Manage Multiple Trading Names through a Single Account

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Manage Multiple Trading Names through a Single Account

Maximize Your Business Versatility with OctopusPro’s Multiple Trading Names Feature

In the field service industry, diversification and adaptability are crucial for growth. With OctopusPro’s innovative multiple trading names feature, running diverse services under distinct identities has never been easier or more efficient.

Consider a home services business offering lawn care, house cleaning, and pet sitting services. While these are part of the same legal entity, each has its own customer base and branding requirements. The lawn care services might operate under the name “Green Thumb Landscaping,” house cleaning services as “Sparkling Clean Homes,” and pet sitting services as “Furry Friends Care”. With OctopusPro, each can function as a unique trading name, all manageable from a single account.

The benefits of this feature are significant. It promotes operational efficiency by consolidating all your services into one platform. No more juggling between different accounts. Switching between service areas is as simple as a dropdown selection.

Each service can establish its own brand identity, improving customer recognition and tailoring your marketing efforts to each specific customer base. For example, customers in need of pet care services can directly engage with “Furry Friends Care”, enhancing the relevance of your business.

The feature also boosts your online visibility. By aligning trading names with unique website domains and social media handles, you improve your search engine rankings and make it easier for customers to find your services online.

Setting up a new trading name is user-friendly and involves filling out a simple form. You can even customize the customer experience by creating unique inquiry forms for each trading name.

OctopusPro’s multiple trading names feature is a powerful tool that allows businesses to explore different markets, enhance branding, and streamline operations, all from a single account. Whether you’re a home services provider looking to offer diverse services or an established business aiming to streamline operations, this feature is your key to efficient and effective business management. Let’s explore how you can fully leverage its potential.

Table of Contents

What is a Trading Name?

A trading name, also known as a business name or a fictitious name, is a name under which a company operates, different from its officially registered name. This alternative name provides businesses the flexibility to carry out operations under a simpler, more brand-focused name, often used for differentiation or branding purposes.

Benefits of Using a Trading Name

OctopusPro allows businesses to operate under multiple trading names within a single account, opening up a myriad of benefits:

  • Simplicity and Efficiency: Manage different facets of your business from a single platform, saving valuable time and resources.
  • Brand Identity: Establish unique brand identities for various segments of your business, improving customer recognition and loyalty.
  • Flexibility: Adapt to different markets and customer bases by tailoring each trading name to its target audience.
  • Search Engine Optimization: Align your trading names with your website domains and social media handles for improved online visibility and SEO.
  • Cost Savings: Save on administrative and secretarial costs associated with running multiple separate businesses.

How to Create a New Trading Name

With OctopusPro, creating a new trading name is as simple as filling in a form. Follow these steps to add a new trading name:

  1. Navigate to “Settings” from the admin user web view.
  2. Click on “Company Settings”.
  3. Select “Trading Names”.
  4. Click on “New Trading Name”.

Fill in the necessary details: Trading Name, Promotional Text, Website URL, Phone, Email, Color, and Logo.

    • Trading Name: Enter the desired trading name that your business will operate under. This should be unique and relevant to the services your business offers.
    • Promotional Text: Craft a compelling message that encapsulates your business ethos related to the specific trading name. This text will represent your business and should be engaging to attract potential clients.
    • Is Default: By checking this box, you establish the current trading name as your default. This means it will be automatically selected for all business operations unless you choose otherwise.
    • Website URL: Input the specific URL of your business website associated with this trading name. This helps in directing your customers to the correct platform.
    • Phone: Provide a phone number that corresponds to this particular trading name. It’s essential to ensure the contact details align with the respective trading name for seamless communication.
    • Email: Type in the designated email address for this trading name. Upon clicking ‘authenticate email’, a verification email will be dispatched to your provided address. To complete the process, click the link within the verification email. Your status will show as ‘pending’ until the verification is complete.
    • Color: Choose a color that will represent your trading name. OctopusPro offers a palette of options ranging from Basic Colors, Saved Colors, to Advanced Colors, ensuring you find the perfect hue to match your brand’s aesthetics.
    • Logo: Upload the logo that corresponds to your trading name. Click on ‘Choose File’ to select an image or file from your device. Remember, the logo is a vital part of your brand identity; make sure it is distinctive and high-resolution.

