain
- Marion Michael Morrison to John Wayne
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