This post was originally published in May 2013.
Last week as I was driving around town, I passed a sign for Mini Skool Early Learning Center. Although I’d driven past it hundreds of times, for some reason it stood out in my mind. I couldn’t help but think, “Why would I send my child to a learning center that can’t spell ‘school’ correctly?”
I shared this thought on Facebook and, while some of my friends made clever remarks like, “Maybe it’s ‘Old Skool’” and “Going to skool young is the best way to get into collage,” the general consensus of my friends (almost all parents of young children) was that it was a bad spelling choice (and rather annoying) in this particular instance.
Of course, being in the marketing and public relations field, my mind immediately went to what advice I would offer. Here’s what I came up with: When it comes to business name ideas, make sure you remember your target customer. What message are you trying to convey? Will including a word like “skool” drive away those you’re trying to get in the door?
An example closer to home, for example, is Three Girls Media. We’re constantly asked, “Who are the three girls?” The truth is, when Erika (our CEO and Founder) was coming up with business name ideas, she started thinking about how information spreads. She thought about how girls like to talk, and how if you tell anything to three girls the news will spread like wildfire. It’s a strong visual message for a marketing and public relations agency to convey.
How to Choose a Business Name That Will Help Your Marketing
How do you know if your company’s name is one that will help your marketing, rather than hinder it? As you toss around business name ideas, make sure you remember the SMILE & SCRATCH Test from Eat My Words:
SMILE if your name has these 5 winning qualities:
- Suggestive – suggests something about the brand
- Meaningful – your customers “get it”
- Imagery – visually evocative to aid in memory
- Legs – lends itself to a theme for extended mileage
- Emotional – resonates with your audience
SCRATCH it off your list if it has any of these 7 deal breakers:
- Spelling-challenged – looks like a typo (this is where Mini Skool’s name doesn’t pass)
- Copycat – similar to competitors’ names
- Random – disconnected from the brand
- Annoying – hidden meaning, forced
- Tame – flat, descriptive, uninspired
- Curse of knowledge – only insiders get it
- Hard-to-pronounce – not obvious, unapproachable
As you think about potential business name ideas, or consider giving your company a new name, think about what marketing message you’re sending your target customers. Will your company’s name make them smile or scratch their head?
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