having 2 company names to appeal to different area's

[huggytree]

im having a horrible time getting into the local market- by local i mean my home town..there is a plumber who's been there forever...he owns the towns plumbing...im trying to buy a bigger local phone book ad to get ahead of him..

the customer i had today was local and said they chose me because of my better service.. he said because my name is the name of a nearby large city and not the local city name...

it got me thinking.....maybe i should be 2 names...get 2 cell phones answer them differently...id still wear my original tee-shirt and my truck has the main company name on it...does this matter? if all im doing is getting in the door and the name would help ...what does it hurt?

id have to call my accountant to find out how i handle things...maybe a business lawyer ...id have to purchase the name and get it its own llc #

any thoughts pos or neg?

the local phone book just took my $ for next year, so its a perfect time to get a new name and logo

[Business Attorney]

It is simple enough to set up a single member LLC that would be disregarded for tax purposes, but it might even be easier to simply register a DBA for your existing LLC. Use the DBA to advertise in your own city.

As for negatives, establishing another brand for your own city may help there but it spreads the name recognition across two brands rather than concentrating on your primary name. It seems to me that there must be a way to convey that you are a plumber based in your city even though your business name includes the name of the larger city. Since the name of the city also happens to be the name of the county that both your home town and the other city are located in, maybe you could add a tag line like "serving Waukesha County." Or add a specific line only to your local yellow pages ad saying "Mukwonago-based."

What if someone from Pewaukee wants to hire you? I have friends there and know that there are some upscale neighborhoods there that would seem to be your target market. Are you going to form a new LLC (or a DBA) to capture the business in Pewaukee?

I hope some of the marketing gurus here jump in to give you some ideas that allow you to build your existing brand and still pick up the local business.

[huggytree]

i would only ever consider using Mukwonago Plumbing as my 2nd name...i wouldnt go into other cities...

id love to work 5 min from my house every day...or at least a few times a week...right now its once a month

the wife says go for it....we've discussed it a few times before...not sure if id get different business cards and stickers....i may just use it for the phone book only. the wife says i should have tee shirts made and change back and forth....that would mean different business cards, invoices, stickers...its not like any of that would be a large expense

any thoughts?

branding is very important to me....i wouldnt push the Mukwonago Plumbing brand anywhere but locally...i wouldnt join any builder association w/ it.....would this look dishonest when i showed up at a house with Waukesha Plumbing on the side of my van?

[vangogh]

I think setting up a second business name just to move into a local market is more trouble than it's worth. There are plenty of ways to get across that you serve your home town. A simple list of areas serviced would do the trick in your advertising. With a second name you do have to promote 2 brands. Any reputation you have with your current name wouldn't exist with the new name. You're also going to end up duplicating some advertising and other marketing promoting 2 names.

You'd be better off spending the time and money to brand your current business name as working in your home town.

By the way this is one disadvantage of using a location in any business name. It naturally helps in the one location, but means more work in other locations. Still you're better off sticking with the one name, because you've built up brand associations with it. The challenge now is to get across you work in areas other than Waukesha.

If you were to add a line of services unrelated to plumbing I'd say go for the second business name, but with the same services I think you're better bet is to modify your marketing to get across you serve areas outside Waukesha.

[KristineS]

I don't think the bang you'd get out of having two different names would be worth it. To me it seems like it would be much easier to just emphasize the hometown angle in your ad copy. Say stuff like "You're home town plumber, based in (local town name)". Or "proudly serving (list the communities near you).

The real question though is how much extra business and income the name change might bring you. Is no one in your local area using you now? What is the guy who is dominating the local area doing that is allowing him to be dominant in that community? I can't believe simply using a different name is going to make that much difference.

[Blessed]

I would shy away from a 2nd name - because you aren't changing what kind of work you are doing you are simply trying to capture another market's business.

I would look for ways to promote Waukesha Plumbing as the plumbing company to call for top-rate service in Mukwonago or any other community around you. I think you're better off to look at your marketing strategy and figure out what you need to change there than to set up with another name, another logo, other shirts, other business cards but the same van.

[huggytree]

this existing plumber has a bill board as you enter the town....his business is in the center of town....he's more in your face

because he's been around for 3 generations he's just everywhere...they never leave Mukwonago...id love to stay here too.

yes i do agree using a city in your company name puts limits on you....there's advantages and disadvantages....the name has benefited me because its easy to remember...funny thing is i never work in the city of Waukesha...maybe 10x a year

my 1/2 page ad is focused on 'Locally Owned' ...its the first and largest thing in the ad after my company name...i may put my address on it too, just to prove im local.

