What's in a name ?

Hi,
about a month ago I was parked up taking a break, enjoying a cup of coffee. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a name on a van that caught my attention. The name was " Voice Engineer ".

" Strange name for a business " I thought. Clicking the website I found out it was a telecommunications company. Telephone systems,V.O.I.P and the like. Now I don't know about you, but if I was looking for a new telephone system, telecoms provider and solutions would be where I would start. Voice engineer is not something I would search for.

It got me thinking about company names and their relevance to the industry they are in. More so in the small business sector, where your market is more local than global. Having a name that is relevant to the industry that you are in, is a must.  Attempting to be clever and call your business " Nero's Sunshine " when you are a chimney cleaning business, just causes confusion. The last thing you want to do is cause a disconnect in your customers brain, between what you do and your company name. Because your customer does not like confusion, they are looking for a solution, not a clever play on words.

Am sure you could look around your local area and spot names of service providers that appear out of sync with the product and service they provide. When you think that multi-nationals spend millions with naming agencies to pick a name, yet operators in the local small business arena at times let their imagination run riot. Resulting in names with no relevance, that their potential customers will never make a connection to in a million years.

Naming a business is not an easy thing, but when setting out on your entrepreneurship journey, try to pick something that is relevant to your industry, but much more important, is relevant to your customer.

Have a great week,

Colin Myles
Straight talk. Better business
Author & Listener

Author ;  5 Keys to Doing Business with The Right People
Author ;  How to Avoid Business Failure
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P.S.
Simple is harder to achieve than complex -  Steve Jobs

P.P.S
If you have come across any names that appear out of sync with the service they provide, would love to hear from you in the comment section.