Naming Your Company
is
Serious
Business
~Part 1~
by
Flora M. Brown, Ph.D.
If you’re just starting your business or reinventing an established business, choosing a name is one of your most important decisions. The name you choose will create an image in the minds of others, so think about the image you want to reflect. There are several considerations.
1. Make your name memorable and recognizable, but in a positive light. Look it up to be sure.
- Reebok, the athletic shoe manufacturer, named a line of women’s running shoes “Incubus” apparently without looking it up. Incubus is an evil spirit that was thought in medieval times to descend upon and have sexual intercourse with a woman. Once the meaning of Incubus was discovered and broadcast on ABC News in 1997, Reebok had to discard 53,000 pairs of the shoes even though they had been on the market for a year and had not received any customer complaints.
2. Avoid copying clever names that worked for others, such as Toys R Us.
One local discount store chose the name “Mick and Save.” The discount store, Pic and Save, issued an injunction against them.
3. Make your business name broad enough to cover what you do, but not too specific.
A bakery named “Santa Ana Homemade Biscuits” gives the impression that it carries just one type of baked item.
4. If you have a new concept and can afford the money and energy to advertise heavily, you can make up a name or choose a name that seems to have no immediate connection to what you do.
Steve Jobs was three months late filing a name for his business. He threatened to name his company after his favorite fruit, the apple, if his staff didn’t come up with a better name by 5 PM. They didn’t. He named his next computer after a variety of apples, Macintosh. Naming his company after fruit had its benefits. It helped to give Jobs’ new company a softer friendlier image, distancing him from the cold names of the established computer companies.
Go to Part 2
About the Author
Flora Morris Brown, Ph.D. is a Professor Emeritus at Fullerton College, educational consultant, gift basket expert, writer and professional motivational speaker. From her websites, blogs and newsletters she motivates small business owners and gift retailers with sales-generating ideas, marketing tips, design ideas and business success strategies. She is mother of four and grandmother of three. When she's not traveling she enjoys her home in Anaheim, CA.
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