New York SBDC Research Network

From My Company Works There are many moving parts and action items to think about when changing a company name. From choosing the name, to filing the business name change with the IRS (or whatever your national tax authority is), articles of Amendment with the state (each state you operate in and with every agency you’re licensed with) or filing a DBA name change (if you are organized as a partnership or sole proprietor). We recently went through all of this with our recent name change so now I’d like to guide everyone with a business name change checklist to review and consider. Below we’ll review if you really need to change your name (or if you’re just thinking about changing your name), how to do the basic rebranding process and finally the checklist of action items. I want to emphasize that while you, as the business owner, probably think the name of your company is very important, your client likely doesn’t give it much consideration at all (as long as it’s not inappropriat

Excerpt from an article by Stewart Hodgson To read more, visit  MarketingProfs "Building a brand for your company is one of the most important things you can do as a marketer. A brand allows you to differentiate yourself from industry competitors with a unique image, a memorable voice, and an identity that resonates with your target customers. But establishing and launching your own brand from scratch can be difficult—particularly when you're a startup with limited resources. It can be tempting to rush through the process of market entry and start selling products as quickly as possible, but the way you introduce your company to your customers could have a huge impact on your potential for future sales. After all, you really do have only one chance to make a first impression."

From MarketingProfs : In the first article of this series, we talked about how to determine whether a rebranding initiative is in your company's best interests. In the second article , we covered the basics of building your new brand identity. Now it's time to discuss best-practices as you launch and promote your exciting new brand, both internally and externally.

Have there been reasons to make drastic changes to your business? If you are in the stages of possibly rebranding the SBA has a STEP-BY-STEP process to help guide you back onto the road to success.Here is what you need to do when going back to the drawing board. Rebrand Your Business, Step By Step

Branding your business is tricky. You have to make sure it comes across as appealing, a ‘must have’ brand that’s not too pretentious. Over time, your company will change leading to a need to refine your brand image, but even the smallest of changes can affect your target market and their perception of your brand. Clive Rohald has written an interesting article in The Drum about how to give your brand identity a makeover without alienating your customers. Here are some of his thoughts. Every company, at one time or another, will feel the need for a brand refresh. The question is, how can that be achieved without it turning into a disaster. 1. Why is there a need for change? More from SmallBusinessNewz .

I learned on a listserv this week the existence of ReBrand.com . It is a consulting firm that assists businesses in trying to overhaul the image of a brand in the mind of a consumer (and I'm sure that greatly simplifies the scope of their services). What I like about the site is their annual list of top rebranding efforts. Here's their top 100 for 2008 . This is a list of efforts by a variety of rebranding & marketing companies, so it's not limited to just them. The name of each company brand is linked to their full story. In most cases, you'll see images of marketing efforts used in the rebranding process. At the bottom of each page is some narrative that outlines the challenges the brand faced, and how they were overcome. (And, for a shamless local plug, check out the story of Brown's Brewing Company [the second listing underneath the "Best of Awards" heading]. It's in Troy, about 10 miles from where I'm typing this. Given that it's Frida