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•Business Names Do Matter Norm Brodsky
In the November 2005 issue of Inc. magazine, Norm Brodsky wrote: Your company's name plays little, if any, role in determining your success.
I agree completely that a company with a bad or mediocre name can reach success. However, here are 10 reasons why coming up with a snappy, interesting and memorable name is worth the business owner's or organization's time and energy.
1. When you call or speak with strangers and mention the name of your company, and the name in and of itself provokes...
•Six Types of New Business Names Which One is Right For Your Product or Company
Whether you’re trying to name a new company or rename an existing product, it’s far from easy to generate a name that sounds great, looks cool, means what you want it to and sets you apart from all the competition.
Narrow down the range of possibilities by first figuring out which of these six types of names you prefer.
I. Made-up Names
Examples: Verizon, Intel, Centuria, Zumasys
People seem to either love made-up names or hate them. On the one hand, they offer a blank slate for branding –...
•Naming Your Business Five Hidden Dangers of Using Creative Spelling in Your New Company Name
If you’ve ever run across the old joke that “fish” should actually be spelled “ghoti” (“gh” as in “tough,” “o” as in “women” and “ti” as in “nation”), then you won’t be surprised to know that many companies put this quirk of the English language to work by concocting an alternate spelling of a key word for their name. This associates their organization with a certain quality while standing out with a unique-looking name.
Examples of creatively spelled names that sound like a real word...
•Why Bother Building A Brand
At a conference in Dallas not long ago, a graphic designer from Kentucky and I sat down at a table where people were exchanging business cards. I looked at his logo, and he studied the name on my card.
I know that logo. We've been in touch in the past, I said.
That's right. I know your name, he said.
Although we weren't able to pinpoint when or why we'd exchanged mail previously, we guessed it had been at least five years back. Neither one of us has an extraordinary memory. Rather, he had...
•Should You Test Company Names Or Product Names on Google
A few years back, the firm MarketingExperiments ran tests of product names and domain names using Google Adwords, with results that could very well impress company and product namers to employ this method. By changing just the name in identical ads, the research team was able to show significant differences in click-through rates from otherwise identical text ads.
You no longer have to rely on guesswork or personal favorites to try to predict which domain name will perform the best, the...
•Naming Tips From the Internet s Most Popular Free Business Name Generator
Thinking of using some fancy-dancy automated name generating program to brainstorm possible new company names or new product names? You can easily find such software utilities in a web search.
In what appears to be a bonus of incredible value, these programs not only propose names for your consideration but also take a look and see whether the matching dot-com domain is available.
You know what, though? Most of the time, these advanced and handy tools do not resolve your naming challenge....
•Business Names Can Bring Good Fortune
Judging only from the name, which company comes across as more crisply efficient, Order Out of Chaos or Ockahochee Organizers, Inc.?
Which business seems more innovative, Kabloom or Finest Flowers?
Which consulting firm seems more dependable, RP&G Consulting Partners or Skyhunters Consulting?
A company name can influence perceptions - attracting or repelling not only customers but also media people and joint venture partners. It does so through these and other factors:
* the style of...
•The Mystique Of Numbers In Company Names
While visiting the House of the Seven Gables in Salem, Massachusetts two weeks ago, made famous in the 1851 book by Nathaniel Hawthorne, I mentally tried out other numbers to see if they would sound as spooky and portentous.
To my ear, House of the Five Gables sounds all too ordinary, while House of the Eight Gables lacks anything that would send a chill up someone's spine. Both the sound of seven and its properties as both odd and prime give it a reverberating ring. I would go so far as to...
•Must a Great Business Name Be Short
Look around the Internet, particularly at blogs written by high-priced naming consultants, and you'll find a lot of rules about what makes for a great business name. Some of these are pure nonsense. They're not observations but opinions - shaky opinions, too.
For example, some naming consultants claim that a great business name must be short. True, some are: Google. Nike. Intel. Ford. Best Buy. Sprint. Deere.
One expert says names should be no more than three syllables, and another says no...
•New Business Names Naming For The Ear
It's surely happened to you, too: You call someone back from a telephone message, not sure who they are or what they want, and what the receptionist recites upon answering comes off as a complete blur. It doesn't even separate into words.
In many cases this has nothing to do with the diction of the receptionist. Out of context, the company name simply makes no sense to the ear.
Years ago I had an extreme version of this experience when a gardening columnist I was interviewing said something...
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