1. Background
AccuPay APS™ was formed in 1992 to provide outsourced payroll processing services.
AccuPay APS™ is a privately held company that operates in the accounting, tax preparation,
bookkeeping, and payroll services industry. According to Hoovers Inc, “Payroll services account
for 25 percent of US industry revenue, tax preparation for 20 percent, and auditing for 15
percent. Bookkeeping represents 10 percent of industry revenue, and tax consulting and general
accounting, 5 percent each.” In correspondence to the Independent Service Auditor’s report by
A­lign in 2012, the company is organized as a Limited Liability Company and has three
members that, collectively, have about 100 years of Payroll and Accounting experience.
One popular service performed by AccuPay APS™ is cloud accounting. Cloud
accounting is a service that uses off site servers as a cloud to direct users to up to date
information via a network or internet connection. Cloud accounting can help with tax season by
obtaining information from the accountants, and putting it back in the hands of managers quicker
to make better informed decisions. By having information available in the cloud, managers can
use any computer to view funds rather than one desktop at the branch. Cloud accounting is the
new way to add small business clients. Some other services that the company offers, aside from
the original payroll, are tax prep, human resource management and time & attendance services,
they also offer W­2 processing, multi­state filing, paycards, pay as you go workers comp, custom
reports and exports and more. Together, with the National Crime Search (NCS), AccuPay APS™
also offers the following background screening services: employment screening, drug screening,
non­profit/volunteer screening, tenant screening, county criminal history searches, multi­state
and single state searches, social security number verifications and more.

2. AccuPay APS™ currently serves over 800 clients in over 46 states, as well as the District
of Columbia. The company is scalable and cloud based to fit their clientele’s needs and demand
since some patrons have varying ranges of employees. According to the AccuPay APS™
website, the company can handle servicing businesses with employees ranging from one to
1,000. The company currently has two locations: one office in Chesterfield, Missouri and the
other in Jefferson City, Missouri. In Jefferson City, there are four or more companies that
provide similar services as AccuPay APS. Some of these companies include: Evers and
Company, AccuBiz Inc, Fontaine and Kelley LLP, and The Servers CPA firm. In the St. Louis
region, there are more than ten payroll companies. Some of these companies includes: ADP,
Payroll Super­Temps Inc, Payroll I , and Time Plus Payroll Service.
The reason for our client inquiring about a corporate name change would be because of
the conflict when an independent entity, Accupay of Bel Air, Md., filed for bankruptcy last year.
Bankruptcies are relatively rare in this industry due to larger firms typically buying out, the
weaker firms. The wake of recent confusion leads to the importance of wanting to distance one’s
self from contagious brands.
Secondary research
The research about naming brand and products done by John T. Gourville, professor of
Business Administration at Harvard University and his partners posted on Harvard Business
Review, mentioned that the brand­name strategy could create new expectation from the
customers to the company, and it is not always the good choice (Gourville). There are three
questions need to consider including “What is the target market’s attitude toward risk and
reward?” “What are the consequences if things go wrong?” and “What is the competitive

3. landscape?” At the first question, depend on the target market that the company wants to reach.
Young customers are more adaptable and flexible. They are easily to accept the change. In the
contrast, for customers who care more about consistency, the brand­name continuation is a better
choice. The second consideration is the company needs to have backups in case anything goes
wrong. Customer’s perceptions of risk are unpredictable. The name­change could make the
customers wonder whether the value they receive from the product and service change or not.
Therefore, it would be easier if the company has contingency plan when the brand name­change
is not accepted. Lastly, competition is also what the company needs to consider when they
choose to change their brand name. The brand name associates the strength of the company in
the market.
To the company who choose to change their brand, there are two things they need to
know. The first thing is how to have good brand elements including the brand name and logo.
The good
brand elements assure six criteria: memorable, meaningful, likable, transferable, adaptable and
protectable (Keller). Memorability of the brand name and logo raises the brand awareness of
customers. They could easily recognize and recall the brand in their mind. Meaningful brand
elements describe the product and service that the company provides and also imply the different
attributes of the brand. The third characteristic is likability of the brand name. The likable brand
name and logo could create good feelings for customers toward the company, visually and
verbally. The next characteristic is transferability. The god brand elements need to be able to
transfer to new products and new category. In addition, the transferable brand is able to across
cultures. The fifth criterion is adaptability over time. Since consumer values could change over

