Tweet

STOP - Don't Name Your Business THAT!

Written by: Scott Lorenz

Article Overview: Having a good name is a powerful marketing force. Your business name makes an emotional connection with your customers, differentiates you from your competitors, and helps build a strong brand name that is easily recognized and can be trusted. So don’t rush through this step. Having a good name is as important as seed money and capital funding.

STOP - Don't Name Your Business THAT!

I am often asked as a marketing and public relations expert to help new companies name their business. Some marketing firms charge tens of thousands of dollars for the privilege. In the real world of small business it’s really not that difficult or costly if you just follow some easy to understand concepts.
A business name will effect consumer decisions about doing business with your company, so invest time and effort in the decision. A good name requires more than a trendy label that sounds cute on a business card.
There are laws, marketing principles, public relations guidelines, and social psychology that come into play when selecting your business name. For specific steps to take in making your name legal check out the web site of the Small Business Administration (SBA) at: http://www.business.gov/guides/business_law/naming.html
For success in naming your business pay close attention to these ideas based on marketing and public relations:
• Name the business after what you do.
• Start with letters high in the alphabet – A, B, or C.
• Check to see if the domain of the name is available to register.
• What do your potential customers say about the name?
If busy executives are your customers make sure they understand the name. If you have to explain then you’ve lost the point.
Marketers know what makes people tick and why people engage in certain behavior. If you can predict how the average person will perceive a name, you will know if that name will generate interest. Marketing insight is crucial to understanding why consumers respond to your business name the way they do.
Your business name will grab the attention of your customers if it:
• Is short, concise and easy to spell
• Can easily be remembered if heard on the radio while driving
• Can easily be abbreviated
• Identifies only you and not your competitors
• Is relevant to your community
• Meets legal requirements of your state
• Has the potential to be a trademark
• Is catchy and trendy but not so trendy that it will sound old in a few years
Don’t overlook my tip above to select a name that can easily be abbreviated. What do you identify with most – IBM or International Business Machines? ABC-TV or American Broadcasting Corporation? PBS or Public Broadcasting System? You get the idea. Other initialed businesses with strong branding are AOL, KFC, CNN, 3M and NRA. Initials work because they are simple, easy to remember, and loved by graphic artists. Remember all of these names have had millions of dollars of advertising driving it into our heads so that’s the reason we know what they mean, not because some genius figured out three particular letters together make a great name.
The advantage, of course, of starting your business name with an A, B or C is that you will appear near the top in online listings, the Yellow Pages or in other alphabetical listings such as the Chamber of Commerce Directory. If you want to get to the very top then numbers or symbols will do the same; for example, 3com and 3M. But symbols such as the @ sign could cause difficulties and actually complicate things so beware.
You might think it’s a good idea to include the city or state where you do business in your name. Think again. This strategy makes sense only for businesses that don’t plan to grow outside their geographic area or the city or state name lends cache like New York Carpet World or California Pizza. In today’s world you must understand that your business will have a physical location in a geographic community identified and located by an address, i.e. 345 S. Main Street. And your business also will have a virtual location on the Internet identified and located by a domain name, i.e. www.yourname.com. So when you think of what makes a good business name think also of what makes a good domain name. They go hand in hand.
For businesses that operate on the Internet, business names are synonymous with domain names. A key strategy here is to remember that a strong domain name and business name is one that will pop up when searches are conducted on Google and Yahoo! when keywords are actually in the domain name.
Check out domain names and random names at: http://www.makewords.com This is an indispensable way to get 50 to 500 URLs using key words. For example, do you want a domain name that includes the word “iPod?” Type it in and it’ll generate dozens of suggestions with themes from Music to Medicine and tell you if the domain is available.
If you are still scratching your head over the best name for your business, here are a few more tips that will be helpful. Make sure your business name is:
• Unique
• Logo-friendly
• Print-friendly
• Easy to pronounce
• Easy to understand
• Meaningful
• Expands as you expand
Ask yourself these questions: How will it look on stationery, business cards, signs? Does it require someone spell it out B- Bravo, C- Charlie, R- Romeo or can it be easily understood?
Having a good name is a powerful marketing force. Your business name makes an emotional connection with your customers, differentiates you from your competitors, and helps build a strong brand name that is easily recognized and can be trusted. So don’t rush through this step. Having a good name is as important as seed money and capital funding.
The important thing is to be as thorough as possible when selecting a name so you never have to rename your business because someone else has a trademark on it. Make sure the person you're talking to is who your customer really is, not who you wish it was. And know what language they speak.
And, finally, don’t be afraid to seek the help of an expert. The process and final decision is too important to do it alone. Expert help produces professional and lasting results.
In light of everything I’ve said here, you might well ask me why my company is named Westwind Communications. Unfortunately when I began this company in 1981 I was not thinking about these things. If I could do it again, I would definitely come up with another name. The biggest reason is the letter “W” is usually at the bottom of all lists…

Should I change it?

Related Articles
  What is the best way to develop my sales skills?
  Profitable Online Business Ideas and the Recession Part 2
  Contribution
  How can you make more of your customers open your emails?
  Know your magic numbers

Article Tags: business names, google, makewordscom, naming a business, tips for naming a business



Related Forum Posts
My entry - 1. The Best Business Books Ever: The 100 Most Influential Business Books You'll Never Have Time to Read - this is a fascinating book about the history of Business theory, and I'd recommend it to anybody. 2. The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants, by Tom Gegax. Ditto. 3. PADI: The Business of Diving Book Okay, so this book won't be of use to anyone who doesn't want to start a scuba store, but I did, and this book was of course invaluable to me in reaching that goal.
Re: How to Promote Your Blog – The Definitive Guide to Promoting - Great Post! Dont forget to put your blog in Anchor Text For SEO purposes for the keywords you want when getting backlinks (for example with article marketing)...Very important. You can conquer quite a few small Niches and get your site on the number 1 spot in Google!
Re: Due Diligence, Market Research.. Ahead of the curve. - Congrats! A few months ago I wrote extensively on market research. Check in the Inventors corner for the posts. Let me know if I can help further! Dont spend a dime on a protype or advertising until you do some research! Jude
Re: Who hates cold calling? - I saw this and had to chime in. I HATE COLD CALLS. lol its terrible and a wast of my time. Something i have done is gotten online and found all the networking event happening in my area for the next 2 months and i try and go to about 3 a week. Even just for an hour. Dont bring any business cards. Just meet new people ask them alot about what they do, not too much about what i do and follow up the next day or 2. Has worked well
Exclusive: Interview with Results - Hi Forum Members, I'm helping start up a Business Coaching and Consulting company here in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (a Subsidiary of RSC Business in Los Angeles). As a Research and Development Intern I am required to practice my listening and interview skills by surveying Small and Medium Businesses on thier Business. This Survey is designed by RSC Business to also assist the Business being interviewed more insight into their own business. I am looking to interview about 30 businesses across North America over the span of 3 months. At the end of these interviews I will be publishing a report of the results and they will be made available for free to the Interviewees. The Report data will include responses from a minimum of 100 interviews. I would like to extend this opportunity to members of the Forum. If you would like to have this short 20-30 minute interview conducted on your Business and you reside in North America please send me an email or PM. Please contact me at andy[at]jvprosperity[dot]com to arrange our interview and to get free access to the results when they are published.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Starting A Set of Books

How to Develop Your Powers of Thought.

Qualities of Leadership Part 1

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.