When you name your business, you're giving birth to a brand.
In time, your brand name will represent a rich and varied
combination of positive expectations and experiences in the minds
of your customers. The name should complement those expectations
and experiences. That's why you should use your business plan
as a blueprint for developing a name.
A good business plan defines your product or service, your
customers, your competition and your business category. It outlines
goals for short- and long-term growth and identifies attributes
that will allow your business to be competitive and successful.
Elements in your business plan form the framework for a brand
strategy and lead to critical issues to consider when determining a
name:
1. Visualize your customers. What do they look like? What
are their ages, genders, lifestyles and locations? If your product
or service is targeted to a specific demographic or type of
customer, your company name should be customer-driven.
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A good example of this is a high-end clothing store specializing
in smaller sizes for women, appropriately called La Petite.
According to Dave Batt, president of marketing consulting firm
Everest Communications Inc. in Genea, Illinois, "The more
targeted your product or service is to a specific demographic, the
more specific your name should be to appeal to that
target."
2. What makes your company competitive or unique? These
characteristics define the fundamental nature of your business. Is
your company's emphasis on service or speed? Is your promise
all-purpose and value, or rare and one-of-a-kind? You need to find
the words that define the nature of your business. Classic examples
include ServiceMaster, In-N-Out Burgers and Value-Rite. If your
company has a specific emphasis on an attribute, you should
highlight that attribute in your brand name. If not, consider issue
three.
3. Understand your business category. Are you
specialized, or are you selling a commodity? Do you have a
breakthrough concept that makes your product or service unique, or
are you in a highly competitive category where success is measured
by market share?
Meals-on-Wheels, the catering company specializing in home
delivery of precooked meals, is a good example of a breakthrough
concept. A good example of a name in a commodity category is
Melissa's Catering. The name clearly identifies the business
and adds an element covered by question four.
4. Are you vital to the company's day-to-day activities
and functions? This tends to be the case for service companies.
That's why you often see a name or a list of last names for
lawyers, doctors, insurance agents and financial planners. Batt
defines it in simpler terms: "When the person is the product,
it makes sense to name the company that way."
Your own name can also bring an added dimension to a commodity
product or service. That's why Melissa's Catering is an
effective name. If Melissa establishes herself as a prominent
feature of personalized service in her business, she provides the
competitive edge.
The bottom line is, you need to know yourself and your role in
your business. In the end, stay true to the heart of your business
as defined by your business plan. Remember that if you sell your
company in the future, you sell the name as well.
Ultimately, your most important consideration is defined by
Batt: "In time, the name will be less important than what you
make of it through hard work, dedication and customer
satisfaction." It's at that point that you'll know
you've not only successfully named your company, but also given
birth to a brand.
Steve Nubie spent 25 years putting in 80-hour weeks in the
advertising industry before becoming a freelance writer and
marketing consultant.