Buying a business can be an exciting and strategic way to enter the world of entrepreneurship. Instead of starting from scratch, you get the advantage of an established operation, existing customer base, and often, a proven revenue stream. But purchasing a business is only the first step. Once you’ve acquired it, how do you make it your own? This is where branding and marketing come into play. By assessing and reinventing a business’s image, you can shape it into something that reflects your vision and values. 

This blog will take a look at how to acquire a business, tailor its marketing to your needs, and rebrand it to make it stand out - making the business all your own!

Why and How Do You Buy a Business?

Acquiring a company, especially small business acquisition, has its advantages over starting your own venture from scratch. When you buy a business, it may come with a solid customer base, existing revenue streams, and functional systems in place. While this route still comes with a hefty workload, it can accelerate your timeline to profitability and reduce some of the risks associated with launching a new business. Here are some of the popular ways to buy a business:

• Buy an established business: This option usually involves taking over a well-established company with a recognizable name and market position.

• Buy into a franchise: Franchises offer the opportunity to operate a business under an established brand with support from a franchisor.

• Acquire a Competitor or Complementary Business: Mergers and acquisitions can be a strategic move for growth by either acquiring a direct competitor or a business that complements your existing operations.

Whichever path you take, purchasing a business is just the beginning. Once you own it, your first task is to make it your own. A key part of this change is to revamp the marketing and branding strategy. It must align with the new goals and vision you bring with you.

How to Personalize the Marketing for Your Newly Acquired Business

Look at the Existing Customer Base

As you first start to manage your new-to-you business, the first thing to understand is the reason you're in business: your customers. Without this knowledge, it's impossible to make informed marketing decisions that work. By analyzing customer demographics and behavior, you can decide whether to keep your target audience as-is or pivot toward a new market segment.

If you choose to not rewrite the wheel, you're focusing on customer retention. Loyal customers are the lifeblood of any business, and it's helpful to have an established customer base when you buy a business. As you rebrand, consider strategies like loyalty programs or targeted outreach to ensure your current customers still feel valued and remain engaged. On the flip side, this might be the perfect opportunity to expand your customer base. Rebranding could help you tap into a new demographic that better aligns with your growth plans.

Assess the Existing Marketing and Branding

Before making any changes, it's important to run through a thorough assessment of your new company's existing marketing and branding. During this, you should examine everything from logos, slogans, and website design to your social media presence and other marketing strategies.

• Audit your brand identity: Is the current branding still relevant and appealing? Does it align with your vision?

• Evaluate customer perception: Check out reviews, surveys, or direct feedback to understand the public opinion of your new-to-you business.

• Analyze marketing channels: Look at which platforms are generating leads. Are there any overlooked marketing opportunities that could be explored further?

By knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your current marketing strategy, you can find areas to improve or innovate. This assessment will also help you understand what’s working well while focusing your efforts on areas that need revamping.

Consider Where You Want to Grow Your Business

When you go through a small business acquisition and start thinking about a rebranding, it’s important to consider where you want to take the business in the long term. For example:

• Do you plan to expand into new markets?

• Are you diversifying the product or service offerings?

• Are there potential partnerships or collaborations that could benefit from a new brand identity?

Your marketing strategies should reflect these growth goals. If you plan to expand geographically, consider how you'll need to create localized campaigns or partnerships with regional influencers. If you're diversifying products, launch promotional campaigns that showcase these new offerings–and your new brand!–and emphasize how they complement the business’s core identity.

Brainstorm New Ideas

Once you have a clear picture of target audience(s) and you’ve finished your audit, the next step is to think about how you want to add your personality or flair into the business. This could be as simple as thinking about new brand colors or as involved as changing the logo, mission, and more. To get started, ask yourself:

• What are your core values, and how do you want the brand to reflect them?

• How do you want the business to be perceived by new and existing customers?

• What makes your brand unique compared to the competition?

Once you have your answers to these questions, you can start brainstorming new ideas for your business’s new identity and positioning! Consider tweaking the brand’s voice and tone to reflect your leadership style and/or mission. You could also tailor the messaging to appeal to a specific customer group, or broaden the offering to reach a wider audience. Some great areas to add your touch could include:

• Modernizing your logo logo and iconography to reflect a modern look

• Writing new taglines or slogans that resonate with your brand philosophy

• Printing new signage or promotional products to promote your new identity

Brainstorming can be the most fun part of the rebranding process. It's where your creativity and strategic thinking comes into play. At this stage, you can ensure that your new branding and marketing efforts reflect both your personality as the new business owner and your new long-term goals.

Think About a Rebranding Timeline

Rebranding is a major undertaking of small business acquisition, so before you jump into this massive project, you need a timeline to keep you on track. Unveiling a new brand too quickly can alienate existing customers and rebranding too late can confuse new customers. Put together a phased timeline to roll out all your new brand elements gradually, allowing your customer base to adjust to the changes. For example:

• Phase 1: Start by updating internal materials and company culture to reflect the new vision.

• Phase 2: Soft launch the rebrand to your existing customer base through clear communication channels, like newsletters or special events.

• Phase 3: Introduce your rebrand to the public with an announcement campaign, press releases, and other special promotions.

Keep the lines of communication open with your customers throughout the transition to explain why you're rebranding and how it will benefit them.

Revamp Marketing Assets and Strategies

After you've decided on your brand's new direction, it's time to make it happen! Updating and refreshing marketing assets can involve everything from redesigning the website to creating new promotional materials–there are a lot of moving parts–so this is where your timeline will come into play. Here are a few key areas where you can focus your resources: 

• Website Redesign: These days, your website is often the first impression potential customers get of your business. A website overhaul should include improvements in user experience (UX), mobile optimization, and updated visuals that reflect your new branding.

• Social Media Reboot: Start fresh by updating all social media profiles with your new branding and a new content strategy that's aligned with your new vision.

• Email Marketing Campaigns: Launch an email campaign to reintroduce your brand–and yourself as the new owner–to existing customers and offer promotions to incentivize return business.

Also, think about how to allocate your marketing budget wisely across these strategies, focusing on where your target audience is most likely to engage.

Streamline Small Business Acquisition Marketing with AlphaGraphics MIDDLETON

Deciding to buy a business is a huge step, but it's only the first of many. Making it your own requires a thoughtful approach to branding and marketing. And AlphaGraphics is here to help you reveal your new brand to the world! Whether you need help with graphic design or customized marketing materials for your grand re-opening, our team is ready to be your trusted partner for all your print and marketing needs! Contact AlphaGraphics MIDDLETON to get started with your new business today.