Saving Money Down the Road with the Right Business Name
Some entrepreneurs don’t give a lot of thought to their business name. The current fad in business naming seems to be developing names that seem to be more flash than substance and attempt to be fashionable or cool rather than illustrative and useful. They point to examples such as Google or Yahoo, and try to fashion their own names based on that.
It is important to bear in mind that, while Google and Yahoo quickly became businesses, they didn’t start out that way. Google began as a research project and Yahoo was a humble web guide. They both had an established audience and market before they became actual businesses.
For a startup business, is an unusual name really the way to go?
Let me throw an unusual name out at you: Frafnoo.
What does Frafnoo do? Is it an up-and-coming search engine? Is it a marketing company? Maybe it’s a company that makes environmentally-friendly packing materials for shipping containers?
The fact is, Frafnoo doesn’t really tell you anything. The entrepreneurs at Frafnoo will have to spend a considerable amount of energy, and perhaps a significant amount of money, to market Frafnoo and explain exactly what they do.
Some will be tempted to just put “Frafnoo” on all their business stationary and communications, leaving potential clients scratching their heads. If I’m looking for a car rental service, is Frafnoo going to be the first thing I look up? “See what Frafnoo can do for you!” I don’t know what Frafnoo does; why would I call them out of the blue? Maybe I don’t want to be stuck on the phone with someone trying to sell me shares in an oil drilling company!
It’s important that your business name give prospective clients some idea of what you do. It should also be something that doesn’t sound too out of place or too “out there” for your industry. Frafnoo might not be the best name for an investment firm.
That’s not to say that a good name cannot attract attention. If Frafnoo is your choice, you can use it, but don’t use it alone. Your best bet is to name your company something like Frafnoo Search Technologies. Or, Frafnoo Marketing. Or, Frafnoo Communications. Or even Frafnoo Pizza.
For a startup, you don’t want to have to spent a lot of time and money just to explain to people what you do. If your name gives some indication, that’s going to save a lot of wasted effort, not to mention time. People won’t be contacting Frafnoo Oil Drilling to inquire if you do dog grooming. They won’t be calling Frafnoo Pizza to order packing peanuts. Just choosing a descriptive name can save you a lot of marketing effort.
In the future, the day may come when Frafnoo Integrated Electronics becomes synonymous with cool electronic gadgets. The day may come when Frafnoo Home Appliances becomes synonymous with washing machines and toasters. The day may come when Frafnoo Search Technologies becomes synonymous with Internet searches.
And, if that day comes, you can always drop the description, and change your name to Frafnoo, Inc. But, until that day comes, your best bet is to have a descriptive name to inform potential clients what you do.
By the way, if you decide to name your business Frafnoo and become a multi-millionaire, a naming fee would be appreciated. $1,000 sound fair?
Have you frafnoo’d today?
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Frafnoo is certainly catchy. I can imagine bandying it about. Let’s go Frafnoo! Or, have you frafnoo’d today? One point, though. Google and Yahoo, before they became the behemoths that they are, were hardly descriptive names for a service. I mean, who knew what a yahoo could do? The name is nothing to gauge its services by.
I dunno if you offer free consulting (lol) but i run a site and I’m interested to know what you think would be better name for it. Oh, and I promise you a naming fee once the renamed startup becomes big. Lol.
What’s wrong with the name you have now?