Getting Your Name Right By Andy RoutledgeIt’s true. Creating a good name for your business or products is crucial to long term success. In general, names should be short, easy to say and spell and
name should ‘stick’ in minds of consumer. That much we know.
However, for many people, there are two common problems. Firstly, coming up with a memorable and appropriate name for your business. Despite all good advice, many people are still making same naming blunders. It’s obvious to onlookers that they didn’t spend enough time on naming – and it hurts their business.
Secondly, creating a name that is available. Is it trademarked? Is it available as a domain name? What often happens is that we settle for second best. We can’t get names we want, so we settle for less memorable names. That’s first big mistake.
Linguists call this ‘semantic positioning’. Compare your name to those of your competitors’. Does your name sound as good as, or better than theirs? If not, improve it. You want your name to be first name people remember when looking for your type of service or product. Give yourself a good start by getting name right.
On web in particular, your name has got to convey right message and it has got to stand out from crowd. Here’s a list of top tips to getting that perfect name:
1) Spend necessary time in getting it right You want to convey correct image right from very start. Never settle for a second rate name – it will hurt your credibility. A bit of persistence will reap large rewards. Don’t skimp on this - take all time needed to get a winning name.
Before coming up with a list of alternatives, decide what qualities you would like your name to convey. For example - quality, trust, integrity, compassion, competence and assurance are some examples. Be sure to convey your chosen qualities and avoid hype.
2) Do your research
Look for companies in your field of interest. Compare your name to theirs? Whose is better? Does your name sound more solid, more memorable? If it doesn’t – change it. You want your name to sound professional and unique, not just another ‘me too’ outfit. 3) Start your name with a plosive
A plosive is a little bit of language that pops out of your mouth and draws attention to itself. It’s a “stopper” in language. B, C, D, K, P and T are all plosives. Many studies have shown that names beginning with such letters have higher recall rates. Many top brand names (knowingly or not) start with these letters.
