Question

Topic: Branding

Changing Firm Name A Benefit?

Posted by Anonymous on 9/19/2008 at 3:11 PM ET 250 Points
I am a partner in a Financial Planning Firm. We currently have three partners and will be adding new partners as we grow in future years. The name of the firm is XXXX Financial Planning LLC. The XXX is the name of one of the partners which is a name that is hard to pronounce and often misspelled. The firm has been called this for over 10 years. We have 2 offices, one that is only 2 years old in a major city and the larger office is in a smaller city in a neighboring state.

We will be moving the larger office in a few months to a nearby city that is much more well known. Two of the partners in conjunction with the move would like to change the name. The two partners have to deal with questions like who is XXXX? When will your name be added to the firm etc.

The partner whose name is in the firm doesn't want to change the name.

Most of our business comes from client referrals or business relationships. We rarely get new clients from other sources.

My question

Leave the name as is XXXX Financial Planners LLC
Change it to XXXX, Jones and Smith Financial Planners LLC
or something more generic like
Princeton Manhattan Financial Planners LLC?

Thank you

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RESPONSES

  • Posted by ilan on 9/19/2008 at 3:20 PM Member
    I'm sure you heard the famous tag line:"With a name like Smuckers, it has to be good"
    There's one idea for you. Market yourself with the partner's name, by exaggerating it in a smart nice way, repetition, spelling contests etc. Make it a positive experience that will involve the customer and make the brand association a pleasant one.
    This is just one way of thinking about it.

    At the end of the day, you may want to consider a brand audit, see exactly what kind of brand equity is already invested in this difficult name.
    No one cares in a new city, where they never heard of you, if your name if Puff & Putz.
    On the other hand, if you can't reach a solution with the partner who's in love with his name, find the logical way out of it by not using partners names at all.
    The biggest asset in your company is the service level, the partners may leave, move, be fired etc. so the brand doesn't depend only on them.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 9/20/2008 at 9:57 AM Accepted
    It sounds like it's time for a party: new location and new name. Keep the old name and migrate to the newer one gradually to make sure you don't confuse people.

    Given that your business is mostly referral, keep your name more generic to allow for partnership changes in the future as well. If you had a "name brand" as a partner, then you'd consider leveraging it.
  • Posted by Mikee on 9/20/2008 at 10:12 AM Accepted
    Lots of good advice here. If your current name is well recognized I wouldn't change it. Why don't you ask some valued long term clients what they think about a possible change. If they react adversely I would think twice.

    I do think keeping the name generic is a good idea if you are going to change. It sounds like the company may keep changing, and changing the name all the time is a drag. If you change pick something that is not directly tied to the partners' names to allow maximized flexibility.

    Believe it or not, the name is not the most important thing, as long as people remember it and can find you. Good or bad, People will remember you by the service your provide. Keep your eye on excellent service and the name is kind of irrelevant.

    Hope this helps,
    Mike
  • Posted on 9/28/2008 at 12:35 PM Accepted
    Guy, unless you have a big budget and not a lot of other priorities, go ahead and change your name.

    If you change the name, I agree, change it to something neutral that reflects what your firm does.

    Otherwise, keep the name as it is. It is expensive changing a name. Put your marketing bucks where they are going to give you your biggest bang on your investment - telling your firm's story and attracting new customers.

    Why not work on a 10 year anniversary story? Bring all the partners in as a way of telling the firm's history and achievements. Leverage that in your advertising. Put all partners on the masthead -- in a template on the current paper. No need to print anything. Save the money.

    And I'd keep the current logo. You have name recognition. Use it.

    Good luck.

    Suzi McCoy, www.gardenmediagroup.com
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