Change company name? Consequences are bigger than just CoC of Commerce

Introduction

In some situations you unfortunately cannot escape it and it is necessary to change your brand name or company name. There can be a variety of reasons for this; the old name no longer encompasses the offering, an international growth strategy, repositioning with rebranding or simply because the objective or even the owner has changed. Reasons enough to come up with a new appropriate company name. But the consequences can be dire if you don't execute the transition to your new name properly. Therefore, in this article we give you five steps to consider when changing your company name.

One more time, are you sure?

As you will see in the five steps, changing your business name is a big and time-consuming job. Is it really necessary for you to come up with a new name for your business? It's a shame to waste time going through a name change just because you came up with a nicer name. In short, is changing your business name critical to your survival? Will it provide more customers or less confusion? If so, begin the five steps below.

Step 1: Coming up with a new company name

So the old name no longer suffices, make it clear why it no longer fits your business operations so you know what at least you don't want to see reflected in your new business name. Then begin the process of coming up with a new business name. Start with a brainstorming session to see what direction you want your new name to take. For example, should it be clear at a glance what your business operation is or should it be a catchy name that captures the imagination? Coming up with a good business name is a long process and you should take your time with that.

Step 2: Report change to the Chamber of Commerce

For the next steps, we'll assume you've come up with a new business name. After all, how do you make the name change go as smoothly as possible? First, of course, it must be officially arranged. Changing the name of a sole proprietorship, vof, partnership or cv can be done directly at the Chamber of Commerce. If you want to change the company name of your bv then this has to be done through a notary since the articles of association have to be changed.

Just one more thing: it is also possible to have multiple trade names, your current CoC registration remains the same. You just have an extra trade name from which you can approach customers and relations.

Step 3: New corporate identity

Now that your company name has been changed at the Chamber of Commerce, it becomes a matter of shaping the name so that the outside world sees that you have undergone a name change and may have a whole new look. With a new name comes, of course, a new logo. Perhaps a whole new corporate identity with different colors, fonts and e-mail signature and stationery.

Step 4: Maintain online findability

Of course, changing your company name should not affect your business operations. Your new business name should not cause you to suddenly experience a dip in customers and/or revenue. So it is important to keep what you already have. Especially if some of your customers come through online channels, it is important to make this transition smooth. Some points to consider are;

• Get your old website redirected to your new website
• Have name links on external websites updated
• Make sure reviews are carried over to your new company name
• Make the change to Google products like Google My Company
• Adapt your social media
• Switch to the new e-mail address and automatically forward the old one

Step 5: Notify existing customers and associates

Once you have everything ready to switch over to your new name, there is of course one more important moment; informing your existing customers and associates of your new company name. This is obviously a good time to get in touch again, but it is even more important that your new company name immediately sticks. So come up with a good press release, if necessary use your new printed matter immediately so they can see even better why you changed your name. Good luck with the transition to your new company name!

Are you at a loss and would like to have a new brand or company name conceived? Then contact us without obligation.