A New Brand? A Fresh Market?

There are two ways to respond to a downshift in the economy. You can sink, or you can start thinking creatively. Many of the major corporate players are revamping their brands to stand out in an even more hotly competitive marketplace, and so can you.

The media recently reported the decision by Victoria's Secret to revamp its brand by toning down products that leave too little to the imagination and start embracing a wider (read: more mature) market. With sales down, Victoria's Secret executives announced plans to revamp its brand to make it still sexy, but a little less flamboyant, apparently hoping to attract older shoppers back into the stores.

Cell phone companies, too, are searching for new ways to revamp their brands. LG Electronics, the maker of the Voyager and Chocolate phones, this year started holding focus group meetings to dig deeper into what customers really want that will allow the company to stand out among so many choices. "We constantly have to be reminding ourselves that we tend to be geek types, and our customers are not," Ehtisham Rabbani, an LG vice president for product strategy and marketing, told the New York Times. "Our job is to be behaviorists and psychologists."

The Wall Street Journal reports that T-Mobile is introducing test models of a new system that will allow cell phones to connect with home landline phones. The service, "Talk Forever Home Phone," is being introduced first in Seattle and Dallas. It will allow the use of a cell phone account in combination with any corded or cordless home phone with multiple extensions for only $10 a month after a one-time $50 router charge, the newspaper reported. In this case, the goal was to be different and also affordable.

Is it time to revamp your brand?

5 Easy Ways to Revamp Your Brand

1. Engage your own focus group. Gather a group of your best customers and also new customers (and don't forget co-workers, employees and mentors) to meet for at least one hour to discuss whether it's time to revamp your brand, and how this can be accomplished at little or no additional cost. If you'll make a few simple changes - new copy or new packages - your new marketing will bring you happy surprises. The goal is to adapt ideas from these how-to guides to holding focus groups to fit your budget and preferred group size.

2. Refine your focus group results. Once you have received a set of suggestions, realistically study them to determine what will best suit revamping your brand without major changes or expenses. In a tough economy, zero in on what will save customers or clients money (or be the best value), and what can bring you new customers.

3. Zero in on extras. Revamp your brand to embrace "extras" that will bring more old and new customers to your door. Can you repackage your services to add a "bonus" or "free" service such as a newsletter, calendar, or a 10-minute mini-consultation?

4. Think compatibility. T-Mobile decided to revamp its brand by experimenting with how to become more compatible with traditional landline telephone service. How can you revitalize your brand to make it compatible with some other offering you might already be making? When your client base feels pushed and frayed, you can tempt them with time-savings by using your service? If consumers are less inclined to drive long distances, can you make your services or products more compatible to online availability?

5. Rethink your customer base. How can you revamp your brand to appeal to customers outside your niche demographic to make up for less business by existing customers? Sometimes it can be a matter of just rephrasing your marketing to appeal to a wider customer base, versus introducing new gadgets or product lines.

Consider revamping your brand if it's a bit old, and any of these tips can bring you escalating sales.