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

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.

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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

052 The Invisible Touch – What's Too Much In A Name?

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

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

047 The Invisible Touch – The Name Game