The corporate image of a company is not eternal: fashions change, the competition squeezes, the market evolves, and the companies expand services and products.

If the company switches, the image with which is presented to their customers and the society must also change, or will be representing something that no longer is real. In this article, we will see the main reasons that have the small and medium enterprises to create a new corporate image, or upgrade the who already have. In general, the reasons that we presented to renew the self-image can be grouped into two categories: strategic reasons, planned, to seize opportunities.

Reaction to existing problems: while you read the list of reasons, ask yourself if you may be the case of your company, and whether it should renew its image.

1. The company is new

This is the most obvious reason: a new company usually has no image established with the submitted to its customers, so it should be a. It is a mistake to think that do not need to create an image: always has, although it is the “company which has not concerned about its image”.

The perfect time to create the new image is during the process of building the company, before leaving to search for customers, but when it has already been defined the strategy. No need to be perfect, you can improve later; but it must be professional and appropriate to the company.

2. The company has stabilized

When you create, a new company there is always to adjust the plans to the reality of the market. It is not always possible to know in advance, what will be the activity that will be carried out at the end of a time. When this happens, it must renew the image as soon as the company has stabilized and knows what really do it. For example, a company initially management of consumer credit may end specializing in mortgages. Alternatively, a company prepared foods may end specializing in caterings.

3. Bad design

In many companies, the logo is simply wrong. It has designed someone who is not professional, someone with whom it is commitment (for example, a nephew that has “good hand with the Photoshop”), or even what has drawn the same employer. The bad design is the worst of all cases: a bad image leaps out much more than a normal; customers doubt their professionalism (who trusts a company that does not care its image?), and possibly have to give a better price to get the orders.

A good image gives confidence to customers, distinguishes the company of the competition, makes you remember better, and may allow you to charge more for its products and services. As soon as possible, renew its image, the better.

4. Change of name

There are names that are not working and should be changed, although the company did not change activity. Names bored, difficult to remember, too long, too generic, initials that nobody understands… or can be that customers confuse you with another company, or that did not identify what is dedicated. When this happens, the only solution is to change of name.

If you change the name of the company, the image must, at least, adjust to accommodate the new name. On the other hand, you can take the opportunity to make a re-branding complete and re-launch the company.

5. To change the perception of customers

Many companies renew their logo and its corporate image, not because it is bad or does not conform to the company, but to renew the perception of the company customers, suppliers, investors, and society in general. The companies want to face friendlier, innovative, technological, modern, etc.

6. Change in strategy

Companies evolve with the market, and it can happen to change their product, canal, technology, or even for the sector. When the company switches enough so that its image no longer the represents, it should renew.  There are two possible ways to make this change: In a planned, as soon as the new strategy is clear, preferably before implementing it. The development of the new image should be part of the process of strategic change.

7. To create new lines of business

The companies create new lines of business and new brands for many reasons: to introduce a new line of products, to exploit a niche market, to create a second mark to compete with the main, to attack other bands of price (more expensive or cheaper), or to enter new markets. The new business unit can use the image of the matrix, you can adapt, or you can create a completely new.

8. Expansion

A company can expand its field of action in many ways: introducing new product lines, accessing new markets or to new channels, attacking new customer segments, etc. If the logo and image are linked to a product, geographic region, market, canal or segment, the expansion is hampered. Will be necessary to adjust the image to remove this limitation, redefine completely, or risk continuing with an image represents only a part of the activity.

When to make the change: When it is expected significant expansion and planning strategy. For example, when a company of professional services decides to expand and give direct service to consumers. Alternatively, when a company of direct sale decides to expand and sell through distributors.

As soon as the new activity acquires sufficient importance in the whole of the company. For example, when a company exporting occasionally increases the volume of its exports.

9. Concentrate business lines

Many companies create business units or independent brands, for example, to commercialize different products, or in different channels, or segments of price. It may be that the diversification go too far, no longer serve, or that any line of business is entered, so that the company chooses reinstate a mark secondary to the main trademark. When this happens, we have to adapt two images: that of the mark secondary, during a time of transition until that customers have accepted the change of brand, and the main trademark, to accept the new line.

10. Expertise

When a company has diversified too, can decide focus on a part of your business and detached from the rest. For example, you can leave channel distributor and focus on direct sales. Alternatively, retain a single line of products. Alternatively, focus on a niche market.

Why? Because only in English, we are very few that we are dedicated to the theme of the Internet businesses, people have very little chance of choice. And if I have few competitors, at last I will have less strategic allies in which make promotions cross our different products or services.