[vangogh]

this existing plumber has a bill board as you enter the town....his business is in the center of town....he's more in your face
because he's been around for 3 generations he's just everywhere

And none of that is his name. Could you also get a billboard in town? Maybe more signs and general advertising in town. Definitely list your address in the ad. That seem like a good call. I would find as many places in town that will let you advertise and advertise there.

Your Google local listing (Google maps) ranks well for Mukwonago plumbing. I'd be willing to bet if you added a forum signature with the words "pluming in Mukwonago and Waukesha" and made those words the link you're site would rank near the top for phrases with Mukwonago and plumbing in them. You can also add Mukwonago in the page titles on your site and an address at the bottom of the page where your phone number is. You can also create a new page on the site listing the areas you serve. All those things will your site rank better when Mukwonago is searched for along with plumbing and plumber and similar.

Out of curiosity why Waukesha in the name if you don't work there all that much? Is it the largest city around you? Did you expect to work there more when you were starting?

[huggytree]

Waukesha is the largest city next to Milwaukee

Waukesha County is an above average income county...i work in Waukesha County probably 50 percent of the time

i originally chose it because i thought it made me 'Waukesha's' plumber....it didnt work...there isnt much money in the city of Waukesha...

Maybe i shouldnt assume that naming myself Mukwonago Plumbing would do anything different

only 1 bill board in town...not big either....it has 3 businesses on it...its cut into thirds...hand painted....its still a 'small' town, but moving into a mid sized one....still a lot of small town looks though....our down town is dying off....1/2 the businesses are gone with empty store fronts...there's not much money here in Mukwonago....better than Waukesha, but not much better.

[vangogh]

Guess the billboard is out unless you can replace one of the three. If the town is growing maybe another billboard will show up sometime.

Makes sense why you chose your name. I figured Waukesha was the largest city around you, though I wouldn't have known it was second largest behind Milwaukee.

I really think the way to get more work in Mukwonago is to emphasize it more in your marketing. Add it to your site and to your phone book ad. If it's reasonable add it to the side of your van. People may simply not realize you work in Mukwonago, but the more they see it alongside your name they will know. With a second name you're going to have to do even more work, since your reputation won't be attached to it. You'd better to just add something like "serving Waukesaha, Mukwonago, and surrounding areas" to your ads.

And if there are any places to advertise specifically within the town you probably want to advertise in them.

[Steve B]

You could sponsor a couple kids sports teams in Mukwonago. That's usually a good way to get some pretty cheap exposure.

[Patrysha]

Less expensive and wider exposure to sponsor a school fundraiser or event of some sort. The PTA or Parent Advisory Committee or whatever it happens to be called in your area will love to hear from a sponsor who will donate prizes to reading contests or who will buy hamburgers for their sports day type stuff (at the elementary level...gets more complicated and less effective at higher grade levels). With a small town it is very easy to get publicity coverage out of the whole thing too...

[huggytree]

id love to sponsor a sports team....they never ask me...my kids are in t-ball and soccer...i see company names on their backs and do pay attention to them...id pay extra to get a 3 color logo..

im suprised they never call me and ask....i get calls asking me for donations all the time...just not for sports...is there such a demand where you have to ask?

i donate things to my kids school for auctions....i make sure my name is all over it....i have gotten calls from my kids class mates families

[Steve B]

Those programs are usually run by overworked and underpaid people that have a million things to do. I wouldn't sit around and wait for them to ask you if you think it would benefit your business. Where I live, I was asked when I was the HR Manager of the largest company in town. I'm guessing they mailed out a flyer to the top 100 businesses or so. But, when I went out on my own, they haven't asked me. There are probably a couple thousand businesses my size or bigger and they have one employee doing the sponsorship sales in addition to lots and lots of other tasks. How could they possibly call every small business in town?

The fact that you have kids on the teams makes it even better. Sponsor your own kids teams, then take them to the games in your company van and park it in a spot that will be seen by everyone driving in. I used to park my van in left field and spread a rumor that I'd give any kid $10 if they hit my van with a home run.

[KristineS]

I used to park my van in left field and spread a rumor that I'd give any kid $10 if they hit my van with a home run.

That's a unique marketing idea. Did anyone ever get the $10?

[Steve B]

No, there was probably only a couple players capable of hitting it that far. I knew my van (and $10) was safe.