Riding home from the sign shop today with my Partner in Crime, I was made aware of a fact that I must have known somewhere in the back of my mind--people like their names. My partner was telling me that a woman had wanted to buy a set of car magnets for her business and wanted a picture of her face on them. He had to politely decline because our shop doesn't do full color anything (vinyl only). As he was talking, I thought to myself, "Oh, the woman must be a Realtor or a Makeup Artist." I was wrong. She had a cleaning service. The novelty of the whole story is what inspired me to write this post.
People Like Their Names
And I don't mean that it has anything to do with the actual name. Whether they think their name is plain or ugly or whatever, they like their names because it is the one thing that is always 100% about them. A name is unbelievably personal, probably the most personal thing a person can have....that's probably why when you "personalize" something they normally just put your name on it in fancy letters and hand it back to you. Being attached to our names means that we want to attach it to something bigger, better, greater and that's why most people have the uncontrollable urge to "name brand" their business.While "name branding" has its proper place in the world, there are a couple of misconceptions I'd like to clear up.
Names Don't Always "Make You"
Unless you're a well respected professional, connoisseur, celebrity or celebrity train wreck, your name won't get you much of anywhere. The sad truth is, unless people already know your name they won't learn it just because you want them to. You have to make them. Sound tough? It is. Example: You decided to open a mechanic garage. After working for years at top repair facilities and even with pro racing teams, you make your first foray into the entrepreneurial realm. The name of your business? Johnson's Garage. You hand out fliers a week before you open then sit back and wait for the customers to flood in. But...nothing happens. You keep waiting, and the only things that fill the office are dust bunnies. You start to wonder what went wrong... I mean, you've gotta be the most qualified mechanic within 100 miles of your shop, so where's the line out the door? Still wondering who this "Johnson" character is.
It wasn't wrong to name your business after yourself, but to reap the benefits you have to cultivate the reputation first. As a fictional mechanic, you must consistently provide top quality service at a reasonable price and be honest. After a few years people will stop saying "oh, I took my car to that place on 3rd St, you know the one next to the Taco Bell" and start saying "yeah, I took my car to Johnson's." This is true for most businesses you might participate in. Excellent services or products sell the name, not the other way around--at least for newbies, business vets play by different rules.
The Name Game Reversal
There is a flip side to name recognition that could be very negative, even detrimental to the new/small business owner--"Too Much Me." "Too Much Me" is where customers identify with you more than your product. At first it doesn't sound all bad but let's look at an example shall we? You graduate from a top technology college and decide to open a company that supplies parts and kits for solar panels and wind turbines, for residential consumers. You name it Circy Agro-Energy, your fictitious last name being Circy. Your customers become familiar with your name because your stock has just gone public, you were recently featured in INC. Magazine and your new clean energy plan just opened in Detroit, employing 75,000 people. But no one knows what "Agro-Energy" is or that it's for homeowners like them. Is it a bio-fuel processing plant? Hydroponics? Alternative energy producer for city electric grids?? Nobody knows and they don't care to find out. Eventually you have to launch a public awareness campaign to associate your name with your product, otherwise, your name would be on everyone's lips as the latest big bankruptcy case.
The moral of the story: Never puff up your name so great that is overshadows your purpose
When Image Matters
In certain businesses, names mean EVERYTHING. Banking and Real Estate are a few examples, fashion is another...after all they are in the image business. The reason names resonate so greatly with us in these areas boils down to trust. We have to feel like we "know" the business to trust them with the big decisions--retirement planning, home buying and new hair colors--and the best way to get to know a person starts with their name. Remember, names are personal. That means 2 things
(1) We attach values, feelings and expectations to another person's name once we know it
(2) Names hold people accountable for their actions, we can recall who hurt us and avoid them later
And that brings us to another word of caution: if you tie your business to your name, they both must stay afloat, i.e. if the reputation of one sinks, so does the other. You can make people learn your name just as easily through lies and trickery as you could good works, maybe even easier since people love scandal.
Putting your name on the line should never be an easy decision. You must weigh it carefully and never expect a no-fame name like your own to rocket to the top without work. Play the Name Game smartly and you'll win every time.
