Here’s a question that comes up in one form or another at just about every meeting with a future small business owner, “What should I name my new business?”

It was International Business Machines®, not Thomas J. Watson & Company. It was National Cash Register®, not John H. Patterson Enterprises. It was the Bell Telephone Systems®, not Alexander Bell & Associates. It was Kentucky Fried Chicken®, not Harland Sander’s Restaurant. It was the Ford Motor Company®, not the Henry Ford Company.

Do you get the connection? These famous company names, and many hundreds of others, are descriptive! They clearly and concisely tell the viewer exactly what the company sold. There was no guessing game like names in today’s high tech logo world. Sometimes the inventor or entrepreneur’s name was in the title, sometimes not; but what the company could do for the prospective user was always there.

The Ego Driven Name
The subject of what to name a business is touchy at best, and it sometimes comes to outright fighting words—and that’s most of the time! We really let our ego get in the way of our eyesight when the subject comes up; either that, or we go off the deep end in meaningless letters or phrases that are only anagrams to the viewer, and mean absolutely nothing to anyone. Often the relationship between what the company does for the prospective customer and the name that is applied to the sign have little if any connection with each other.

A Challenge
To illustrate this lack of relationship, I challenge you to perform an experiment. The next time you drive down the street, pay attention to the signs, banners, and other means of identifying businesses or stores you see. Pretend you are new in town and see if you can guess what goes on inside based on what you see outside. You'll find some businesses you would never in a million years guess what products or services they provide! You can have the same fun with the business white pages of the telephone book, for example, what goes on at Jimmie's, or CGS Industries Inc., or The Outlet Store (all made up for this exercise)?

Would you in a million years figure Jimmie’s is a company renting candy and soda machines to local businesses? Would you figure CGS Industries Inc. makes ice cream for supermarkets under the market’s name? By the way, CGS is the first initial in the last names of the three founders. Would you guess The Outlet Store is a dealer in comic books and other paraphernalia? Of course not!

Search For Success
Today, if you want to be successful, not cute and out-of-business, your business needs to create a distinctive, clear and consistent image in the mind of potential customers. Neither your name, nor your initials, nor some four-color fancy logo meets the test of a clear and consistent image. Prove it to yourself. Look at a name from the prospective customer's point of view. Ask yourself, "When they sees my name or logo, what does the prospective customer think I’m selling?" and I’ll guarantee you that the answer is not, "Wow! Look at that fancy logo, lets go in and buy what they’re selling!"

A business image is created in the customer's mind in two ways: by what function you offer such as, women's clothing, hardware, greeting cards, gift shop and other descriptive qualities, and by what psychological attributes they suggest such as, quality, low-cost, complete, modern, and other "feelings." This is why you see such names on the marquees such as, MARY'S FINE FASHIONS, or JACK'S COMPLETE HOME HARDWARE STORE, or BILLY'S SPEEDY PLUMBING SERVICE. All of these names convey images of function and feeling.

Beware of High Tech
Don’t let high tech get in the way. Just because you graduated from the Wonder Company Five Day Computer Training School (by the way, an excellent descriptive name) doesn’t give you the privilege of calling yourself “JT’s Computer Solutions” when it should be “Thompson’s Computer Repair.”

Solutions
So, decide what kind of image you want to create in your prospect’s mind. When you’ve got that firmly in mind, ask yourself the next question, "How can I transfer this image to my prospect in such a manner that they will instantly know what it is I can do for them?" Choosing a name is one part of this transfer. By using the five senses of sight, touch, smell, hearing and taste, you can structure the physical parts of your business such as vehicles, lobby decorations, indoor signs, displays, and other similar item to transfer your new image into profit for you. So … what’s keeping you from success? For other tips and ideas, or to request help, visit http://www.tulenko.com; or snail-mail to: Paul Tulenko, 2320 La Vista Court NW, Albuquerque, NM 87120.