You’re name is your own unique identifier… As a kid I hated my name, it wasn’t on any barrettes or pencils or bicycle license plates. As an adult, I love my name, it’s unique enough to not have to spell it out for everyone, it’s strong and sweet all at the same time!
But what about your business? Are you thinking of starting one? Do you have a budding enterprise? Does the name you’ve chosen really represent what you want to put forth??
Susan Baroncini-Moe, is the author of “BUSINESS IN BLUE JEANS: How to Have a Successful Business on Your Own Terms, in Your Own Style” (Sound Wisdom, June 2013). A business and marketing strategist, Baroncini-Moe shares how to create and grow a business that works for you and offers sage advice on picking the right name — strong and durable, and comfortable to you – much like denim.
— Naming your business is one of the most challenging things any entrepreneur or business owner has to do. You want something that’s memorable, that stands out, and that your target market will understand and identify with, but there are tons of business owners who just get it all wrong. For example, the “big box” office supply stores, Office Depot and OfficeMax were branded too similarly, and as a result, they’re now merging.
— Know who your audience and likely customers or clients are and what they’re like before you choose your business name, otherwise, you’re likely to convey the wrong message to your audience. For example, let’s say that you name your business with a slang word like “YOLO” (which I don’t recommend), but your audience is primarily an older crowd, then it’s likely that potential customers won’t have any idea what “YOLO” means and will steer clear.
— Know what sentiment you want your customers and clients to experience with your brand before coming up with a name. Make a list of words that convey that sentiment and add to the list with a thesaurus. One of my clients named her business “Tomato Envy” to convey a love of gardening, cooking, and a slightly wicked sense of humor.
— Making up your own words like Google or Yahoo should be reserved for those with branding experience or highly technical companies, and it’s still not always a good idea. If you’re a spa, for example, don’t call yourself something like “TranquiliSpa.”
— Naming for the Yellow Pages is an outdated concept. “AAA” is for the automobile club, but anyone else is probably naming with initials to get to the top of the Yellow Pages list-big mistake in a keyword and search term oriented world. Today, people rarely look at alphabetically-organized lists. Instead, we’re searching keywords. So keyword relevance is far more important than where you are in the alphabet.
A veteran of the web industry, Susan Baroncini-Moe leverages her unique fusion of business and technological knowledge, her experience in the personal growth industry, and her incredible brainstorming capabilities to transform businesses around the globe. From the moment she decided that selling grape Kool-Aid would set her apart from all the lemonade stand competition, Susan’s path to sole-proprietorship was forged.
