I was surprised to find a recent article today regarding Metro Vancouver’s very own Men in Kilts’ ambition of expanding their service to 50 new cities, mainly south of the border. Prior to reading this article, I had only heard of the company locally but had an unclear perception as to what they did and was totally clueless on their national expansion and success. As services like window cleaning tend to be predominantly local, it is very impressive that Men in Kilts has not only expanded eastward in Canada, but even to cities on America’s eastern seaboard in just over a decade and turned their annual revenue from $20,000 to $6 million this year.  I believe a major factor in why this company has been so successful is because it has positioned itself effectively in the market. As Al Ries and Jack Trout explained the power of a name. The memorable name of this company differentiates it from the competition as only it conjures images of “tough Scottish men labouring on your house” while having the friendliness and charm to wear kilts. Such a different customer relationship probably helps it in securing loyalty as well. Expanding on the power of their name, it is not limited by anything but their workforce and uniform. Since the name has no specific service attached to it, such as “Window Cleaning” or “Gutter Cleaning”, Men in Kilts has the ability to expand into countless more services as they enter those 50 new markets.

(Image from <http://www.vancouversun.com/business/smallbusiness/cms/binary/8994917.jpg?size=620x400s>)