Click “Save” to complete the process.

Customizing Inquiry Forms for Each Trading Name

A major highlight of OctopusPro’s multiple trading names feature is the ability to personalize the customer interaction for each trading name with custom inquiry forms. Here is how you can harness this functionality to deliver an engaging customer experience:

As you add a new trading name in OctopusPro, there’s an option to ‘Display widget settings’. This is where you can make changes to the style of your inquiry form and truly make it your own.

  1. Widget title: The inquiry form’s title is an important aspect of your customer interaction. It sets the tone and makes an instant impression. You can adjust this title from the first box, to reflect the specific trading name. For example, you might opt for ‘QUICK INQUIRY’ for your speedy cleaning services under ‘Sparkling Clean Homes’.
  2. Widget title color: OctopusPro provides a color picker tool, allowing you to select the color that matches your individual brand identity for each trading name.
  3. Button text: This is the text in the button that the customer clicks on to submit their inquiry. Personalize this, for example, to ‘GET QUOTE’ to enhance engagement.
  4. Button text color & Button Color: You have the freedom to change your button’s text color and the button’s color itself to align with your website’s theme and specific trading name’s aesthetics.
  5. Primary Color: Choosing a primary color establishes the color scheme for your specific trading name. This color will be used for the submit button background, title color, and border, helping to distinguish each trading name’s inquiry form from the others.
  6. Font Color: OctopusPro lets you select the font color for the text in your inquiry form, adding an extra layer of customization.

Custom CSS: For advanced customization, OctopusPro allows you to make changes to the theme features of your inquiry widget form using Custom CSS. This enables you to go beyond the basics and truly align the form’s layout and appearance with your brand style. You can modify elements like fonts, colors, and buttons to match your unique brand aesthetic.

To apply these changes, you just need to paste your CSS code in the designated box and click Save.

Please note that you should use standard CSS codes and OctopusPro’s pre-assigned classes to override the default style. For example, using .octopuspro_form.octopuspro_form_form-control {color:red; } will override the input text color.

By customizing inquiry forms for each trading name, you deliver a consistent brand experience that strengthens your business identity, boosts customer engagement, and paves the way for increased conversions.

Deleting Existing Trading Names

  1. Navigate to the trading names list from the “Trading Names” settings page.
  2. Click on “Delete” to remove it.

Use the “Search” feature to find specific trading names quickly and efficiently.

Editing and Updating Existing Trading Names

Once your trading names have been created in OctopusPro, you aren’t locked in – you have full control to edit and update them as your business evolves. Whether you need to modify the promotional text, adjust the website URL, or change the trading name altogether, OctopusPro makes it quick and easy. Here’s how:

On the “Trading Names” settings page, you’ll see a list of all your established trading names. Alongside each name, there are options to “Edit”, “Delete”, or “Assign Images”.

To make changes to a specific trading name, simply click on “Edit”. This will bring up the same form you filled out when you initially created the trading name. You can now adjust any of the details as required:

  1. Trading Name: If you wish to change the trading name, just type in the new name you want to use.
  2. Promotional Text: You can update the promotional text to better reflect your business goals or to adapt to changing market trends.
  3. Website URL: If you’ve changed your website or want to associate this trading name with a different URL, you can update it here.
  4. Phone & Email: Adjust the contact details associated with the specific trading name as needed.
  5. Color: Change the color associated with your trading name to match any new branding or design changes you’ve made.
  6. Logo: If you’ve updated your logo or wish to use a different image, simply upload the new file here.

Don’t forget to hit “Save” to apply all your changes.

Aside from editing, you also have the option to delete a trading name that is no longer in use. Just hit the “Delete” button next to the relevant trading name.

Additionally, you can “Assign Images” to enhance the visual appeal of your email templates associated with the trading name.

Click on “Assign Images” and upload the images or PDF logos as per your requirements.

