Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) signal growth and success. They can also present a lot of challenges, for a lot of people – and the marketing department is no exception.
A successful M&A brand strategy must combine the treasured values of the legacy brands with the messaging of the new brand. All while retaining customer trust and loyalty on both sides.
This isn’t an easy task, but it can be done. We’re going to show you how, using real-world examples from how we’ve supported clients on LinkedIn on their post acquisition journey.
A brand is so much more than a logo. Your brand will have captured the hearts and minds of both your customers and employees. So, banging two, three or four companies together and expecting everyone to get along is not without its challenges.
Creating a new identity that honours the most-valued elements of the acquired brands is vital for the success of the combined company.
M&A brings wider reach and new audiences that must also be catered for in your M&A brand strategy.
This can be achieved by crafting a clear, central message that resonates at a high-level. Regional and organisational refinement can occur at lower-levels. This will help to keep the legacy brands’ customers on board.
Easier said than done on LinkedIn!
Merging your company pages needs to happen at a time that works for your business strategy, but when you’re ready, get in touch with LinkedIn and they will merge your attached employees and followers with another company page.
Very often the followers of your company page do not align with the audiences you are now targeting. This is where you can leverage personal profiles. By intentionally connecting them with your target audience, and having them post frequently will get your new messaging out much more quickly than occasional posts on your company page.
Remember we said “your brand can, and should, capture the hearts and minds of both your customers and employees alike”?
Well, there’s some real emphasis on employees here.
The success of an M&A brand strategy depends on internal alignment and backing from your people.
When internal brand messaging is inconsistent, it spills outwards to customers. This can sow seeds of mistrust and cause confusion – a heady combination that can result in failure.
Employees are powerful brand advocates – and LinkedIn gives them a voice. Studies show that personal LinkedIn profiles can reach up to 561% more people than corporate channels.
This means employees, especially executives, can play a huge role in spreading and solidifying the brand message.
As the old adage goes… people buy from people – and the stats show that that still stands true today.
You may also have guidelines on your company page, and limitations on the frequency you can get certain messaging out. Sharing the company page is a big problem that a personal profile programme can help you overcome.
The trick is to craft a brand message that feels cohesive, but is adaptable.
In an M&A, this message should combine the values of each legacy brand while creating a new, strong identity.
Very often, that message becomes nuanced, and there can be a strong misconception of what your company does, particularly if you were a well-known brand pre-acquisition.
What works for one region or customer base might not work for another. So, companies need to use data-driven segmentation to keep messaging relevant for each market.
Research shows personalised messaging can boost engagement by as much as 20%. So, both legacy brands and their customers can be kept happy by giving regional identities some flexibility.
Again, this is an opportunity for a personal profile strategy. Create hubs of individuals that will target different audience sectors. Connecting peers with peers, geographically relevant colleagues, and subject matter experts with distinct audiences can support your message customisation.
Messaging is much stronger once you connect more people from the hub to the same audiences. Their posts are more likely to come up in their feed, getting your message across.
Don’t let all that wonderful data go to waste. Dig into the data from each legacy brand and find the elements that resonate the most with their audiences. This will go a long way to ensuring the success of your post-merger Integration efforts.
Fresh elements can then be added to these findings. Now we have a new brand message that doesn’t throw away what made the legacy brands worth acquiring!
Maintaining customer trust is essential during any transition.
A worrying 69% of customers lose trust in brands during uncertain times. Especially if they feel like the brand isn’t being transparent.
The solution?
Keep customers in the loop.
Share regular updates through LinkedIn, newsletters, and press releases. Being open about what’s happening within your organisations will reassure your audience and keep them engaged.
Customers are 83% more likely to engage with a message from a familiar face than a corporate account.
No surprise there.
So, encourage your leaders and employees to share updates on LinkedIn. This will humanise the brand and help maintain trust with your audiences.
Consistency across channels matters. Whether that’s on social media, your website, or employee profiles.
Personal posts often get up to 3x the impressions of company pages. Give your people the tools they need to represent your brand, using unified messaging. They will communicate your new messaging while fostering connection with their customers. This will build credibility for the brand.
Navigating a brand merger post-M&A takes careful planning and intentional communication.
Marketers and leaders need to strike a balance between the message of the unified company with the values of legacy brands. Then empower employees to share that message.
With this, those M&A challenges will become opportunities for even greater growth.
Pitch121 has worked with many clients pre- and post- mergers and acquisitions. We help them communicate with their new audiences, internal and external stakeholders about the new solutions and markets they work in.
Our posts can communicate the advantages of the company’s change to placate loyal customers as well as develop new opportunities in existing clients and new companies.
We position the individuals of the ‘New Co.’ as subject matter experts who via social influence will create very targeted brand awareness on specific topics.
Let us help you craft a unified brand strategy that honors your legacy brands, builds trust, and resonates with your audiences. From empowering employees to driving customer loyalty, we’ll guide you every step of the way.
Contact us today to ensure your post-merger integration thrives
