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| Jul 22, 2005 2:35 am |
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re: choosing a business name |
Chuck Dennis
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My wife and I have a sales, marketing, and customer service consultancy called Knowledgence Associates. I came up with the name, based on 13 years experience with good, bad, and ugly names in the trademark research industry.
The idea behind this name was simply turning knowledge into intelligence. The more knowledge you have about your customer, the more intelligently you can serve your customer. This means providing products and services that your customer needs. This means communicating with your customer in a language and manner that he/she understands. It means seeing the world through your customer's eyes.
So that's how I came up with this name. My background in trademarks has taught me that while coined names (made-up words) receive the broadest legal protection, they are the toughest to establish as a memorable brand. However, coined words that evoke a positive trait around your business are best, because people will remember the positive trait.
Names should be memorable. They should be easy to say, and easy to spell. Knowledgence is not exactly easy to say or spell, but it has a "hook," which is "take knowledge and intelligence, and mash them together." People remember the name after that.
Descriptive names are the worst names you can have. Not only are they next to impossible to register as trademarks, consider that if a word or phrase describes your business, chances are, it describes hundreds of other businesses, as well. The NUMBER ONE function of a name is to differentiate your product or service from those of your competitors. A name that helps your business stand out is worth its weight in gold. (Please note: descriptive terms as DOMAIN NAMES are another story all together. Descriptive domain names can help bring traffic to your web site, and can be a VERY effective tool.)
I am not a fan of business names that simply utilize the principal's name. This puts the focus of the business on the principal, not the customer. As a customer evangelist, that rubs me the wrong way. It also does not show a lot of thought and creativity - apologies to all those whose business names who utilize their names/initials - these are just my opinions <;~D
Chuck
Private Reply to Chuck Dennis (new win) |
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