Considering changing name for your company? It might be just what you require to jump-start sales and reach new levels of success as a business. But it’s a big responsibility and needs a lot of thought. If you are thinking of changing your company’s name, take some time to think through these things to ensure you’re on the right track, before taking the step and reintroducing yourself to the market under a new name.
Why are you making the change?
A name change is a big commitment, so think properly about why you want to change in the first place and how it will affect your brand integrity. If you’re rebranding to your target audience, or to lessen confusion from similarly-branded competitors (or other companies in general), go for it! You should be planning to change your name in order to make a positive change and affect your company’s place in the market.
Who you are as a company?
Don’t rename your company to fit in what you want it to be if that doesn’t correctly reflect how your customers see it. Otherwise, your company will become a joke and that is definitely not what you want. Think about your company’s image, and be realistic about how your company is recognized. You want to ensure that your company’s name, brand, and voice are carefully crafted to be the perfect fit for the company and there’s no point in coming up with new branding unless it’s perfect for your company.
How to Stay Compliant?
This is among the least exciting parts of the process. Ensure you have a clear understanding of what you require to do from a legal point if you do change your company’s name. Think about how your bank accounts, checks, and other things could be impacted, and explore what you need to do to ensure that everything is ready to go when you launch the company’s new name.
How much work needs to be done the change
Let’s face it: a name change can be a lot of work. Look into your team’s bandwidth, and make a list of what will need to be updated. Marketing collateral, advertisements, sales documents, and your website will all need extensive updating. Be realistic about how much work will need to be done to ensure that everything is ready for the launch of the new name, and consider hiring help to make sure that everything is good to go.
How long will you take to roll out the new name
A name change isn’t something that could be done in a month. Set expectations for how long it will take you to carry out the necessary market research, fix on a new name, update existing materials, and create a launch strategy. Take time to get it right, but ensure to set an accomplishable date to make sure that it gets done.