The name game

I’ve always enjoyed researching how bands thought of their names. From Led Zeppelin to The Weeknd, (yes the third E is supposed to be missing) there’s usually a good, simple story behind the origin. The same can be said for how companies get their names. It’s typical for landscaping companies to be named after the founder or be a pun on some industry-related term, but some have a different history.

It stands to reason that if you are going to rename your landscaping company, the words “landscaping,” “lawn care” or something to describe what you do should be in the name.

That’s not the case with our cover story this month, APHIX. The company grew 82% after the name change. Of course, there are many reasons for the growth, but the new name and rebrand gave the company a more professional feel compared to what owner, Allen Sweeney, originally picked when he started the company in high school.

Not everyone can make an acronym out of their company’s core values, but that’s just what APHIX did — Accountability, Professionalism, Honesty, Integrity, Excellence became APHIX. It can be risky when you name a landscaping company and don’t have some indication in the name that your main service involves servicing landscapes. But for APHIX, it’s clearly been working.

Sweeney says they didn’t want anything landscaping-related in the name because they manage a lot of outdoor services and didn’t want to be isolated to mowing or landscaping. It’s a fair point. Why pigeonhole yourself into inaccurate perceptions from customers? APHIX is 100% commercial, so I wonder if that would matter for a residential company.

My point here is if you are naming or renaming your company, put everything on the table. And remember, it can be scary to make a name change, especially if things are going well. But maybe a brand refresh is what you need to get to the next level.