4. time, the logo can be given the new image for the brand and make it appeal more relevant and
modern. The last characteristic is protectable. The brand is legally protected internal to decrease
the
threat of infringement.
The second thing that the company needs to know when they decide to change the name
is legal and regulatory steps (Beesley). Changing the brand name is costly process. Firstly, the
company has to check the new name and make sure it has not been used by any company or
organization. They need to revise the business license and permit, and then inform the tax
authorities including the IRS, state and local revenue agencies. Depending on the type of the
company business, the process of notifying the IRS is different. For sole proprietors, the
company needs to send the signed letter notifying the IRS of the new business name to the same
address where the company files its return. For partnerships, the company files the form 1065,
the current year partnership income tax return. If the company has already filed the form, they
need to send the notification for the IRS at the filing address. For corporations, the company files
the form 1120, the current year corporation income tax return. If the company has filed the form,
they write to the IRS to notify the name change at the regular filing address. For LLCs, if the
company is a single member LLC, they follow the same process as sole proprietors. If the
company is multi­member LLCs, they follow the same process as partnerships. Finally, the
company has to update all of related business documents, contracts and agreement with the new
company name.

5. Management Decision
Since AccuPay APS™ is trying to disassociate itself with undesirable companies in the
industry, it is important to take the following into consideration. AccuPay APS™ Payroll
Services has requested a team of researchers to conduct exploratory analysis and descriptive
research under the guidance of the company CEO, Gary Hollingsworth:
1. To provide exploratory research and/or descriptive research to determine whether
AccuPay APS™ should change its name. If the research shows evidence that the name
change would, in fact, be beneficial, what new name should be adopted? Also, what
would be the optimal strategy and tactic that should be employed by the firm to transition
into the new name and retain its strong brand image and brand recognition while
distancing itself from competitors.
2. To provide additional research, if so desired by the client, about any logo and color
changes for the current, or new name.
Research Problems
1. To determine the strength of the AccuPay APS™ brand and the awareness of other
competitors.​ Since a competitor with the same stem name has earned negative public
relations recently, we want to determine whether our client’s company stands out above
this delinquent firm. We also want to ascertain the strength of our client’s brand and
measure the loyalty of their clients so that, in the possibility of undergoing a company
name change, the support of current clients and future clientele will result in a positive
trend.

6. 2. To determine whether the AccuPay APS™ brand has a positive or negative connotation
in the test population.​ Exploring this issue will help us determine whether our client’s
company has been able to differentiate itself from the recent delinquent firm. This issue
will also help us determine whether the negative actions of the other firm has been
reflected on our client’s brand.
Research Design
Descriptive research was needed to be performed because the clients wanted to gauge
AccuPay APS’s brand awareness, any positive or negative connotations towards the brand and
how the brand compares with competitors. As a result of the nature of how descriptive research
designs are interdependent with survey methods, the methodology chosen to be used for this
research was a survey research method. Since survey research methods are used to collect data
from large samples of people, this was the best method to collect data from the sample size
determined.
Sampling
Due to the knowledge of payroll systems required to give good research material a non
probability sampling method was chosen for the survey. The type of nonprobability sampling
design is a convenience sample. The advantages of a convenience sample allows for a large
amount of respondents in a short amount of time. A major disadvantage of this model is the
inability to measure sampling error and subsequently the representativeness of the data is
unknown. The sample population was drawn from two different clusters. One coming from
current clients provided from a database by Accupay. The other cluster was taken from the
Jefferson City Chamber of Commerce as well as the Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce in

