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When you name your business, you're giving birth to a brand.In time, your brand name will represent a rich and variedcombination of positive expectations and experiences in the mindsof your customers. The name should complement those expectationsand experiences. That's why you should use your business planas a blueprint for developing a name.
A good business plan defines your product or service, yourcustomers, your competition and your business category. It outlinesgoals for short- and long-term growth and identifies attributesthat will allow your business to be competitive and successful.Elements in your business plan form the framework for a brandstrategy and lead to critical issues to consider when determining aname:
1. Visualize your customers. What do they look like? Whatare their ages, genders, lifestyles and locations? If your productor service is targeted to a specific demographic or type ofcustomer, your company name should be customer-driven.
A good example of this is a high-end clothing store specializingin smaller sizes for women, appropriately called La Petite.According to Dave Batt, president of marketing consulting firmEverest Communications Inc. in Genea, Illinois, "The moretargeted your product or service is to a specific demographic, themore specific your name should be to appeal to thattarget."
2. What makes your company competitive or unique? Thesecharacteristics define the fundamental nature of your business. Isyour company's emphasis on service or speed? Is your promiseall-purpose and value, or rare and one-of-a-kind? You need to findthe words that define the nature of your business. Classic examplesinclude ServiceMaster, In-N-Out Burgers and Value-Rite. If yourcompany has a specific emphasis on an attribute, you shouldhighlight that attribute in your brand name. If not, consider issuethree.
3. Understand your business category. Are youspecialized, or are you selling a commodity? Do you have abreakthrough concept that makes your product or service unique, orare you in a highly competitive category where success is measuredby market share?
Meals-on-Wheels, the catering company specializing in homedelivery of precooked meals, is a good example of a breakthroughconcept. A good example of a name in a commodity category isMelissa's Catering. The name clearly identifies the businessand adds an element covered by question four.
4. Are you vital to the company's day-to-day activitiesand functions? This tends to be the case for service companies.That's why you often see a name or a list of last names forlawyers, doctors, insurance agents and financial planners. Battdefines 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 commodityproduct or service. That's why Melissa's Catering is aneffective name. If Melissa establishes herself as a prominentfeature of personalized service in her business, she provides thecompetitive edge.
The bottom line is, you need to know yourself and your role inyour business. In the end, stay true to the heart of your businessas defined by your business plan. Remember that if you sell yourcompany in the future, you sell the name as well.
Ultimately, your most important consideration is defined byBatt: "In time, the name will be less important than what youmake of it through hard work, dedication and customersatisfaction." It's at that point that you'll knowyou've not only successfully named your company, but also givenbirth to a brand.
Steve Nubie spent 25 years putting in 80-hour weeks in theadvertising industry before becoming a freelance writer andmarketing consultant.
