052 The Invisible Touch – What's Too Much In A Name?
The Second Key: Brand
Harry Beckwith and I will disagree on this one (but I have a feeling it's because I'm thinking about the entrepreneur who uses direct response marketing and not the large company with advertising dollars to burn).
Do you remember what IBM stands for? Sure: International Business Machines… but the company IBM stands for MUCH more than that these days.
How about Apple: that USED to be Apple Computer but when the iPod and all the other "i" products hit the marketing, taking out the "Computer" part of the name made a lot of sense.
How about FedEx – Sure, that was Federal Express: "When it absolutely, positively has to get there overnight." That phrase MADE that company!
How about PCS?
OK… so that one is unfair: that is The Players Club of Swarthmore. They have now added Theater to the end (because some people thought they might be playing cards instead of producing stage shows) so it's either The Players Club of Swarthmore Theater OR PCSTheater (or PCSTheater.org).
For you see, PCS doesn't have the millions of dollars in advertising to build the brand the way Apple, FedEx, and IBM have done.
Small companies never do.
So while keeping a company name short and memorable is nice, sometimes it can work against you when people have NO idea what the name means!
Here's another one that I worked for: Jackson-Cross Company. In Philadelphia, PA USA, that was the name of a large commercial real estate firm. People forgot about Mr. Jackson and Mr. Cross, they just knew those of us who were successful in sales, leasing, management, appraisal – so WE were the company they thought about. Outside the region, the name meant little or nothing. But again, this firm didn't have millions to spend on institutional advertising.
So take this one lesson away – Give your company a name and then build up what the name MEANS. If the words themselves can mean something about what you do: GREAT. If not, know you have some work ahead of you!
Best,
Charlie Seymour Jr
Blogging, Podcasting, Consulting
The Invisible Touch – A Marketing Blog Series By Charles Seymour Jr
For The Index, Click Here!
PS: You can find me here:
http://twitter.com/UltimateWAHDads
http://facebook.com/CharlesSeymourJr
http://www.linkedin.com/in/charlesseymourjr
PPS: Do you have trouble writing? Turn Your Words Into Gold – Go Here To Learn More! NOW is the time to start.
Follow Charlie Seymour Jr On Twitter!
Keep this with this article, please:
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.
Friends, if you like this post, please leave a comment, join our email list to get updates sent to you, and retweet it. And I've made it easy to retweet – just click on the icon below. Thanks!
Fallacies of Marketing
052 The Invisible Touch – What's Too Much In A Name?
What We’re Writing – Recent Posts
- 093 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting RelationshipsThe Eighth Key: Passion We've reached the end of this blog series: The Invisible Touch (patterned after the terrific book by Harry Beckwith). And what a great way to end it: talking about passion. Read more on 093 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships… […]
- 092 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting RelationshipsThe Seventh Key: Magic Words We each have our list of magic words that propel us in life, business, our family… hey, everywhere. Here is my list of those important words: Read more on 092 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships… […]
- 091 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Completeness Makes A HUGE DifferenceThe Sixth Key: Completeness Years ago when I first worked with my very close associate, Cheryl, she said something to me that I never forgot. I’ll tell you that in a minute. First some background. Read more on 091 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Completeness Makes A HUGE Difference… […]
- 091 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – CompletenessThe Sixth Key: Completeness Have you ever noticed that when you ask for things from a restaurant and EVERY little detail is attended to how impressed you are with the place? Read more on 091 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Completeness… […]
- 090 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – SacrificeThe Fifth Key: Your Clients’ Sacrifices OK… so you busted your butt for your client but you get the feeling she just isn’t satisfied. Why does that “crazy person” act like that anyway? Read more on 090 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Sacrifice… […]
- 089 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – SacrificeThe Fifth Key: Sacrifice People want to work with us when they trust us. People are glued to us forever when they see the sacrifice we incur for them. When you promise something, deliver it. Don’t promise something you don’t think you can deliver, because people will no longer trust you to get it done. Read more on 089 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to […]
- 088 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Apparent ExpertiseThe Fourth Key: Relationships – Get To It When you produce marketing materials, don’t “bury the lead.” Here’s what I mean. Don’t wait to tell your prospects/clients/customers/patients why they should work with you. Say it early and make it clear. Read more on 088 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Apparent Expertise… […]
- 087 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Apparent ExpertiseThe Fourth Key: Relationships – Communicating Your Special Expertise Little did I know when I started this blog (with the intent that I’d finish with a complete book of my own) that Dr. Marc Kossmann and I would begin PersonalSuccess Marketing together (PersonalSuccessMarketing.com). Read more on 087 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationsh […]
- 086 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Apparent ExpertiseThe Fourth Key: Relationships – Communicating Your Special Expertise When I sold investment real estate (along the East Coast of the USA) I specialized in major office towers, large apartment complexes, and life care centers. Read more on 086 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Apparent Expertise… […]
- 085 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Apparent ExpertiseThe Fourth Key: Relationships – Words For years I’ve been comfortable with words: speaking, writing, broadcasting, even singing. But not everyone is. Have you ever received an email from some one and wondered what the sender’s first language was? Read more on 085 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Apparent Expertise… […]
- 084 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Apparent ExpertiseThe Fourth Key: Relationships – You Only THINK You’re Being Clear “So… was that clear?” “Oh yes,” says the prospect, not wanting to admit she had NO idea what was just said. And even when she DID know what was just said, the salesman asking “was that clear” really only gets a reply that says “what I understood was clear to me the way I heard it… but maybe no […]
- 083 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Apparent ExpertiseThe Fourth Key: Relationships – The Power of Clarity Have you ever had a chat with someone and walked away and said, “HUH?!!” If that were your client walking away, you just missed a sale. Read more on 083 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Apparent Expertise… […]
Filed under Blog, Invisible Touch by Charlie Seymour Jr
Follow Us In Your Reader
Subscribe to this site's RSS feed.
