Saturday, July 15, 2017

What's In A Name? Everything!

At Fund-House we expend a lot of brain-power developing names and logos for company-clients.
Naming is the start-point for building a company's identity and brand so a lot hinges on getting the right (and proper) name and logo.

In developing and designing a company name the final result must be unique yet fit into what the business does - it's reason for being. Many companies use the family name, for example, Ford, Johnson & Johnson, and JP Morgan Chase . Others, like law, accounting, and consulting often use the partners names. Small businesses often use the family name, such as Joe Smith & Sons. However, naming experts, Fund-House included, believe using unique names can be far more effective than family names. For example, the most profitable and successful family-named business is Kinder Morgan. My guess is that most of you reading this post never heard of Kinder Morgan,  yet it is N. America's largest energy infrastructure company.

Naming your business is one of the most important things a start-up does as it begins its journey, if the name is off, everything else about the business is impacted. There are several 'not to dos' in naming a business.

- Don't have too many people involved in the naming. Just keep it to the very important few.
- Don't take two unrelated words and blend them, for example, QualiServe. This over-used phrase       naming is not suitable in today's marketplace.
- Don't use complicated, literal names. For example, the name 'Search Engine Management Company' instead of Google.
- Don't use map names. This may work for local tradesmen or restaurants but as your business grows it will become a hindrance. 3M and KFC are examples of companies outgrowing their geographic names.
- Don't use cliches. Words like Apex or Summit are totally overused and have no meaning.
- Don't use made-up names. This may work for pharmaceutical drugs but they are usually mispronounced and misspelled  (making internet search difficult) and must rely heavily on advertising to get behind the name and explain what the company actually does.

Take the time to develop a good, expressive, memorable, and creative name for your business. Use expert assistance in naming and logo design and in trademarking and/or copyrighting the name/logo.
This will be money will  spent. Normally, the charge is $3000-5000 for naming and logo design. That would also include a tag-line if necessary to communicate what the company does.

A naming consultant, like Fund-House, should present 3 to 5 names that have already been trademark searched.  Your task is determining: which name best fits your business objectives, which accurately describes the company, and how does it sound when spoken.  Normally it takes 4-6 weeks for to develop appropriate company names and logos and several more weeks for the client to decide which name is best suited for the business.

So, what's in a name? Well, everything!









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