Question

Topic: Taglines/Names

When Should We Change The Name?

Posted by Anonymous on 8/18/2008 at 9:58 PM ET 50 Points
I am a partner in an IT services company (business/residential computer repair, networking, etc.) named MDR Computers

At one time there were 3 of us, due to some very unfortunate events, the third partner was asked to leave. I feel that we are now at the critical point where everything is on the table. My gut is telling me to change the name of the company while the other partner is completely opposed to it.
Here is a small list of my pros and his cons:

Pros:
-Differentiate from the competition (there are a few other M## Computers companies in the area)
-bring a fresh new brand to our current clients and open doors for potential growth
-To rid ourselves of a name created by the third partner that only reflects his and 2 brothers initials M-D R

Cons:
-Believes it to be too costly (in reality we can afford it)
-Thinks it is too much work (it will be a lot of work, I'm up for it)
-Doesn't see the importance of having a cohesive, modern brand
-Doesn't want to risk losing our customers

I realize this is a long post but I felt I should give enough info to get a quality answer. My idea is to add a DBA which would take care of the costly Federal filings. We are at the point where we need to have all of our marketing materials. business cards, etc reprinted so that will not incur extra cost. Please direct me to info on "how to identify when your current name sucks" or something equivalent. Thank you very much.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by wnelson on 8/18/2008 at 11:13 PM Accepted
    Your company name is not very inspiring. But, there are a lot of companies who are very successful with uninspiring names of long gone founders. Merrill Lynch, Berkshire Hathaway, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Archer Daniels Midland, Honeywell International, McKesson, Procter & Gamble, and Lockheed Martin are high in the Fortune 500 and most would agree are pretty successful. Brand Strategy is much more than a catchy, edgy name. Brand Strategy is about planting the image you want for your company in the mind of the customer and reinforcing that in every print piece, media piece, color used, and behavior of every employee. These things have to be implemented consistently and congruently with your image and eventually, your name becomes synonymous with your "generic" business category. The time frame is relatively proportional to the amount of promotional budget you put in - as long as you maintain consistency.

    Added to your list of cons should be that your present clients and anyone else who knows you by MDR Computers will have to be "taught" the new brand. This can be the most expensive part of your endeavor. Educating them is one thing but losing them because they can't find you any more or are confused can be heavy.

    On the "pro" side, if your company has "baggage" to shed with respect to your image, then this is your opportunity. Many companies rename themselves (to some edgy name) to rid themselves of their old image. Take GE, for instance. They were General Electric but given that their company strategy was no longer in their roots of "electric" they moved to GE. Andersen Consulting changed to Accenture (lucky they did it before Arthur Andersen tanked because of Enron a year later). LG was Lucky Goldstar, but went to LG because it was more internationalizable. Each of theses changes were made to fit a new strategy for a new image.

    What is your reasoning besides getting rid of the estranged partner?

    If you are like most IT firms, almost all of your business probably comes from referrals. And most IT firms don't invest much in brand strategy. If this is the case, your brand equity might be low compared to your individual reputations - people think of you, not your name. If this is the case, the name change could be much ado about nothing.

    Review the energy you'd spend changing your name versus the benefit and against putting that energy into other areas of the building your business. You may wish to start with developing your brand strategy and then survey your clients to see what your brand is communicating now versus what you wish it to communicate. If there is a big mismatch, then a name change might help make the transition to the correct brand image.

    I hope this helps.

    Wayde
  • Posted on 8/18/2008 at 11:27 PM Author
    Thank you Wayde. I agree with just about everything you said.

    Aside from ridding our company of the taint of the former partner (who left a bad taste in many of our client's mouths) there are a couple other reasons to rebrand.

    As it stands, we do occasionally have people call (MDR) that get us confused with one of the other companies (MMD or MBI), while this sometimes works in our favor because people don't care who fixes their computer as long as it is fixed, it makes me wonder how many times have potentials called them when looking for us.

    In line with being confused with the other companies, everyone and their mom thinks they are a computer tech in this area and we don't want to be painted with that brush. We want to differentiate ourselves as being certified professionals, not dude in a garage.

    I agree that the hardest part in this will be educating our clients in our new name. As is stands we don't have a huge client list, we have only been in business for about one year. This is why I feel that if we are going to make changes, now is the time.

    Again, thank you for the quick response.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 8/19/2008 at 8:43 AM Accepted
    Unless the name is PR baggage (you've been in the news because your partner was arrested on fraud, etc.), leave it alone. A new name won't help you dramatically. It'll give you a clean slate, but that cuts both-ways.

    Instead, work on your positioning. If you don't want to be seen as guys in a garage, then in all your marketing, show your professionalism. Tell them why certified is best for your clients, why you can do things that others can't, etc.
  • Posted by wnelson on 8/19/2008 at 10:17 AM Accepted
    If you're bent on making the change, then do it right. Put together your vision and mission. Develop a brand strategy around it. Survey your clients, contacts, and even people who never heard of you to find out what your present "brand" means to them. In the survey, find out what the "new" name conveys to make sure that there are no unintended consequences (like Nova means "doesn't go" in Spanish and cost GM some sales in Central/South America). Then, develop a plan to implement your brand strategy (versus just a name change). This is the energy to which I was referring. It's not simply putting a new name (and logo) on biz cards and marketing material. There's a lot of up-front work to getting your brand strategy right.

    Wayde
  • Posted on 8/19/2008 at 11:36 AM Author
    Thank you to everyone who responded:

    Phil: I guess I forgot to mention that MDR is and S-corp, I meant instead of changing that, add a DBA for the new name.
    You do make some valid points, thanks.

    NuCoPro: The "computers" part of the name is part of the reason I would like to change it. It gives an outdated, small impression.

    Jay Hamilton-Roth: You are absolutely right. Our marketing materials need to be top notch and we are getting them there. We have a terrific designer and marketing manager.

    Wayde: Thanks again. If we decide to go through with it, I will take all the suggestions to heart.

    Thank you all once again. I am closing this post because I feel like I have enough info to make a decision.
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