Reilly Newman | In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare famously poised the question: “What’s in a name?”. This is a similar question a business might ask when it comes to its brand name.
In today’s markets, we have seen names as abstract as Google and as simple as Apple or AAA. We’ve experienced brands inspired by family names like Gucci or Walmart. Some brand names are traditional sounding like Pottery Barn or very unorthodox like Oxo. There are business names that are proper and ones that break the English language… names that represent low price points or high premiums and everything in between. So what is in a name? Does a name matter for your business?
Creating a name for your business is much more than just selecting a name out of a hat. A name carries a lot of power while at the same time being very malleable. What does the name say about your business and how does it impact your brand?
Your business name is one of the first impressions your brand makes. It’s like the phonetic logo of your business. For example, saying the name of your accountant business name Abacus gives a certain impression, whereas a name like Smith & Brown gives an entirely different one. Abacus is intriguing and creative, Smith & Brown is predictable. Abacus, however, may not sound as reliable as it sounds more risky because it breaks the status quo. However, this may attract a younger or more progressive market of clientele. You can see how a simple name changes a lot of things right off the bat. This is because the name creates associations that begin crafting the perception.
Just as Abacus sounds younger and more creative due to associations of newer industries like tech it also is in juxtaposition of industry cliches and norms. This is because when our brain searches for value, it searches for comparisons. So (naturally) if you’re shopping for an accountant you will compare/contrast to the existing accountant market. Similar to the legal and medical industry, you’ll see a whole slew of businesses that have their last name as the practice, so an Abacus would stand out from the crowd.
This naming strategy is a big signal to the audience like I mentioned before. It’s a signal of mindset and philosophy. It is subliminally “Hey we aren’t your ‘name’ accountants! We are modern and progressive!” To some this may sound risky, but to the target audience this sounds just right.
The name of your business becomes the brand name because the perception can adopt the name of the business into its consideration when forming its thought on the business. Just as with humans, we sometimes feel someone looks like their name or certain names get a bad association in our mind due to past relationships. It’s all perception. Even the performance of the named entity could be altered by the name given. They have done studies on children and certain names “outperform” others as names can be a source of confidence and pride.
The importance of a name is something to be stressed and to be strategically handled. The interesting thing about a name, like all messaging, is that when a viewer reads a name, they read the name inside their head in their own voice. This is very important to consider as the spelling, letters, syllables, tone, and phonetics all play a role in the impression of a name.
Brand Naming Example:
Swiffer (which was named by a creative naming agency) is a fun word to say. Yet it still feels it can get the job done. If the name was Swiffy it sounds a little too fun and Swiff sounds too short and cold. Swiffer is just right as the two syllables make it snappy and young yet the “Sw” and “ff” feels like it slides and glides effortlessly. The “i” helps brighten the word as it is upbeat and short. The “er” ends the word nicely and gives it the doer vibe like it is meant to handle the job. Overall the name leverages our association with the word “swift” which just helps lessen the pain of the “old school” sweeping.
So what’s in a business name? Quite a bit actually. If you acquire a Rottweiler, you could choose to name him “Brutus”, “Tiny” or “Princess”. Each name, while valid, gives entirely different impressions, different expectations when you engage with the dog, and leave one with completely different associations.
As with all things when it comes to brand and business, your audience will create a perception of you. Their brain must. You can help with this perception by caring about these types of things. The name of your business does matter. The presentation of your business through logo, touchpoints, etc does matter. Your brand depends on these because our perceptions depend on them.