7. order to represent the general public of potential clients. The main disadvantage from the sample
design centers around self­selection bias.
Data Collection
The target populations are mainly employers of companies in Jefferson City and
Chesterfield, St. Louis area, as well as in Missouri and across the country, since AccuPay APS
has over 800 clients in over 46 states. The data collection method was an online
self­administered survey.
The research problems emphasis brand awareness, brand reputation, as well as brand
name change and its effects. The marketing research team choose to use stratified random
sampling, and the research was composed of 2 surveys. The first survey was directed at all
current clients, the second was directed at prospective clients which was gathered from the
Chamber of Commerce in Jefferson City as well as in Chesterfield. According to the clients lists
Mr. Gary M. Hollingsworth offered, the marketing research team sent out the emails for current
clients with the Survey Monkey link attached to it. No incentives were provided, as per request
of Mr. Hollingsworth. In order to increase the response rate of prospective clients, incentives
were provided for raffle. The incentives provided were one Kindle Fire HD and two $50 Visa
gift cards.
For prospective clients, the survey mainly asks the brand awareness, such as how familiar
are they with AccuPay APS, and whether or not the name is memorable. The survey provided for
prospective clients were geared to understand the purpose of a brand name change and what
constitutes a brand name by gauging what attributes of payroll services are best suited. On the

8. other hand, for current clients, the survey provided was to obtain information about how the
current clients heard AccuPay APS so that the source of brand awareness would be made
known. Moreover, to test brand reputation, the current clients were asked about how familiar
with they are with other payroll services having a similar name and whether those firm cause
controversy with AccuPay APS, which ultimately answers whether AccuPay APS should change
its name.
Data Instruments
Due to the anonymity and confidentiality requirements, the survey was conducted on
Survey Monkey and invitations to participate were sent via email. This is the simplest and most
convenient method for collecting data in a short amount of time, and keeping individual
information from being identified. In addition, a large amount of quantitative data can be
collected for primary research via online survey.
Data Validation & Verification
The purpose of validation is to determine whether the surveys are conducted correctly
without bias. The survey is self­administered by clients of the lists offered by Mr. Gary M.
Hollingsworth and the Chesterfield and Jefferson City Chamber of Commerce and submitted
through online, third party Survey Monkey. In addition, the team has checked the online survey
before opening it for the data collection process, to make sure it works correctly and is without
human errors. As for completeness, since the surveys were conducted online, the team gave the
clients the privilege to exit the survey at any time and to skip questions, if they felt
uncomfortable answering any. The individual records are saved online, and the team cannot cook

9. the number for incomplete response. The data was accurately transferred from Survey Monkey to
spreadsheet by downloading the data from the website directly.
Results
Brand Awareness
The brand awareness collected from prospective clients (figure 1) shows that most are not
familiar with AccuPay APS. The breakdown of collected responses were that a total of 15 people
were unfamiliar, including somewhat unfamiliar, with the AccuPay APS brand, while only 6
people familiar with this brand.
Therefore, to increase brand awareness, the marketing research team collected data from
current clients on the topic of how they had heard of AccuPay APS. In figure 2, the majority of
clients heard of AccuPay APS via recommendations, and the second option that stood out for this

10. topic was via phone call. The third greatest option was in the “Others” category which had a
most frequent mention of Mr. Bert Doerhoff.
Brand Reputation
Data was collected purely from current clients on the topic of whether they were aware of
other “Accupay” payroll processing companies, in order to determine if the negative reputation
of “Accupay” caused any confusion or concerns with AccuPay APS. Based on the results, shown
in figure 3, 34 respondents claimed they had not heard of any other “Accupay” payroll
processing companies and and 3 claimed they were aware of some other company with a similar
name.

