Naming Your Company

I named my first company First Illinois Development Company, Inc. We were doing land development and building homes. I thought the name sounded like a bank and would give us credibility we had not yet earned which it did. The problems were it was long and did not fit well on advertising and even letterhead. It was hard for customers to remember because it was so long and they became confused. They remembered is sounded like a bank but they could not remember which one. I had a customer tell me that they had trouble finding us because they were looking for First National
Development Company.

My second company was Robinson Development, Inc. which was shorter and I thought more memorable. I started the company in the late 80s before the internet became what it is today. When I went to set up a website I discovered there were hundreds of companies with similar names including several that were exactly the same.

As I grew the brand I started sister companies for developing individual residential properties and I used variations of the name; Robinson Homes, Inc., Robinson Development/Bartlett, Inc., Robinson Development/Kenosha, Inc. Etc. What I didn't consider was that the word development meant so many different thinks to so many different people. I began getting advertising aimed at web site developers.

As the company grew I was able to delegate many of the customer relationship duties. Customers, however, wanted to talk to Mr. Robinson particularly when there was a problem. The name First Illinois Development Company, Inc. had the advantage that no one asked to talk to Mr. First Illinois. It implied a larger company with more authority spread among the employees and not centered on the person for which it was named. If you are growing a company and someday envision selling it then a name not associated with an individual might make it easier to sell.

So I have confessed my mistakes. What would I do today?

Pick a name that is neutral and not linked to an individual. Look to the future not just where you are now. If you want to grow oo not name it after a locality such as Chicago Pies because as you grow the name might not work as well as you expand to Milwaukee.

The name should convey a message.  Mom's Pies implies home baked and invokes warm family feelings without linking it to an specific individual. It also limits the product line to pies. Mom's Baked Goods would allow a wider product range without confusion.

Making up a word has the advantage of uniqueness but it can be harder to convey a message. For Example Equifax, the name is short and memorable but from the name you have no idea what they do. A string of letters even if they are initials is hard to remember and I would avoid. Of course FedEx and UPS are competitors who have become successful violating these concepts but you likely do not have the resources to build the brand that they had.  They also started life as Federal Express and Unitend Parcel Service.

In our sink business we sell to countertop fabricators. We had five customers who used Granite Shop as part of their name. We have three Granite Solutions and twelve customers with Precision in their name. More than half have granite or marble in the name. These similarities make it hard for customers to distinguish you from the competition.  

Make a list of names that you like then test them out on family and friends. Make sure there is not anything unintentionally offensive or easily misunderstood. Google the names and see what you get. Unless you are intent on staying local you might want to consider trade marking the name. It is not as difficult as you may think. You can use online legal services such as LegalZoom (another made up name that does imply their services) that can do the search and the paperwork relatively inexpensively.

Your company's name will likely be better if it is short, unique, easy to pronounce and remember, not linked to an individual and convey an image if possible; all concepts that are frequently and successfully violated.

Original material copyright © Thomas Robinson 2010