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August 15, 2008
What’s in a Name? Not Much
Posted by Chris Rosica at 5:22 PM
After spending the better part of a year interviewing a dozen renowned entrepreneurs, I was amazed to discover their disparate views on the importance of naming their companies.
In fact, only one of the 12 -- Jeff Taylor, founder of Monster.com -- felt the name he selected was indispensable and key to branding his company. Surprisingly, not even Starbuck’s co-founder Jerry Baldwin felt the name was essential.
Some of the other business leaders I consulted with -- such as Ben & Jerry’s Homemade founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, cosmetics expert Bobbi Brown, Wally “Famous” Amos, Kate Spade, and David Oreck -- named their companies in part or entirely after themselves. While this group felt it helped bring brand accountability and provide some level of differentiation, they did not believe the company name was essential in creating the brand. They unanimously agreed the best way to build a powerful brand identity is to offer unmatched quality, exceptional service, and consumer-centric products or services that focus on their customers’ needs and wants.
Moreover, money was not their primary motivation. Rather, the key to differentiation and success was fulfilling their missions and giving consumers unparalleled quality and intelligent products that resonated with them. Roxanne Quimby from Burt’s Bees and David Neeleman of JetBlue, whom I also interviewed, exemplify the fact that a powerful and heartfelt mission statement can go far in building a connective brand. Neither of these two business leaders believed their name was a primary factor in branding their company.
Businesses can learn from this by being more authentic and addressing the real needs of their customers, rather than creating marketing campaigns and ignoring the brand promise.
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"Businesses can learn from this by being more authentic and addressing the real needs of their customers, rather than creating marketing campaigns and ignoring the brand promise."
This is a false dichotomy. A business can and should be authentic, address customer needs AND build marketing campaigns that leverage the brand promise.
A great brand name won't substitute for a good business model. But launching a product with a powerful brand name--a name that leverages the brand promise, is memorable, connects emotionally and travels easily by word of mouth--has distinct advantages over launching with a weak and meaningless name.
I can still remember the first time I heard about Monster and Google. Co-workers told me verbally about these services, and because the names were intriguing and easy to remember, I looked them up. Most of the other brands mentioned in this post are ones that I became aware of through advertising or PR, or seeing the product distributed through major retailers, much more expensive ways to build a brand.
A good name helps cut through a cluttered marketplace. If marketing were surgery, a name is the scalpel. However, a brand, like a good surgeon, needs to do more than have a good set of tools. He needs to be skilled and treat his patient with respect. Likewise, a brand needs to be authentic and treat the consumer in ways that beat the competition.
Chris, I have a different view of the importance of a start up name, especially for web consumer offerings. The key to me is memorability and standing out from the crowd. As a start up, it is hard enough to get attention, and even more difficult to get a prospect to remember your name two weeks or two months later when they actually are ready to buy from you. We just named our most recent start up Alice.com for that very reason. If interested, you can read about our process at http://flywheelblog.com/2008/08/we-need-a-company-name-part-i/
It's two different questions: (1) Do names matter? (2) In the case of a massive runaway success, does the name matter?
In (2), lots of things don't matter, but that doesn't mean it's good advice for small business folks (like me).
I agree with the comments before me -- names help you get found by search engines and be remembered instead of passed off as "some weird name that I guess was a domain name that wasn't taken yet."
Also a names frames the context for interacting with the company. If your name is "ITL Industries," people are going to assume your customer service sucks. If your name is whimiscal, they might assume you're approachable and easy-going.
Names can even lead you to make bad decisions as a small business (click to read article).
Thanks!
--Jason Cohen
While I agree whole heartedly with Devon Thomas Treadwell's post, I find it hard to believe that Starbuck's name was not well thought out? You are on a seaport, and Moby Dick, etc.???
While a name may help you stand out initially in a crowded field, it is how well you differentiate yourself with quality, customer service, and filling the customers' needs that will promote your brand. Without these, the best name in the world that describes your product or service is worthless.
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