11.
Furthermore, the marketing research team questioned the current clients on the topic of
whether they think those firms, having a similar name, caused any controversy with AccuPay
APS. The largest portion of respondents, 13 in total, chose that they were neutral as to whether or
not there was controversy between the firms in question. Five respondents believed that it was
somewhat controversial and the remaining five choose either, that it was not controversial at all
or not very controversial for the firms in question. No clients answered that there is controversy.
In short, the majority of current clients have not heard of any other AccuPay payroll processing
companies, and they are neutral towards any other Accupay payroll processing companies to be
controversial with AccuPay APS.

12.
Brand Name Change
The data comprised of the topic of whether AccuPay APS should change its name or not
were collected from current clients. In figure 5, 32.6% of respondents voted “no”, while 62.8%
of respondents voted “I don’t know”. Only 4.7% clients, 2 respondents, voted “yes” for AccuPay
APS to change their name. In addition, the next 2 questions asked were for current clients’
suggestion and attitude towards a name change. The first question was: “If yes, what do you
think the name should be?”. Four respondents answered this question, in which 2 suggested to
“drop APS” from the current name. The other suggestions were to change the name to “HR
Missouri” or to “PaySource”. The second question was: “What attributes do you feel is best
reflected in a company name for payroll processing and human resourcing firm?”. Nine
respondents answered this questions and are listed in figure 6.

13.
Responses:
1. The pay part is obvious now­ but the Hr part is not
2. Accuracy, reliability, value, innovative features, security, confidentiality
3. security, confidentiality, precision
4. something with the word “trust:
5. accurate, quality product/service, outstanding customer service
6. accuracy, accessible customer support, professional, friendly
7. service and speed,
8. I do not necessarily expect the name of a company to tell me what services it sells
9. I would encourage AccuPay to strengthen their brand to support strong b

14.
For prospective clients, the marketing research team asked the question: “Is AccuPay
APS a memorable name?”. In figure 7, a total of 25 respondents answer this question. 12 people
choose that the name was “memorable”, and gave the following reasons, “it sounds like a payroll
company” and “simple name is easy to remember”. 4 people chose that the name was either
“unmemorable” or “not memorable at all” while the remaining 9 people chose the neutral option,
“neither unmemorable nor memorable”.
The data collected shows prospective clients are not aware of AccuPay APS. The main
reason is not the negative reputation of other Accupay payroll processing companies, but lack of
brand awareness provided. Most of AccuPay APS’s current clients aren’t aware of other
Accupay payroll companies, nor feel that any are controversial with AccuPay APS. According to

15. the data collected from current and prospective clients, changing the brand name, AccuPay APS
is not recommended. The name, AccuPay APS does reflect the attributes of a payroll processing
company and it is easy to remember.
1) To determine the strength of the AccuPay APS™ brand and the awareness of other
competitors.
The majority of prospective clients respondents (62.07%, or 18 out of 29) indicated that
ADP was the first company that came to mind when thinking of payroll services. Only 2 out of
29 said they thought of AccuPay APS first. The current client survey supported this finding, with
33 of 41 respondents (80.49%) indicating that ADP came to mind when thinking of AccuPay
APS’s competitors. Other notable results included 20 out of 41 respondents indicating they
thought of Paychex as a competitor.

16. 2) To determine whether the AccuPay APS™ brand has a positive or negative
connotation in the test population.
In regards to current customer awareness of other AccuPay firms with the same name:
80% of respondents (35 of 44) indicated they were “unaware” of other AccuPay firms with the
same name. Of the remaining responders, only one indicated “aware” (six said neither aware nor
unaware, two said somewhat aware). The follow up question, “Do you feel these other firms
cause controversy with our AccuPay APS brand?” yielded the following results: five of forty
(12.5%) said it was somewhat controversial; all others indicated neutral (32.5%), not that
controversial (2.5%), not controversial (10%), or N/A (42.5%).
3) Should AccuPay change its name?
Out of 44 respondents on the current client survey, only 2 said they thought AccuPay
should change its name. Fourteen said No, and 28 said “I don’t know.” There were four
write­in’s for what the name should be: “Dropping the APS,” “The APS is ambiguous,”
“Paysource,” and “HR Missouri.”
When considering if Accupay should change its logo color, 2 respondents said AccuPay should
change the color, 8 said no, and 34 said “I don’t know.”
On the prospective client survey, the majority (48%, or 14 out of 29) indicated they
associated blue with payroll services and human resource firms. Next was green with 6 out of 29,
followed by Red with 3 out of 29. Six indicated they had no preference.

