Selecting a name for your company or product and be a fun and exciting adventure. Having been involved in a few of these sessions myself I can also tell you that can be tedious, contentious or a completely frustrating experience. I started thinking about company names today because Jeremy Wright is trying to come up with a name for a new business venture. Jeremy, I've got a few ideas for you but first here are some thoughts on the matter.
Simple to remember
The KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) principle should be a prime goal when contemplating your new name. Think about the successful companies that are part of our culture and lives.
- IBM
- Nike
- Target
- Starbucks
- Sears
- Ford
- Amazon
What's not to like about a simple one or two syllable name that is easy to remember?
Describe your niche in your name
Why not select a name that actively promotes what your company does? Every time your customers say your name they are cementing in their minds what you do.
- Home Depot
- General Electric
- Bank of America
- Hilton Hotels
- Shell Oil
- Kentucky Fried Chicken
- British Airways
When we were creating our SQL Server testing tool we decided to go with a descriptive name - DbValidator. Since our tool validates the proposed database specifications against the actual database this seemed like a simple effective name.
Avoid Nonsense Names
Nonsense names are created by taking syllables from various 'seed' words and combining into a new unique word. The theory is that you can establish a brand and yet avoid using words trademarked by other companies. This trend is starting to die, and I say good riddance. Quick, tell me what these companies do?
- Accumulo
- Aviva
- Corus
- Consignia
These companies all start to sound bland and similar and your customer has trouble remember you. Was that Corus or Cornus or Conus or...
Names created from thin air are occasionally successful, especially if you have enormous amounts of cash to spend establishing your brand. Here are a couple well known examples.
There's a funny story of a couple guys spoofing the nonsense names, deliberately trying to create stupid nonsense names. The twist is that some companies used the list to find names and then register them for themselves.
Easy on the tongue
Once, long ago, I made the mistake of choosing Incise Consulting for a company name. Cutting edge, sharp, focused, all these concepts popped into the minds of our brainstorming team. Hey, look it up in a dictionary.
INCISE: To cut into, as with a sharp instrument: incised the tablet with chisels; a plateau that had been deeply incised by streams.
Yes, it looked good. But then we started telling our vendors and business partners our name. We heard a lot of "What was that?", and "I'm sorry? Say again". Sure it looked good on paper but nobody GOT IT when we said the name.
Here's a suggestion. Try the telephone test. Call up someone who doesn't know your new name. Better yet, call up a bunch of people, say your wonderful new name to them and then ask them to write down your company name and read it back to you. Did they get it right the first time? Did you have to repeat your name more than once? Did they ask you to spell it for them? If so, then it's time to rethink your name.
The problem defined
If you went to Jeremy Wright's site you see that he is trying to name a new blog consulting / production company.
The plans are still a little sketchy, however by tomorrow we need to pick a name.
The two names on the table are:
BlogFathers
InsideBlogging
We were looking for something cutting edge, trendy, fun, etc.
Blog Related Names
I've never liked the term Blog. It feels ugly to me. It doesn't flow, it seems awkward or forced somehow. But like it or not it's not going away any time soon. I suggest not having blog in the name. Also consider how well the name will age. If this company is going to be around for a while do you really want BlogFeathers as your name?
If you must have blog in the name try one of these.
- BlogWriters
- Blog Concepts
- Blog Storm
- BlogFire
- InstaBlog
- BlogBeat
- GhostBloggers
- Blog Insiders
- BlogForge
Descriptive
- Blog Producers
- Blog Composers
- Blog Factory
Fun