During the past decade the McGuffin Design Group has gone through several transitions in its marketing strategy, most notably in the name of the company.

Back in 1999, I originally started with the name Online Web Pro.  Even back then it was hard to get a good domain name, and even harder to find one that would help you in alphabetical listing, such as “AAA Web Design” or something formulaic like that.  I had a customer one day calling me “online newbie pro,” that didn’t sit well with me.

Next I tried “Access Point Design,” which was better for the alpha listings, but still just didn’t do it for me.  Also, it seemed like a name that focused more on providing internet access, and less on actually building web sites.

Then I decided on New Look Web Design.  This is actually the name I stuck with for several years, and if you look in my portfolio, you will find that the majority of the design samples show New Look Web Design as the builder.  During the period of 2000 to 2006 I found the majority of new clients I was getting were people with existing web sites that were built in the late 1990’s and wanted a new or updated look.  So I felt this was a good name to run with.

As more and more design shops began cropping up, most of them were going more trendy and artistic in their own marketing.  I do keep a close eye on what other freelancers are doing and watch for trends.

The web design industry as a whole is becoming more specialized.  What I mean by that is you have designers focusing on specific industries, such as medical or real estate web design.

I decided it was time for a change in our marketing strategy, and after playing around with a few ideas I settled on just using my name: McGuffin Design Group.  I added the word “group” on the end since I do sometimes use other freelancers for tasks I am not as well versed in.  Also, I wanted to convey growth potential for my company.

Incidentally, the word “McGuffin” is also a term coined by the late Alfred Hitchcock and is described as: “A device or plot element that catches the viewer’s attention or drives the plot. It is generally something that every character is concerned with.”

Anyway, that is the short version of how I came to the name “McGuffin Design Group” instead of something like “AAA Web Design.”

~David

This entry was posted on Friday, September 25th, 2009 at 9:56 am and is filed under Musings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.