17.
4) Other results
Most used services in prospective client survey included Payroll Processing (71%), Tax
Services (36%) and Human resources support (32%). Current clients indicated they used
Platinum Payroll, Direct Deposit, and Employee self service most. No one said that they use
volunteer screening, drug screening, work opportunity tax credit service, employment screening,
electronic on­boarding, applicant tracking, or HR Answer link.
Overall satisfaction with AccuPay APS seemed positive: 46% said their overall
experience with AccuPay APS was “Extremely Satisfying”; another 46% said “satisfying,” with
only 2 saying somewhat satisfying, and 1 saying somewhat unsatisfying. A brief overview of the

18. write­in section on most satisfying comments included a general liking for accuracy, on time,
reminders and flexibility of deadlines and a personalized experience.
On the prospective client survey, those that indicated they were unlikely to use AccuPay
APS, most said they were already satisfied with their current service. Only three said they didn’t
know the brand, and only one said “customers were not happy with AccuPay.
Limitations
The limitations for the survey are the same for current clients and for potential clients. In
the data collection process, there are five limitations :
● The low response rate : the survey for prospective clients received 29 responses
before the survey closed (N ​<​ 30). The current client survey received 44 responses
which is higher than the survey for prospective clients but still a low number.
● Self­selection bias: the surveys are online and sent via emails for respondents.
Therefore, their attitude toward the surveys can not be observed
● Non response bias
● Time restraint: the data was collected in around 1 week after the surveys opened.
● Motivation for respondents
Conclusions and Recommendations
1. According to secondary research about the brand­name change strategy, Accupay APS
needs to consider their target customers characteristics and also their service
characteristics. Based on their background, the consistency for their brand is very
important. The change of their brand name could create insecure feelings for their current

19. clients. They could expected something changed in AccuPay APS services. Also,
Accupay APS needs to go through the costly and disruptive process for the name change.
Therefore, the name­change does not strengthen their brand position, it is not necessary
to do it.
2. The research also suggests based on the low response rate and the self selection that the
topic of a name change is a low priority. The incentive for taking the survey was strong
enough to entice a high response. Further research would be recommended on the basis
that a stronger sample size could be attained. A larger sample size would allow for a
greater ability to generalize the findings across the vast reach of Accupay clients.
3. Primary research indicated that AccuPay's largest competitor is ADP. Secondary research
showed that ADP's website, logo, and color scheme are red. In order to better
differentiate itself from its biggest competitor, AccuPay might consider changing its logo
and website colors from red to a different color. In regards to what color might be best to
change to the prospective client survey showed that the color blue is most associated with
Payroll firms. Therefore the data supports changing AccuPay's colors from red to blue to
better fit in with what prospective clients expect as well as better differentiate itself from
its biggest competitor, ADP.
4. It should be noted, however, that competitor Paychex uses the color blue prominently in
its web presence; therefore using a different hue of blue would be advisable. The
prospective client survey shows that Paychex does not come to mind first by many
respondents, especially in contrast to the overwhelming majority that thought of ADP
first; however, Paychex was recognized by current survey respondents (20 out of 41) as

20. being a competitor. Overall, the research indicates that ADP is a far bigger concern of
competition than Paychex, and therefore supports that changing the color from red to blue
will help AccuPay better differentiate itself from its main competitor without the change
conflicting too greatly with other competitors who use the new color (blue).