Finally, there’s a handy “Search” function. If you have numerous trading names, this feature allows you to quickly find the one you want to edit.

Remember, with OctopusPro, you have the flexibility and control to adapt your trading names to meet your changing business needs. Managing your multiple trading names is seamless and efficient, allowing you to focus on what matters most – growing your business.

How to Switch Between Existing Trading Names

Switching between trading names is effortless with OctopusPro:

  • When creating a new inquiry, booking, quote, invoice, customer, or gift card, simply select the desired trading name from the dropdown menu.
  • If you do not select a trading name, the default trading name will be automatically used.

By leveraging OctopusPro’s multiple trading names feature, businesses can streamline their operations, enhance branding, and create an optimized, personalized experience for their customers. Enjoy the benefits of multi-business management all in one account with OctopusPro.

The Effect on Customer Communications

In OctopusPro, the feature to operate under multiple trading names doesn’t just provide flexibility in managing different segments of your business, it also profoundly impacts how your business interacts with your customers, specifically when dealing with quotes, booking confirmations, invoice emails, PDFs, templates, and placeholders.

Quotes, Booking Confirmations, and Invoices

When you’re using multiple trading names in your OctopusPro account, the system intelligently adapts to each trading name when sending out communications such as quotes, booking confirmations, and invoices. The content of these communications automatically matches the trading name associated with the transaction, thus maintaining brand integrity. This seamless adaptation happens without the need for multiple separate templates – the same template is customized to match the active trading name.

For instance, if you run a domestic cleaning service as “Sparkling Homes” and a corporate cleaning service as “Pristine Office Cleaners,” when a customer books a service, they will receive a quote, booking confirmation, or invoice that corresponds to the specific trading name they interacted with, all using the same base template but with customized details.

Templates, PDFs, and Placeholders

OctopusPro’s advanced system allows you to customize placeholders – dynamic fields within your templates that pull data from your system according to the trading name used. This way, your communications align with the brand the customer is interacting with, without needing separate templates for each trading name.

For instance, a client hiring your gardening service operating under “Green Thumb Landscaping” will receive communications filled with this trading name’s specific details, offering a personalized and cohesive brand experience.

Branding and Images

While managing multiple trading names under a single OctopusPro account, it’s possible to set up unique branding visuals, including logos and images for each trading name. These images will be reflected in all communication materials such as emails, PDFs, quotes, and invoices, corresponding to the right trading name. This consistency in visual branding significantly contributes to enhancing your professional appeal and customer recognition.

In conclusion, OctopusPro’s feature of operating under multiple trading names allows you to maintain a consistent brand image across different trading names. This customization enriches your customer’s experience by providing personalized and brand-consistent communications, while simultaneously simplifying your management process by utilizing adaptable templates.

Related FAQs

Can I create distinct customer portals for various trading names within a single account?

Within a single account, your customer portal can only accommodate one trading name and one branding theme. If your business operates under multiple trading names with distinct logos and branding styles, and you require separate websites for customers to book through with unique branding themes, you will need to establish individual accounts for each trading name. This will allow you to create a dedicated customer portal for each brand that is visually and stylistically distinct from the others.

For admin users and fieldworkers who work across different trading names, switching between these separate accounts can be seamless, provided they use the same login credentials for all associated companies. This allows for easy management of bookings and customer interactions while maintaining the unique identity of each trading name.

How does my customer portal handle multiple trading names within my account?

OctopusPro allows you to manage multiple trading names within a single account. When operating under various trading names, the primary trading name in your list will be used by default in your customer portal. All email and SMS communications sent to customers booking through your portal will feature the branding associated with the chosen trading name, including images uploaded for email templates.

Can fieldworkers be assigned to specific trading names when multiple trading names are configured for my business?

While fieldworkers can be assigned to specific services and custom fields within your settings, they cannot be directly assigned to individual trading names set up for your company. However, you can manage your fieldworkers’ assignments indirectly by associating them with specific services or custom fields related to a particular trading name. This approach allows you to ensure that your fieldworkers are aligned with the appropriate trading names for your business operations.

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