Dear Dan: We’re planning to expand nationwide, and introduce a new product. But our business name won’t work nationally, so I need something new. We have ideas, but want get it right. How can we be sure? – Name-Challenged
Dear Name-Challenged: When it comes to naming a business, product or service, there are different schools of thought. Most annoying, to me at least, is the invented-name phenomenon, which has gripped big and small companies alike in recent years, especially online.
Occasionally, these alphabet soup names click. More often, they’re a train wreck. There are so many offenders that the San Francisco-based naming firm Eat My Words (www.eatmywords.com) has developed a Name Shame Hall of Fame to skewer the worst offenders.
The list is endless. They include hard-to-pronounce (Apahcinc, Qoop), meaningless (Caachi, Etelos), forced (Fragranza), unnatural spellings (Takkle, Ziizoo) and just plain annoying (Doostang, Thoof and Mathnasium).
Eat My Words, the cleverest, most with-it naming firm I’ve ever encountered, has developed a SMILE & SCRATCH Test to help business owners objectively critique prospective company, product or service names without expensive consulting fees or fancy focus groups.
S.M.I.L.E. components are good. Simple (customers easily get it); Meaningful (connection is clear); Imagery (creates a visual picture); Legs (promotes wordplay; can carry the brand) Emotional (entertains, engages, enlightens).
S.C.R.A.T.C.H. components are evil. Spelling-challenged (too hard); Copycat (too similar to competitor); Random (no brand connection); Annoying (forced, obscure meaning); Tame (boring, flat); Curse of knowledge (only insiders get it); Hard to pronounce.
Here are a few other naming commandments that EMW lives by:
• A gutsy, fun or unexpected name can increase overall profits via merchandising opportunities. As you consider a name, also look for ways it might contribute to product marketing success. The name Spoon Me frozen yogurt, for example, proved so brandable that the company makes almost as much money selling Spoon Me merchandise as it does selling yogurt.
• Avoid at all costs the hackneyed practice of building invented, mangled, forced or clipped words to form names for your business, product or service.
• Create names that are likeable and make an emotional connection with the consumer. •
Daniel Kehrer can be reached at
editor@business.com.
