As mentioned earlier in this very blog, I was honored to be part of the Perfect Business Summit in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago. I gave a short talk on the importance of naming, which was well-attended, and lots of people came up to me afterward to ask questions about their own company names.
I really enjoyed hearing stories and advice from entrepreneurs like Aaron Patzer, the guy who invented Mint, and Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos. Both of them spoke quite eloquently about the importance of their brands, and how careful they are to monitor their company brands to make sure customers have the right experience at every level. Mint is all about making it simple to manage your money, and giving you the tools to do so; Zappos focuses on incredible customer service. Both brands are strong because they’ve each chosen a differentiator that they actually deliver on.
Many of the talks at the conference were about practical aspects like finding investors, suppliers, building a management team, etc. But there were a few sessions (mine included) that discussed the importance of marketing. It’s probably not the first thing on the mind of your typical entrepreneur, but I think any businessperson who is starting out should learn the basics of marketing and how important it is to get it right. In a future blog I’ll provide a roundup of internet resources that will help you get started – or at least give you something to think about.
And the main takeaways of my talk?
1. Choose your name carefully – make sure it’s appropriate and available
2. Hire an IP lawyer to help you with this
3. Make sure the name and brand work well together
4. Check to see that the name is appealing to your target audience
5. Hire a graphic designer to enhance the name
6. Hire an IP lawyer to make SURE your name is legally available!
Did I say hire a lawyer? Well, you should.