It’s not easy to pick a name for your new company. Your name does more than describe your business. It tells customers who you are, what you do, and more than just how you do it. Your name separates you from your colleagues, raises consumer curiosity, and encourages further investigation—if you do it correctly.

I didn’t do the right thing. Not at first, at least.

All the entrepreneurs are making mistakes, and I made one of my first ones right off the bat. Thrilled by the fledgeling business that I began, this precious undertaking so close and dear to my heart, I christened my company Diadem Communications. Diadem means the crown—a fitting name for what I thought was the crown.
Achievement crowning.

What does Diadem have to say to you? Does it provoke thoughts of me joining your company, training your sales team to be the best booth workers ever, ensuring that every single trade show you attend turns out to be a tremendous success? Does that make me sound so amazing that you just can’t wait to recruit me?

No no. It doesn’t tell me that either. Worse it didn’t mention that to any of my future clients. By name alone, no one will be able to ascertain the least bit of information about me, my business, or the services we provide. The name meant nothing and it didn’t do anything for me.

The name had to be gone. More significantly, anything successful had to be substituted. How are you going to come up with an appropriate name? Consider the following six elements:

An Effective Business Name:

(1) Tells who you are

Your name is meant to represent your identity. This is a central element of branding. You’re going to advertise this brand, get it in front of as many eyes as you can as soon as you can. What would you like the public to think about you?

For others, this means merging your name into the name of your company. This is very common in some professions: legal, medical, and accounting.

Others tend to have a more descriptive name. A prosperous small baker operates her company under the name of The Lady of Cookies” because that’s how her first customers identified her. It’s unlikely that any of the consumers will know their first name (It’s Pat) but everyone in their business knows “The Lady of Cookies.”

(2) Tells What You Do

It’s unbelievable how many business names offer little if any, a hint of what kind of work the organisation does. Please take the following examples:

• Smith and his sons
• Brothers of Hulbert
• Just one thing

Can you tell me what any of these businesses are doing? Of course, you can’t do that. They depend on consumers who already know who they are (a tricky proposition for new businesses!) or on getting their name found in ‘context,’ such as a yellow page or on-line business directory.

(3) Tells how you do that

Words are very powerful. By carefully choosing what words you use in your name, you can communicate a great deal about the picture of your business. Consider the names of three separate body massage centres:

• Therapeutic Massage in Champlain Valley
• Clouds Over Massage
• Speedy Spa Spa

All three businesses offer the same service: massage therapy. Yet the first seems to prefer a more medical approach, the second, a dreamy, glamorous approach, and the third focus on quick service.

(4) Differentiates You From Your Peers

Your business name is the first chance to tell consumers how different you are from the competition. This can be done by stressing what makes you special, by pointing out what feature of your goods and services can’t be found somewhere else—or that you do better than anyone else.

Remember the example of massage therapy we looked at in number three. Each company has a particular focus and approach to its customer base. They draw different types of customers, who are searching for radically different approaches. All of which is articulated in less than five terms.

(5) Peaks Customer Interest

The development of customer interest is an art and a science. Think carefully regarding the target audience. What are the attributes of your offerings that matter most to your customers? What kind of words would appeal to them?

Emphasize the essential qualities of your name. For example, busy homeowners are attracted to the inherent promise of speed provided by “Bob’s Instant Plumbing” while the reader, in pursuit of a good mystery, gravitates toward “Crime Pays Books.”

Choosing a word is also relevant. Two yarn shops can both specialise in speciality fabrics, but the one that calls itself All Hemp All Time” would attract a decidedly different crowd from the one called “Natural Beauty: Organic Yarns.”

(6) Invites to further investigate

Customers are funny people. What one group considers to be amusing and engaging throws the other group off. You want your name to be welcoming and approachable—as these attributes are viewed by your target audience.
The best example of this can be found in the financial services field of individual investors. Charles Schwab has spent years maintaining a traditional structured image—but now that the customer base is moving from ‘old people with a capital’ to ‘all with 401K,’ Charles Schwab has introduced the ‘Speak to Chuck’ campaign in an attempt to be more available.

Make sure your name doesn’t scare away customers! Some sectors are more formal than others but take your chance pretension.

After following a series of clear step-by-step directions for matching my corporate identity with my service offering, I came up with the quintessential name: The Trade Show Coach. This name immediately tells customers what I do-help companies attend trade shows-and a little bit of the way I do it-coach, rather than dictate, lead, guide, or coordinate.

See the difference, huh? So did the public buying, some of whom soon became my best customers. The same thing will happen to you—-if you choose the right name.