The point that I want to reach is that the competition should not be a negative factor for thinking in starting a business on the Internet. In fact, when you are doing a prior analysis of market, trying to see if your product, its service or their enterprise, is going to have viability or not on the Internet, are that there is competition. In other words, that already exist other people that is providing solutions to the public goal to which you are running. And the best way to compete with these people or with its competition is to analyze exactly what the commercial proposition for them. Analyze exactly how they are selling, at what price they are selling, under what feature are selling and how are communicating with the target audience, do they have or have electronic newsletter? Do You Have tools that allow loyalty these potential customers? Or do not have?

Once you have collected all the intelligence of Marketing, and have succeeded in identifying what is its competence and what they are doing, is the ideal time for you between to differentiate themselves from them and to offer something better than what they are offering.

And not go to commit the mistake that many, and is differentiated only based on the price. In fact, some of my competitors believe that the best way to compete me is to compete with prices. I have a product that is on the subject X, they offer another product also on the same and the offer at half price, and believe that by selling at half price van to sell more, when this is a mistake. It is a mistake because if the quality of both products or the characteristics of both offers are not the same, obviously in latest I will end gaining myself. If my goal is to sell ten thousand dollars a month with a good product of $100, I know that I have to sell 100 products to win ten thousand dollars. While this person, would have to get 200 customers to make the same ten thousand dollars, or any figure of the we are talking about.

In a way that competition is not of prices, competition is of tenders, competition is in perceived value of your product, the difference is in the manner in which you packaged your product, in the manner in which you presents the information.

If this person is offering a digital book, you can offer the same -I am not saying that you copy their contents, or that steals the ideas to this person – but you generate a solution to the same problem in a different format. For example audio, for example videos, for example tele-seminars. For example, you can expand and give a better guarantee of satisfaction or return of the money. It is quite possible that its competitors, are not offering a warranty, you can provide a guarantee of 30, 60, 90 days, a year.

If the website of the other person is not very clear, it is not very easy to navigate, does not have a letter of sales hawker, you are responsible for differentiated in the manner in which is presenting the offer. Or, here is not a competition between products is not a competition among suppliers of solutions; it is a competition in achieving distinguished. But if you cannot differentiate, is not going to achieve positioned in the market. And if it cannot be positioning and is trying to sell cheap products, with good quality, regular or bad, because it is not going to get very far.

So, competition: healthy; many providers: healthy. Between more competitions, the more strategic alliances can do and more can make promotions crusades to dominate its market. The key is in the differentiation and positioning.

Analyze your competition

The aim of the analysis of the competition is to check the positions and factors to which you have to be very attentive to remain in the competitive battle for the market to which serve. In this way you can detect if your position allows you to enjoy a more advantageous situation, or, conversely, if you should give a twist to our current situation and take any decision or change of attitude.

For this test of your competitors is necessary to determine all the factors that are based the criteria for the purchase of the customers of that market in each of the various areas of the company: Marketing and commercial – Production – Administration – Technology. On each of the factors determined, should indicate whether the relative position of each of its competitors taken into consideration is better or worse than the position of your company.

But be a successful entrepreneur is required look at the grand table and follow a plan in principle to order. Rieva Lesonsky, ex-editor in chief of the magazine Entrepreneur offers some practical guidelines that can help you the time to start your own company:

1. Do not leave your Current Work.
Considers the possibility of starting your business to half time, especially if it is on the internet, while these working, you will have a fixed income. Start with what is can handle economically and in a reasonable time go climbing to grow your business. So for now do not recommend renounce the use before having something stable
2.Find your niche market.
You have to find a necessity, something that a specific group of people want, but cannot get in the shops or Big Businesses. Recommends by Lesonsky, “You cannot compete with the great, so you have to find where the place you can make a competition, and enter your niche.”
3. Take a presence online.
Even if you are not planning starting a business of retail online, the Internet can still play a valuable role in your company. Take online presence eliminates the limitations of the physical location and expands its base of prospectuses and customers literally millions of people. It is also a great tool for the promotion of itself and let people, even in its own area, know that you are there, and what you are doing.
4. Rejects Leave after Fail
Business success requires creativity, energy and momentum to move forward when flaws.

Think, for example, that should be consider his future as competition speed lines? What about video conferencing business? That questions should be exercise for you and will help you defend your current position and identify future opportunities.

Beware on your opponents. Visit their sites, become his clients, ask a catalog, absolutely everything you should compare your competition For strategic information, monitor what is published about them and attending events involving its directors, in their eagerness to impress the audience in these acts tend to talk more than necessary.