What Happened?
Digital Red Panther has changed its name to "Red Panther".
The Story
A year and a half ago, I started to wonder, "Is my company's name working?" The answer was a resounding, "yes." "But, could it be better?" I asked. For the next year, I took notes on what others thought and how they reacted. Was it memorable? Did it roll off the tongue? Was it different? Does it fit my brand? It was definitely different, memorable, and it fit my brand. But it was difficult to remember the exact order of words, and it sure didn't roll of the tongue.
And that was the exact response I got from customers and friends.
Is This Really a Big Deal?
It may not seem like that big of a change. After all, most of the name is staying the same.
However, if your customers have a difficult time remembering your name, that either means you need to do a better job branding your company so they can remember it easier, or it's time to change the name.
I (Karr) had given this thought and wanted to make sure it was the right move. It may not seem like a big change, but it actually involved a lot of work:
- Updating the website URL
- Updating all social media channels
- Updating local listings out on the web (still a work in progress, lol)
- Changing all email addresses to the new domain
- Alerting Google of the changes to the new name and domain
- Monitoring the analytics to make sure the redirects are working properly and clearly understood
- Updating video graphics to now say Red Panther instead of Digital Red Panther (at this point, it's better to just start from scratch)
- Update invoicing software and bank information to match the changes (that reminds me, I need to get on that)
- Deciding which software is customer facing and which is not, so I can decide which needs to switch to the new email address
Risks of Changing the Name
With all of the above list, there are some additional risks that come with a name change.
Luckily, I'm not 20 years into my business, so I don't have a huge history. However, I've been active enough to have left a mark.
My Online Resources
For example, I created a website divider pack awhile back. That has been downloaded over 2,000 times now! The name of the divider pack is "Digital Red Panther - Shape Dividers". I don't think they'll have any issue finding my website again, but it has undoubtedly left them remembering my old name.
Not as Descriptive!
How is anyone going to know what I do if I don't have "Digital" at the front of it? Well, how do you know what McDonald's does? Their name isn't "McDonald's Burgers"? It's because they've built their brand in a way that you just know when you hear their name, "Oh, yeah, I know what they sell because I correlate their name to it."
YouTube Channel
My YouTube channel has slowly and steadily been building a bit of a following. When users go to YouTube to search for my videos, will they be able to find me with my new name??
Most Importantly, Google Searches
I've worked very hard to get my branded searches on Google up over the past two years. Nothing competes with the old name. A LOT competes with the new name. In fact, my website doesn't even show up when you search for "Red Panther" on Google. You have to search "red panther web design" or "red panther webflow". The novice would look at that and worry. However, I'm confident that will change as time goes, and I, again, build up my new name's authority online.
One Month Later
It's been one month since I changed the name, and I'm extremely satisfied and confident it was the right move.
The biggest evidence of this is that I'm confident saying Red Panther. It feels good and makes things soooo much simpler when explaining it over videos and word of mouth.
In It For the Long Game
It has come with a lot of extra work, but I'm in this game for the long haul. I figured it's better to change the name now, rather than waiting 5 years, and it creates more havoc down the road.