047 The Invisible Touch – The Name Game
The Second Key: Brand
While I believe that an effective name can be very helpful to a company, its importance has been WAY over played, in my estimation.
I believe a great Headline is more important than a company name. Most clients of entrepreneurs don't even THINK about the name, they think about the person delivering the service or providing the product.
Joe's Bar And Grille
Seriously, if I started off my marketing piece with that name, would it mean much to you?
No… and neither does YOUR company name mean much to others.
And take names like IBM, FedEx, or Jackson-Cross.
Do you even remember that IBM stands for International Business Machines? IBM by itself means nothing – it's what we ASSOCIATE with it that means a lot.
FedEx was the popular short-speak people used (rather than saying the longer, full name: FederalExpress) but wasn't their "When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight" headline MUCH more important than their name?
I'm going to guess that you don't even KNOW the name Jackson-Cross Company. There was a Mr. Jackson and a Mr. Cross. One started his own company in the late 1800s and then merged it with the other. The name by itself means NOTHING to most people, but if you had been in Center City Philadelphia (PA USA) in the 1980s and 1990s, Jackson-Cross Company was the largest, most-trusted real estate firm around. To say I was a Vice President of Investment Sales (as well as Manager of Corporate Marketing and Corporate Planning) for Jackson-Cross Company really carried weight around the city. But the name took on the results that those of us working for it achieved. By itself, it meant nothing.
So while I believe a good company name can take on importance, everything leading up to the MEANING of that name is much more important.
Should You Use Your OWN Name?
When I started my still photography business I used the name Special Life Moments Photography. I was capturing images at those special times of life: weddings, family portraits, and Bat Mitzvahs and Bar Mitzvahs.
So not only did I have to sell the name Special Life Moments Photography, I then had to sell the name Charles Seymour Jr who was CAPTURING all those Special Life Moments through photographs.
My marketing job was that much more difficult.
However, when I changed it to Charles Seymour Jr, Photographer, I THEN only had ONE name to sell.
And now all the testimonials that were said about me as being a great photographer, helping with their special moments, pass right on to my consulting and blogging businesses (at least to some degree).
IF you have plans for creating a large company with lots of people working for you, then using your own name may not be a good idea (since people will always want to work with YOU… and YOU want them to work with all the OTHER people so you can get your marketing completed).
But if you want to earn lots of money as a solopreneur, then consider your own name.
It just might help get your marketing message across.
Best,
Charlie Seymour Jr
Blogging, Podcasting, Consulting
The Invisible Touch – A Marketing Blog Series By Charles Seymour Jr
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Charlie Seymour Jr is an entrepreneurial evangelist and marketing-success coach helping individuals and companies (up to $100MM) explode their success through online and direct-response marketing. He specializes in blogging, podcasting, photography, video, and Facebook applications. Visit his blog at http://bit.ly/24eYTO to learn more about his successes.
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Fallacies of Marketing
047 The Invisible Touch – The Name Game
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