What happens when you change your name and brand?

Sometimes it’s inevitable. You have a brand that’s known, but because of certain reasons, you need to change your business name.

And it’s happened at the b5 media Business Channel (the host of this and many other great blogs). They’ve got a new name: Bizzia – and a new portal look.

So what’s in a name?  Everything – especially when it’s your business.

Many think that branding is merely getting name recognition or a great logo. But that’s when a rebranding effort fails – because branding is the feeling people get when they THINK of the company name or logo.

Here’s some things to think about if you need to go through a name change:

1) Think about all the ramifications – espcially legal and marketing – before jumping into the process.

2) If you’ve decided to explore a name change, can you reestablish your brand? Will people accept it?

3) Will your new name reflect what you do? Is the domain available?

4) How will you communicate any change to staff, customers and potential customers?

Remember the hard part of a brand change is to get your stakeholders to ‘unlearn’ what they already know about you.