What’s In A Name
February 22, 2011
A few months ago I decided to try a little experiment with the business name. I changed it from “Peter Skelton Driving School” to “Newbury Driving School”. I thought maybe that the new name would make the driving school sound Bigger!!!! I also thought that the Bigger new name would therefore attract more pupils. Then one day, not so long ago it dawned on me that Bigger is not always the best. In the world of driving schools smaller is definitely better. The reason is this. Pupils tend to trust a smaller and more local driving schools rather than one of the larger, faceless companies. Pupils are more likely to recommend you if you are a small company. When I was a franchised instructor at BSM a number of years ago I must admit I did get recommendations. However because I worked hard it was BSM that my pupils recommended not necessarily me. So sometimes those recommendations went to other BSM instructors and not me
Anyway to cut a long story short, I felt that going back to using my original name would prove more successful. I have spent 7 years building up my reputation as an instructor. I get a lot of searches on google where people have searched for my name and not gone straight to my website. Thankfully there is only 1 Peter Skelton Driving School in Newbury. Pupils will know straight away when they reach my website that they have the right person. So 7 years on from 1st becoming an instructor it still thrills me when a pupil passes their driving test. It makes all the hard work worth it in the end
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I often wondered why Skoda never changed their name! They have gone from a car with a very bad reputaion to a car with a fantastic reputation. However it has taken many years and a lot of expensive advertising to convince people to buy Skoda. Whats more there will still be a huge number of people who would still not buy a Skoda because of the stigma attached. So would a name change have helped….. who knows !!
Stick with what you know. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it as my old dad used to say !!
I would like to thank Peter and Mark who helped me pass my driving exam today. Thank you for assisting me in taking out the fear I had in driving.
Keep up the good work..
Thanks
Trouble with your name is….. wasn’t he a piano player and a singer?
I have to say I like my name as part of a small business as it makes it more personal.
When I got married I changed my name. I then got divorced 10 years later and wished I had never changed it in the first place !!!
I have loved the stoor for many years but often wonder what B & Q stood for. Anyone know?