OREANDA-NEWS. May 27, 2016. Recently, a number of iconic brands have taken a hit resulting in a series of events that tarnished the brand. Fast-food staple Chipotle and entertainment giant Sea World are among the most prominent brands that recently experienced an extensive public backlash. As a result, they’re now in the process of a massive overhaul of their iconic brands. When a brand is ill, can it be restored back to health?  

The proof will be in the pudding, but both brands have taken giant leaps to change public perception by overhauling their core identity. This is a giant risk for any company, but let’s examine how these brands got to this point and how they are looking to rebrand.

Chipotle’s problems started a few months back after an E.coli bacteria and norovirus outbreaks temporarily closed a few stores. As incidents kept coming to light, consumers became wearier and stopped coming. In December, their sales dropped by 30% and 36% in January. However, in February, their sales ‘improved’ to only a 26% decline. That’s a (small) step in the right direction.

As a result, the chain established stricter safety regulations and reinforced their commitment to fresh ingredients and new promotions to get their customers back. They also claim 2016 will be their ‘comeback year’ and are looking to get themselves back on track – by refocusing everyone on the basics of their business.

Sea World’s problems were a bit different. After a growing public outcry and a slew of negative publicity generated after the 2013 documentary “Blackfish,” Sea World decided to do a 180 degree shift with their brand. They announced they were phasing out the orca-breeding and killer whale shows – a staple for many tourists, instead opting to implement new experiences based on education and conservation, hoping to restore their tarnished image.

Their efforts have resonated with animal rights activists and the public in general, but the question remains – can these brands be restored?

Yes. The general public, while tough and demanding, can (and will) forgive brands who make an honest effort to fix things. Is it fail safe? No, but here are six steps to ensure you’re rebranding the right way:

1. Do Your Research

That’s the first thing you must do when you become aware of the problem. It doesn’t matter what you think your brand represents. What matters is how the public is perceiving your brand. A company must collect a great deal of research – both from customers and those that work with them directly. Your employees are your first line of defense, as they’re the ones that interact more often, and directly, with your customers.

Second, you might have to ask yourself some tough questions and the answers could rock your foundation. The truth might set you free, but it doesn’t mean it won’t sting a bit. You must rip the Band-Aid and be fully honest with yourself if this is to work.

Start by asking yourself the following questions:

  • What qualities/characteristics do you want people to associate your brand with?

  • What feelings do you want them to have?

  • What do you want them to expect from your brand?

  • Can you support these ideas? If not, what do you need to do to make them happen?

  • What sets you apart from your competition?

2. Use every tool at your disposal to gather your research

In order for this to work, you must use every tool available to you – phone calls, online surveys, email surveys, your blog, etc. to ask your customers what they think, feel and expect from your brand. Social media is also a valuable listening tool to keep track of what your customers are saying in real time. There, you have a chance to interact with them directly and address every concern they might have.

Keep in mind that not everyone will be kind or agree with you, but it beats doing nothing. Burying your head in the sand when the going gets tough isn’t going to fix your brand’s problems. I guarantee it’ll have the opposite effect.

3. Find out what’s NOT working

In order to fully assess the situation, you must identify the part of your brand that’s not connecting with customers. With brands like Chipotle and Sea World, the problems were quite obvious. However, sometimes the problem is not going to be staring you right in the face.

In my book, Think Big, Act Bigger, I write about Cadillac and Domino’s, two pretty well-known brands. Cadillac had an identity problem in their hands – no one under 40 would be caught dead owning a Cadillac. The perception customers had of this iconic brand was that Cadillac was synonymous with “old.” How to change that perception? Instead of thinking they knew what customers wanted in a luxury car, they did their homework and asked customers directly. That shifted their way of thinking about rebranding. Today, Cadillac has moved past Lexus – into third place, with only Mercedes and BWM to beat.

Domino’s had a harsher reality to face. Their pizza sucked. That was the feedback customers provided. Now what? We make pizza and it sucked. They created an entirely new marketing campaign acknowledging how bad their product was. They owned their mistakes and communicated them openly, honestly, and transparently. By saying they sucked, Domino’s also said, “We listened to you and we are aware.” The brand took some hits, but the customers appreciated the honesty and stuck around.

4. Develop your story

As a company, your brand’s message needs to be cohesive. It should tell one story and that story needs to be memorable to the consumer. Your story should be one that everyone can get on board with – customers and employees alike.

The brand’s message should also permeate every piece of communication, internal and external, your company creates. From the website, social media, email signatures, selling tools and signage, every person in the company should be able to effectively communicate the brand’s messaging – almost to the point of reciting it in their sleep. One misstep can revert all of the positive changes you may have previously accomplished. Make sure everyone’s aligned.

5. Never stop supporting/promoting your brand

Successful brands are always a living, breathing organism because it maintains an on-going relationship with customers. Granted, it’s really easy to support a brand in good times and tougher in bad times, but if you believe in the brand – and all that it stands for, you must keep the faith. We’ve already established perception is key for your brand, so if the company looks like they have no faith in their own brand, why should the customer? Customers follow the lead of the brand – if the brand remains steady, in a sometimes unstable world, they’ll remain loyal through thick and thin.

6. Be consistent and persistent

If you’ve decided to rebrand, like Chipotle, Sea World and many others, don’t second guess yourself. If you must change things, make sure it’s a tweak or slight adjustment. It’s important that you remain proactive and not reactive. I know it’s tempting to change things every time a customer reacts negatively, but you must resist the urge. Nothing irks customers more than brands shifting drastically after they’ve gotten used to things being a certain way. Constant change may cause you to lose customers at a faster pace than you can attract them.

In the face of the storm, you must remain steady and remember the following words: this too shall pass. Make that your mantra at every point, especially when you’re overhauling your brand.

Will these brands be successful with their rebranding efforts? Will they get their mojo back? Time will only tell if their efforts pay off in the end.

Jeffrey Hayzlett is a primetime television and radio host of C-Suite with Jeffrey Hayzlett and Executive Perspectives on C-Suite TV and All Business with Jeffrey Hayzlett on CBS on-demand radio network Play.It. Hayzlett is a global business celebrity, speaker, best-selling author, and Chairman of C-Suite Network, home of the world’s most powerful network of C-Suite leaders. Connect with Hayzlett on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ or www.hayzlett.com.