HOW WELL WILL YOUR BUSINESS NAME BE REMEMBERED?

   One of the unpardonable errors that business start-ups make is naming their business wrongly. This is  also about the most unnoticeable factor in business failure analysis. The name of a business can either fast-track its popularity and acceptability or doom it to obscurity and failure for good. Good business names are money in the bank, even though a number of the best known global names are the result of pure serendipity. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were thinking of calling their computer company, EXECUTEK or MATRIX ELECTRONICS until Jobs, a onetime fruitarian, suggested Apple. 

Thinking of building a successful global brand name? Then start by deciding what you want your company name to communicate at all times. Coming up with a memorable name for companies and products should not be taken lightly. How well and fast your business name will pop up in consumers’ minds amongst other things will depend on the ease of remembering the name. The best names are those that tell at a glance what business you are in----Kentucky Fried Chicken, Tasty Fried Chicken, Guarantee Trust Bank, GE, Coca Cola etc. All of these strike a sharp chord in the minds of consumers.  A marketing consultant once said ‘’All that exists in the world of marketing are perceptions in the minds of the customer or prospect. The perception is the reality. Everything else is an illusion.

  

The story of the world’s first personal computer-MITS Altair 8800 provides us with huge lesson in choosing the right name for a business. MITS Altair 8800 ought to be the world’s number  1 personal computer brand but unfortunately the brand is no longer with us for its unfortunate choice of name.

 It’s on record that one of NameLab’s (A Foremost business naming specialist firm in the U.S) best piece of work till date is ‘’Compaq’’ to describe a new company that intended to sell portable computers and went to chalk up the highest first-year sales in U.S history. NameLab founder Ira Bachrach believes that product names should be as memorable as the moniker of the companies that make the products. Bachrach invented an index for measuring how well consumers will remember a product’s brand name, using a scale from -5 to +5.

Your name should convey at a glance the value and uniqueness of the product or service you have developed. The more your name communicates to consumers about your business, the less effort you exert in having to explain it. People prefer words they can relate to and understand. For instance, ‘’Acura’’(A global automobile brand) has no dictionary definition but the word suggests precision engineering; just as the company intended.

    Before you name your business, Please keep the following tips in mind:

• Choose a name that appeals not only to you but also to the kind of customers you are trying to attract.
• Choose a comforting or familiar name that conjures up pleasant memories so customers can respond to your business on an emotional level.
• Don't pick a name that is long or confusing.
• Stay away from cute puns that only you understand.
• Don't use the word “Inc.” after your name unless your company is actually incorporated.

This article used an excerpt from ‘’How to Name your Business’’ by Entrepreneur Staff.