Marketing Tips

HOW TO NAME YOUR BUSINESS (10 objectives)

January 5, 2010 in Featured, Marketing Tips

A simple 8 step business branding process for your start-up

JULIET:
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”
From Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, 1594

When it comes to choosing a name for your business, Juliet could not have been more wrong. But what would you expect from a girl who offed herself over a teenage boy? If the rose was called the “funeral flower,” it would still smell the same, but how many people would buy a dozen of the long-stemmed variety to celebrate an anniversary? Not me!

“What is in a company name? Income or expense.”
Edwin Jones, 2010

Your company name will affect your bottom line.

What’s in a company name? If you choose wisely, it is an asset that pays dividends from day one. If you choose poorly, it is a continual expense.

How can this be? When you start a new venture or rebrand an existing one, the most powerful advertising tool you have is your name. Unlike a slogan or tagline, your employees, customers and prospects are forced to remember it and repeat it often. In some extreme cases, it is the only advertising message that will penetrate your market.

Just like any other marketing message, if your name is effective, it can help you land new customers and gain market share. On the flipside, if your business name has to be explained and does not convey what you do, you could find yourself having to explain your name and gain market share through costly brand awareness campaigns.

Exceptions to the rule.

Of course, if you have a multimillion dollar marketing budget like Apple, Google, Verizon, Yahoo, or Hulu the following rules don’t apply. You can name your company “Bellybutton Lint” and still accomplish your goals, but count the cost and keep in mind that Apple got its start as Apple Computer.

Company naming objectives for the rest of us.

1. Communicate what makes you better than the competition (differentiate)
2. Convey a customer benefit
3. Explicitly state what your company does
4. Timeless—avoid trendy names or current technological advancements
5. Memorable
6. Intuitive—you don’t have to think about what it means
7. Shorter is better
8. Easy to pronounce
9. Relevant across all markets, including international
10. Website URL matches company name (URL availability)

It’s unlikely you can accomplish all 10, but get as close as you can. I would consider your effort wildly successful, if you accomplished 1, 2, or 3 and 4 through 10.

Business branding process.

Too often, the process is not defined and naming decisions are made in haste based on emotional attachment, spur-of-the-moment ideas or a gut feeling. On the other hand, don’t allow the process to become too mechanical—devoid of creativity and emotion.

Example branding process:

1. Go through a branding exercise:
   a.  Explicitly state the business you’re in.
   b.  Identify how you are different from the competition (points of differentiation).
   c.  Name specific benefits (not features) your customers enjoy when they do business with you or buy your product or service.
2. Establish your name selection criteria and document it (see objectives above).
3. Determine who will make the final decision and who has veto power.
4. Open the process up to everyone.
5. Require all names to be submitted in writing and in advance of every name-storming session.
6. As each name is presented, have the decision-makers score the name based on your predetermined criteria.
7. Narrow your selection and publish the list to everyone involved along with the criteria score.
8. Repeat steps 5 through 7 at least 3 times, and don’t rush the process.

This is a subject that is hard to do justice to in a few hundred words. Look for related posts in the near future.

Edwin Jones

About the author

Edwin Jones is the founder of HIT Brands, Inc., a strategic marketing firm providing marketing planning, branding and positioning, social media marketing, advertising, graphic design, Web development services and trade show display solutions.