| You're exhausted from several rounds of | | | | moniker to 3M, a name that fits just about any |
| brainstorming and finally pick a name that seems | | | | kind of innovation or invention. Banks often run |
| to convey what you want to say. Your legal | | | | into this pitfall when they tie their identity to a |
| eagles clear it, and you start incorporating the | | | | town or county and try to expand into territory |
| name everywhere - on the web, on T-shirts, on | | | | that belongs to another area in customers' minds. |
| stationery and business cards and in | | | | Examples of restrictive restaurant names that |
| correspondence with potential investors or | | | | seemed advantageous until tastes changed include |
| customers. | | | | Pizza Hut, which is now struggling to be known for |
| But oops! You didn't notice that your name carries | | | | other foods besides pizza, and any name |
| one or more of these five slowly sabotaging | | | | containing "pasta," which used to sound European |
| disadvantages... | | | | but now sounds fattening. |
| Hidden Pitfall #1: The name can't be said aloud | | | | Hidden Pitfall #4: There's an embarrassing |
| fast and clearly. Ever called a law firm only to be | | | | connotation you weren't aware of. Although |
| totally unsure what the receptionist said when | | | | English is spoken and written in many parts of the |
| picking up the line? Certain combinations of sounds | | | | world, regional and national differences include |
| are tongue twisters to say quickly and do not | | | | slang or obscenity that's unknown across the |
| come across clearly to the ear. | | | | ocean. This pitfall trips up some local or national |
| For instance, if you named your retail shop Maps, | | | | companies that may do fine until they try to |
| Books, Mugs, Bangles, this four-word name might | | | | become known online, where people in another |
| look great on signage and in newspaper ads. But | | | | corner of the world begin to get shocked or |
| anyone whose job it was to pick up the phone | | | | snicker at the name. |
| and say it fifty times a day would soon be in | | | | For example, the founder of Nobscot Corporation |
| despair. Someone once told me that when I | | | | came from New England, where Nobscot is an |
| reeled off the name of my publicity book, they | | | | honorable Native American place name. However, |
| heard it as Six Debts to Free Publicity instead of | | | | she later learned that in old England, the name |
| Six Steps. I learned to pause an extra millisecond | | | | raises eyebrows because "nob" is slang there for |
| after "six" to get the name across. But I don't | | | | a part of the male anatomy. Likewise, My Daily |
| think it's viable to try to salvage Maps, Books, | | | | Flog, a photo sharing site, is not likely to become |
| Mugs, Bangles in that way. | | | | popular in Australia, where "flog" means a solitary |
| Hidden Pitfall #2: People can't spell it. Pity the folks | | | | practice not normally discussed in polite company. |
| at Cuil, a search engine trying to take business | | | | Hidden Pitfall #5: You don't really like it. Before |
| away from Google. "Cuil is an old Irish word for | | | | committing to your top name choice, try it out |
| knowledge," says the company on its About page. | | | | for a couple of days in casual conversation. You |
| Newspaper articles about the company note that | | | | may find you feel embarrassed about it or shy |
| it is pronounced like "cool." To most Americans, | | | | about saying it. To make the new product or |
| however, it looks like a nonsensical and | | | | company successful, you must feel 100% |
| unpronounceable combination of letters. | | | | comfortable talking about it, so this won't do. You |
| When the Internet is key to a company's | | | | need a different name. I've seen people invent a |
| success, a hard-to-spell name can be a fatal | | | | business identity that they can't bring themselves |
| obstacle. If someone gets interested and hears | | | | to spread wholeheartedly - and their whole |
| the company name as Quill or Cool and looks at | | | | investment goes to waste. |
| or cool.com, the company has lost the benefit of | | | | Take extra time during naming to make sure |
| that publicity or word of mouth. Quite a different | | | | you've thought of every way in which you plan to |
| kind of spelling problem comes up when someone | | | | use a name and that the name works in those |
| hears 24-7 Cleaning and doesn't know whether to | | | | contexts. This ensures you won't face a choice |
| look for it as starting with "2" or "t" and whether | | | | between continuing with a name that's slowly |
| it contains a hyphen or a slash between 24 and 7. | | | | sapping the potential of what it stands for or |
| Hidden Pitfall #3: The name restricts growth. | | | | taking on the expense of rebranding what you've |
| Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing quickly grew | | | | already put out into the world. |
| beyond selling sandpaper and wisely changed its | | | | Name your company or product so it can last! |