What’s in a Name?

Dec 20
2009
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Is Shakespeare finally obsolete?  Is it no longer true that a Rose by any other name would smell as sweet?

In marketing, names are the brand, and not naming a company or product correctly can make the road to success all that much harder to travel. Given enough time, money and talent any name can become a household brand, but not everyone has the deep pockets of Apple, Google, Cher or Madonna.

In today’s hyper-connected world, naming protocols are all that more complicated and need to take into account Internet compatibilities among other things.  A new company, for instance, needs to be registered with the correct state authority, but if the corresponding name is not available as a url, even the best name can prove troublesome with online brand congruity.

Initials, once popular in the Fortune 500 realm, from IBM to ATT&T, are difficult for smaller companies.  Initials tent to be hard to remember, don’t help in SEO searches, and feel cold in the ever-funky social media world.  In the digital-sphere, better to have a name that means nothing such as Starbucks for coffee rather than initials that reek of corporate culture.

Unfortunately, small businesses, in particular, sometimes have to just get started with a less than perfect name and deal with the consequences later. But without the deep pockets of larger corporations, rebranding at a later date is not always an option.

The answer?  When starting up – get as  close to the perfect name as soon as possible, but don’t invest too much in it until you’ve completed your due diligence, which includes:

  1. A check of state records in any state in which you think you’ll do business.
  2. A check of available urls  in the .com arena.
  3. A check of alternative url choices in the .com arena.
  4. A review of similar names with minor misspellings.
  5. A gut check on the look and feel of the name with not only company principals and close loved ones, but a decent designer.

It takes most people nine months, the full gestation period, to choose a name for a new baby.  Businesses frequently  launch in far less time, which can result in some odd or oddly uncreative names, frequently named after the business owner.  If you just want to send out an invoice, any name will do, but if you want to build a brand, get a marketing person on your team to give you a broader view of options.

Written by Rhona in: Communication, Marketing, Marketing Basics A to Z, Planning, Strategic Planning | Tags: , , , , ,

Providers vs. Partners

Jun 21
2009
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This is part of my continuing rant about the term ” Service Providers,”  marketing or otherwise.  I’m actually ranting about the term “provider.”  Do we really think anyone gives us more credibility for being a provider versus a preferred supplier or vendor?  If you ask any of your traditional customers what they consider you, I’d bet dollars to donuts it’s not a provider.

OK, so you’re ready to stop being a doctor, lawyer, or marketing chief. What do you become? Please reconsider the MSP (aka Marketing Service Provider) moniker becoming popular in the graphics industries. As it is, few people agree on what “marketing” is so how will they know what you provide as a marketing service provider? If you must evolve to a provider of some sort, consider evolving to a”Media” services. There are a few companies that have successfully rebranded themselves as a Media Service Company.

Notice, they don’t use the word “Provider.” I believe the word “provider” clearly puts you in a supplier box as far as a customer is concerned. I’ll argue what a customer really wants is an expert; a partner in helping them be smarter, do things better, help them fly in achieving their own business aims. A provider is someone who does something for you, rather than someone who works with you.

How did the word “provider” even get into our lexicon?  I keep hearing business consultants liken themselves to doctors doing diagnosis on business health, so perhaps they are the ones who thought “Provider” might be a good term based on commonly referred-to  ”health services providers.”  However, that’s what the insurance companies call them. I call them doctors.  I also don’t think I’m generally getting great service from most of them. It’s not a great model to follow.

Finally, if you are looking to evolve into anything, consider the word “communications.” Communications companies help people get key messages across to defined target audiences. If  your goal is help your customers communicate more effectively with their customers, you may just be part of the emerging communications industry.  Sounds like an exciting place to be.

P.S. And this isn’t to suggest you become a “Solutions Provider” either. For more on this topic, see my article “Identity Crisis”in the NAPL Business Review from August 2008.

*adapted with permission from original post on InsideMarketing.org, 6/21/09, Rhona Bronson, NAPL
Written by Rhona Bronson in: Marketing Service Provider | Tags: , , ,