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Creative thinkers charge thousands of dollars
to invent name identities for business owners. Those on a budget can do the
same thing for themselves following a few easy guidelines.
Names of businesses play an important role in
determining the "personality" of a company. The words contained in the
business name should clearly define the services or products offered.
Business names that have nothing to do with the underlying product or
service often require extensive and expensive marketing efforts to become
established. An excellent example is Amazon.
Locally, we have white trucks that run
through the town with the name. "The Sodfather" --- what does that tell you
about the company? Let's add "Lending Tree" and "Slenderella" --- these are
perfect examples of putting your service or product into your business name
without the need of extensive ads to make the business name "stick".
Most important; an imaginative, memorable
business name often proves valuable in many ways. Start brainstorming with a
list of keywords related to your business. This will be made up of verbs,
nouns and adjectives. You may need to consult a thesaurus. Then try
combining words on your list.
Your choices should carry a positive
energetic frequency. The choices given for Lifesavers, Wrangler, Travelocity
and Tide knew how to coordinate energetic frequency with a product's
function and appeal. Because of the frequency of a name is an invisible
energetic influence, choosing the best possible option is critical.
While many companies spend millions to develop a name, most
high priced services ignore the energetic component. But in naming your
business, it's not what you spend that gives you the edge, it's what you
have learned about the invisible vibration of language. There is
nothing energetic about Titanic or Edsel. They are names that are strongly
discordant and unstable.
Legal problems
can mean trouble if you choose the prefix "Mc" for any part of your
business. M&M Marketing won't work either. And I know first hand that a
fabric store running a sale had to remove the words "prices rolled back" in
their window. Who knew Walmart has coined that phrase?
Rhymes and near-rhymes are often used for ease-of-recall;
Vacation Station, Dinner in the Diner, and our most familiar one, Ronald
McDonald. Even with the simplest product or the most technical service, an
unforgettable name helps to make the company or product memorable.
As with rhymes, a repetition of consonants offer names that
are pleasant and obviously effective with a singsong quality -- Coca-Cola,
Captain Crunch, Dunkin' Donuts, and A Pane In The Glass.
The more comical, and oft times risky, names given to
businesses over the years include: Gone Fishin' Marina and El Cheapo Gas.
These hair solons; Curl Up & Dye, Oops! and Clip Joint. And this discount
store takes the prize for bravery -- Cheaper Than Shit.
This article is meant to stimulate your imagination. There's
a lot of room for personal and professional creativity when choosing a
business name, and if you take the time, it doesn't have to cost you one
penny either. © 2003 Esther Smith
About
the Author: Smith has published numerous articles and writes a blog for
all artists:
http://the-self-taught-artist.com/blog.html
She also coaches new students on how to leave the time-for-money trap and set up
Leveraged Income for life.
http://thepermanentventure.com/dcc.htm If you can’t sing or ride a
bull, you better learn how to make your money work for more money.
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