What’s in a Name? Your Corporate Image

What is a corporate image? Think about a  credit card, computer brand, potato chips, make-up line-who comes to mind? A recognizable company name coupled with a catchy, creative slogan will help lay the cornerstones for your business. Your company name creates your first impression and it’s important to take into consideration that the first impression is the only opportunity for the company to make a lasting and good one. The mental picture that springs up at the mention of your name should encompass the corporate image you want to project.

A business name must offer a credible personality. Amazon for example, is a name describing the company as a source of abundance and diversity. It must communicate the company’s nature of business. It should, in itself, indicate the product or service that is being sold or offered.  A company’s reputation as indicated by its name can greatly influence how people react, eventually leading to their approval or disapproval of your product or service. The name or brand should be able to develop and maintain a favorable view of the business.

There is no room for randomly picked, wild names which are totally far from the kind of business you are in. It is also useless to use words so plain and obscure they will never stand out in a crowd. Cute or humorous names will rarely do it for your business unless you are in the “cute” or “humor” industry. Difficult, twisted and purposely misspelled words will hurt memory recall. Look-alike and sound-alike names will likewise kill marketing efforts on the spot. Adapting an initialized version of long names will instantaneously eliminate any distinct identity or respectable image.

Consider the importance of a carefully and meticulously chosen name for your company. Your name should communicate your expertise and credibility. So you ask what’s in a name? It says a lot about your corporate image.