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With apologies to Mr. Bill Shakespeare, I have pilfered and most certainly diminished his beautiful prose for the purpose of this article . . . names matter, especially the name of your business. That also goes for the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) or domain name you choose to identify yourself on the Internet. Some of you just read those words and thought to yourself, “Too late . . . I’ve had this company name for six years and, good or no good, I ain’t changing it now!” Please, don’t bail out yet. Unless your organization’s named Microsoft, McDonald’s or The New York Yankees, everything associated with your public presence in the marketplace, including your corporate name, should be regularly re-examined. The rule of self-assessment is even more critical when you’re operating in a volatile, expanding medium like the World Wide Web — making your domain name, not just your company name, more important each day.

Beyond the continuous renewal practices that all businesses need to pursue in turbulent times, the surfacing industry itself produces its own dynamic motion that requires perpetual adjustment by management. Of course, the general marketplace is always reshaping itself through environmental changes (i.e., the status of local competition, population trends and demographic changes close to home, etc.). Beyond those macro shifts that you can’t much control, you may have also ratcheted up the need to investigate a change by refining your product offering or more finely targeting your business direction. If so, you now have additional reason to express those changes through a modified or enhanced domain and/or company name. This following list of potential changes to your business in the last few years should help you decide if you need to ante up for another round of “The Name Game.” Note: space doesn’t allow us to properly examine what makes for a good, strong business name in these times (or what naming conventions you may want to actively avoid). Our concern today is knowing when to consider upgrading your corporate handle.

For instance:

• Have you added granite or engineered stone to your offering?
• Have you chosen to concentrate solely on either solid surfacing or natural surfaces?
• Have you added new services or companion product lines to your business?
• Do you now focus your efforts on a select market or customer niche?
• Have you expanded into new geographical areas?
• Is there new ownership or a new partner to consider?
• Has there been a substantial change in the size or scope of your business?
• Has another company opened up near you with a name that confuses potential customers?