Fletcher Consulting

Terra L. Fletcher, Fractional CMO takes marketing off your to-do list. Part-time, senior-level marketing strategy partner for companies in transition, ready to scale, or competing for market share.in Shawano, Green Bay, Appleton, the Fox Valley, Wisconsin, the Midwest, and Nationwide, virtual, in-person, and remote. Specializing in manufacturing and B2B.

Is your company going through a rebrand, merger, acquisition, or other brand transition? How do you know where to start? Having helped ten companies in the last five years go through successful rebrands, I’ve got some ideas to make your transition smooth. Here’s a marketing and communication checklist for a merger,  acquisition, or other rebranding project. But first, what’s involved?

What Does it Take?

Embarking on a company rebrand is a strategic endeavor that demands meticulous planning and execution. As a seasoned marketing consultant and Fractional CMO, I understand the significance of this transformative process. A comprehensive checklist for your rebrand will go a long way to ensure a seamless transition and successful market reception. But for the best outcomes, you’ll do well to work with me or another Fractional CMO specializing in marketing through a merger.

Rebranding Checklist

Pre-Merger/Acquisition

Your Chief Marketing Officer and marketing team should be involved in the due diligence phase of a merger or acquisition.

  • Market Analysis: Conduct a thorough analysis of the target company’s market position, competitors, and industry trends.
  • Customer Analysis: Understand the target company’s customer base, needs, and satisfaction levels. Ask to interview three customers of a B2B company or survey a larger sample of a B2C company.
  • Brand Evaluation: Assess the brand strength, perception, and alignment with your company’s values. It has been my experience that matching values are critical to a successful merger.

Communication Planning:

  • Internal Communication: Develop a comprehensive internal communication plan to keep employees informed and engaged throughout the merger or rebrand process.
  • External Communication Strategy: Craft a communication plan for external stakeholders, including customers, suppliers, and partners, emphasizing transparency and continuity. Let them know how and when they’ll receive updates and what the official channels are. (This is an excellent time to ask for newsletter signups!)
  • Media Relations: Anticipate potential media interest and prepare press releases or statements to control the narrative. (You should maintain a spreadsheet of media outlets with up-to-date contact information and keep those relationships strong. You’ll want to share all your big news with these outlets. And should a crisis arise, you’ll be grateful to have these contacts, too.)

Brand Alignment:

  • Brand Integration Plan: Develop a strategy for integrating the brands, ensuring a smooth transition for customers and stakeholders.
    • Shared values are crucial. Focus on the common values of both organizations if you’re going through a merger.
    • If you’re changing a brand element, focus on the values that are staying the same. (New packaging, same vegan recipe.)
  • Visual Identity Alignment: Align visual elements like logos, colors, and design to create a unified brand identity. Whether you adopt one set of brand identities or meld them together will depend mainly on the current brand reputation.
    • If the companies continue to operate separately, you can go for what I call the “sisters, not twins” identity; they look familiar but still maintain their own identity. Share your brand identity guide across the organization so everyone knows the new colors, logos, fonts, taglines, and their proper usage for a consistent image.
  • Messaging Consistency: Ensure that messaging is consistent across all platforms, reflecting the shared values and goals of the merged entities.
    • Of course, your execution of posts may vary by audience, but your overall brand voice and imagery should be consistent.

Customer Transition:

  • Customer Communication: Develop targeted communication for existing customers, highlighting benefits and improvements resulting from the merger.
    • In B2B companies with few customers, individual phone calls to at least your A-list are warranted.
    • Good planning, though, will allow you to release your messages (emails to customers, press releases, etc.) in the proper order and quick succession. Your customers want to hear the news from you, not someone else.
  • Customer Support Readiness: Train customer support teams to handle inquiries and potential concerns during the transition.
    • Have a sample script that uses the same phrases as your customer letter and press release.
  • Retention Strategies: Implement customer retention strategies to minimize churn during the merger.
    • Go back to basics. How can you improve your customer service and communication? What retention practices have helped you in the past?

Digital Presence:

  • Website Updates: Update the company website to reflect the merger or rebrand, including changes to leadership, messaging, and any rebranding elements.
    • If acquired digital assets (website domain names) will be shut down or unused, redirect the former website to the new or updated brand for at least a year. 
    • Don’t forget to update your Google Business listing and profiles on trade associations or professional listing websites (your local chamber of commerce, Better Business Bureau, Indeed).
  • Social Media Management: Adjust social media profiles, posts, and campaigns to reflect the new brand and messaging.
    • Make it fun! This is a great opportunity for teaser or movie trailer-style announcements. Put teasers in your short-form videos and encourage social media followers to engage. Encourage email newsletter signups, too!
  • Email Marketing: Communicate the merger to subscribers with relevant information and updates.
    • These can all be scheduled for the right time. You can also have them link to the website for the full announcement. The advantage is that if there are any changes, you only need to update one spot on your website, not each social media account and newsletter.

Performance Monitoring:

  • KPI Establishment: Define key performance indicators to measure the merger’s success from a marketing perspective. (There will likely be a spike in web traffic, but not necessarily a commensurate increase in customers.)
    • Will you set goals based on combining the metrics of each company individually?
  • Monitoring Tools Implementation: Utilize analytics tools to track website traffic, social media engagement, and other relevant metrics.
    • If you previously only monitored monthly, you will want to increase your frequency of checking analytics.
    • Watch for anomalies. Do spikes correlate with your press releases? Do your social media clicks through to your website increase with big announcements? (They should!)
  • Feedback Mechanisms: Establish feedback mechanisms to gather insights from customers, employees, and other stakeholders. (Surveys, feedback forms, or even a phone number specific to the merger.)

Follow Up After the Rebrand

After the rebrand or merger, you’ll want to reevaluate your marketing basics.

Brand Positioning and Messaging

  • Target Audience Refinement: Further define and understand the target audience post-rebrand. How has it shifted? Are your demographics the same? Have customer expectations shifted?
  • Brand Messaging: Continue to craft compelling and cohesive brand messages that align with the desired positioning.

Marketing Collateral

  • Collateral Update: You’ve already updated your website. Now might be the time to refresh marketing collateral such as email signatures, brochures, business cards, and other printed materials.

Performance Evaluation

  • Assess the rebrand’s success by measuring key performance indicators (KPIs) such as customer engagement, brand awareness, and market share.

This checklist should get you a good start, but depending on your company and industry, there will be a lot more involved. Do you need help with marketing?

Fletcher Consulting has been in business since 2007. I’ll draw from my extensive experience to provide you with a roadmap that navigates the intricacies of a rebranding initiative. From refining your brand messaging to orchestrating a cohesive visual identity, each task will elevate your brand and position it for success in the ever-evolving business landscape.

Call me directly at 715-584-6773 or schedule a meeting now.

**Don’t forget!**

1. **Legal Compliance:** Ensure all marketing practices comply with regulatory requirements, particularly in industries with strict guidelines.

2. **Data Privacy:** Review and align data privacy policies and practices to protect customer information in accordance with applicable regulations.