A Company and Product Name
That Stands Out & Sells When You’re Not There

Strategy

Select a name that is distinctive enough to be remembered and easy enough to work into a good web domain name and e-mail address.

Assignments

Creates a set of descriptive words (we call them Connotations) for your business from your strategy or branding documents (such as the Key Messaging Workplan—Play T-02). Next, develop a short list of characteristic themes that describe what you do.

Brew some Sumatra and get out your dictionaries and thesauruses. As you think of names, organize them according to theme. Don’t discard any names, since one name will lead to several others. Remember, some names may be very descriptive while others will be generic or unrelated (see Coaching Points). Now create a set of universal suffixes and prefixes, including any specific colors, directions, or numbers that relate to your company. These can be an aid to your team. For example, you may end up with a company name like Planet Green or 3 Doors Down. Final names should be shared with customers to get their reaction. You’re not seeking their approval—only their opinion. Lastly, list organizational-type words such as Labs or Systems.

Use an online domain registration company like www.GoDaddy.com. Most domain names can be registered for less than $9/year. Enter your names into the search engine to see if it’s available. If it isn’t, try some variations using the organization type (see Naming, above). Some abbreviations may make sense. For example, Informance International can be shortened to InformanceInt.com. Be careful not to get too far a field—you’ll confuse your customer. Once you’ve arrived at a short list, you must check for existing trademarks. Go to www.uspto.gov and use the trademark search. If it appears to be clear, contact your attorney so they can confirm the clearance. Once you make your final choice and prepare your trademark filing, you can begin to claim a trademark for your company name in the form of a ™ (see Play T-07).

Coaching Points

• Your name should either relate to your company and what it produces or be completely unrelated and won’t give your customer the wrong idea for what you do. Learn from my past, don’t choose a name like U.S. Robotics for a modem company.
• Road test the name. What may seem cool to you may sound completely stupid to someone else.
• Make sure the name can be read aloud and understood without spelling it. If you have to spell the name every time you leave a voicemail, you’re going dread the day you decided on a name like Concierge Systems.
• I always loved names like ExecuTrain and VoiceTel because they were short and gave you some idea what the company did.
• I also like made up and non-specific names like Kodak, Lotus, Airplane Peanuts and Purple Loop.

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