I was watching an old TV sitcom the other day. It has been at least ten years since it taped its last episode and I thought about the actors on the show. For the most part, they have not done any other acting that I am aware of since then. You often hear of performers being pigeonholed to their character – so much so that no one will cast them for any other role because, even though they are performing as an entirely different character, the audience will always see them as the first.

Have you been pigeonholed in your business? Has the market so closely defined your brand that you cannot grow past what you have always been in their mind? Marketing can help you break out of the very small box that has defined you.

There are a couple of commonly used tactics to help you get past these barriers. You can re-brand with a new name. Often when something new is happening in a business, coming up with a new name helps consumers define the new brand without the characterization of the original brand getting in the way. A new name and a new logo can help you grow past the hindrances of the old. Is there a drawback? Yes, especially if there is a loyal following of the old brand. Too often companies re-brand a product or service and then lose market share because their target market feels slighted. The first rule of marketing is this: know thy audience well!

Maybe you don’t need to rename your brand. Maybe you just need a fresh look. A step away from rebranding is coming up with a new look in your branding palette. Color schemes and graphics go in and out of style. If you freshen up your brand imaging without changing the name, you will call attention to the new look. It becomes easy for the consumer to connect your expanding product lines with this look.

However, in either case, you cannot just give consumers a new look and expect that will be the end of marketing. Changing a brand, either in name or in design, is only the beginning of marketing. If you want to get past the obstructions put upon you, you must give consumers a reason to try the new thing you are offering. That takes marketing to make them aware of the expanded product or service you have now included in your offerings, answering the questions that would stop them from buying it, enticing them to try it for the first time, and following up with them to make sure it exceeded their expectations. You then need to give them a reason to become a fan of the new brand. All of this takes repetition and determination on your part to keep the new thing in front of your target market’s eyes.

How do you keep from getting pigeonholed in the first place? Successful businesses keep a finger on the pulse of the people to whom they are selling. Their values and attitudes should count in your marketing plans. If you market the same thing in the same way year after year, you are pigeonholing yourself. It is the job of marketing to keep the brand alive in the eyes of the consumer. Break out of the box you find yourself in. Expand your brand by establishing and enacting your marketing.