Words are incredibly powerful when used in the right way.
Your company represents itself in many ways, and it is imperative to consider the implications of a well-named item. Below are five very important things to think about when naming items.
1) Who Is This Targeted To, Or Who Is Most Likely To See This Name?
When sending information to any client or supplier – potential or existing, take the opportunity to reiterate your business name, increase your professionalism, and make the document easy to find.
As an example of this, I researched a business recently, and on downloading their company profile, I noticed that it was called something very similar to ‘Document-final’.
Your accountant may be fine with a file named ‘Year End 2015-03-31′ but if it doesn’t contain your business name, it would make it very difficult to search for in their system.
The same is true for any digital document that you send out regarding your business – make sure the document name includes your business name. It looks more professional, and it can save everyone time.
2) How Important Is It In Reflecting What You Do?
Consider your company name. It is great to have an inventive, memorable business name, but does it reflect your professionalism and/or appeal to your target market? Does it sound like a small business or a company that is going places and will be around for years to come?
Is your business name limiting you in any way? For example, does it reflect the variety of services you offer, appeal to limited markets, or link you to an area, suburb or even a street name that may change in the future?
I suggest all companies incorporate a tagline, which further explains what your company does, what you specialise in, a point of difference, or something you can help clients with. It is a powerful way to help people get a clearer idea of what you do within a short sentence or set of words. Make sure your tagline is artfully incorporated into your logo, so it looks like it belongs there.
3) How Important Is It In Reflecting Who You Are?
Have you considered how your personal role in the business is represented? Incorporate this into your business card, your email signature, on letters and proposals to clients, newsletters, and articles. Be incredibly professional, get a little creative, or even get a bit quirky – depending on what appeals to your target market.
If you are the only Director of your company, consider adding another word to describe your talents or status, e.g. Managing Director, Project Director, or Creative Director. This can make it look like you are one of several directors.
4) How Easy Is It To Find Your Information?
What keywords are you using on your website? Make sure these are words that your potential clients are using to look for your kind of services, not your common internal or industry terminology.
Are you using clear sub-headings when writing larger amounts of text, whether on your website, printed or in newsletters? Sub-headings are a marvellous way for readers to quickly skim over what you are telling them, find what they want to know, and read that particular paragraph.
5) Is It Appealing And Does It Make Sense?
Naming your individual products can be straightforward, but what about packaging items together? A great way to help sell products and services together is to package them in a logical and easy way that makes sense to your customer.
This can work well to help cross-sell individual items and adds value for your customer. Take care in naming these packages – make them appealing and easy to understand. If you have several levels of a service, for example, you could use ‘Silver’ and ‘Gold’, like everybody else, or you could get a little more creative.
Words Are Worth It
Words are worth thinking about. They influence people’s opinion and impression of you and your business, so put some effort into getting them right.
