A company by any other name, is still a company

slovinator

hi there,
I run a mildly successful custom software developement company with a friend of mine. We formed the LLC back in 2007 and have seen some great successes. I know its now time, in my heart, to take it to the next level and make sure we have a web presence, formal content, and market ourselves aggressively. I am on top of all of these things and making great progress and hoping to have pushed our name out by the end of the summer.
 
However, in discussions with many friends, family and other start up experts, they are signing songs of doom around the name of our company having my friend`s last name in it (since he technically started it) : Kohnen Solutions, LLC.  Their point is that a company name should be more sexy and more desciptive about what we do.
 
I know I am not required to setup a DBA because we have an owner`s last name in the title, but for greater marketing success - should we think about creating a sexier, more market friendly company name as a DBA?
 
At the end of the day - does it really matter?
 
Thanks,
 
 
 
 
 

asEZasABnC

Incorporating a keyword into your company`s name does help in organic searches.  Is it mandatory?  No.
But Kohnen Solutions, LLC conveys nothing about what you do.  It can be a pest control company or just about anything else.

ElementalUnity

Well let`s start off by saying getting a DBA is cheap and easy.  You said you are successful with your company now meaning that you have already started to brand the name, which is a great step.  It all boils down to how you brand your name.  Do you want to take the time to do so, which has many benefits... Or do you want to let all your customers know what you do, if you use a highly relevant keyword in your name it will allow others to know exactly what you are/do.  They will be able to find you quicker.

patentandtrademark

the more descriptive the name, the less likely it can be registered at USPTO.  Without that, it is easier for your competitors to copy the name or use something similar.

slovinator

Thanks to everyone for the great feedback. I am approaching my partner this  weekend to discuss possibilities. To date we have gotten all of work through our friend/business network, but I can tell that is getting tapped out - so its time to do some official marketing (hence where the question came from. I really appreciate the  responses

patentandtrademark

Why do people many pay extra for Jack Daniels whiskey over other less known brands?  Is it just the stuff in the bottle?

slovinator

2 thoughts from that:
 
1. When Jack Daniels first started (1800s) - did people really know it was whiskey just by the name? If I imagine I have never heard of it, it doesnt help me know what it is
 
2. Obviously they pay extra for the marketing brand, image, and reputation in addition to the stuff in the bottle. My company has a good reputation currently because we have just tapped into our personal contacts only, but now its time to market to a wider audience - hence my concern.

patentandtrademark

True, neither Jack nor Rome were built in a day.  Still, at some point the decision had to be made what the identity of the brand was going to be and they had to stick with that for quite a while for the value to materialize.  Jack started off relatively small - like everybody else.
 
 

ridofastuffynose

I agree the current name is sort of useless. It also has the bonus negative of being awkward to pronounce and a spelling you`d have to memorize.