Business 101: What's In A Name

Business Basics: While a name isn't everything, a name should also NOT be something that came to you while sitting in front of the computer on www.GoDaddy.com, desperately racking your brain for an alternative to www.skipdog.com (because someone's already purchased it AND parked some nonsense search page on it).

In other words, spend some time on your name as it:

• Will be ultimately responsible for the IMMEDIATE reaction that your customers and target market will have when they think of WHO you are
• Can play an integral roll in shaping your brand as the name is BASIS of your brand
• Eponym's anyone? :::What's an Eponym, you ask?::: In marketing speak - Eponym's are those Brands that have come to be known as the products they represent. In other words - brands that have become THE products, themselves.

Think the naming process is a bunch of hype? Take a look at 25 companies who's Brands have become synonomous with that which they sell.

1. Band-Aid : Bandage : Owned by Johnson & Johnson
2. Coke : Delicious soda : Owned by Coca-Cola
3. Escalator : Escalator : Owned by Otis Corporation
4. FedEx : Overnight Mail : Owned by FedEx
5. Google : Search : Owned by Google
6. Jeep : Truck : Owned by Chrysler
7. Jell-o : Gelatin : Owned by Kraft Foods
8. Kleenex : Tissues : Owned by Kimberly-Clark
9. Lazyboy : Recliner : Owned by La-z-boy
10. Legos : Plastic blocks : Owned by Lego Group
11. Netflix : DVDs by Mail : Owned by Netflix
12. Polaroid : Instant Photos: Owned by Polaroid
13. Post-it Notes : Sticky Paper : Owned by 3M
14. Q-Tip : Cotton Swab : Owned by Kimberly-Clark
15. Rollerblade : Roller skates : Owned by Rollerblade
16. Rolodex : Contact Organizer : Owned by Eldon
17. Saltines : Crackers : Owned by Nabisco
18. Scotch Tape : Tape : Owned by 3M
19. Sharpie : Marker : Owned by Sanford
20. Taser : Electronic Shock Device : Owned by Taser
21. Tivo : Digital Recorder : Owned by Tivo
22. The Club : Anti-Theft Device : Owned by Winner
23. Tobasco : Hot Sauce : Owned by Heinz
24. Tylenol : Headaches / Acetaminophen : Owned by Johnson & Johnson
25. Walkman : Tape Player : Owned by Sony
26. Windex : Window Cleaner : SC Johnson
27. Vaseline : Petroleum Jelly : Owned by Chesebrough-Pond’s
28. Xerox : Copies : Owned by Xerox
29. Chapstik : Lip Balm: Owned by Johnson and Johnson

For a complete list check it out: http://www.prairienet.org/~rkrause/brands.html

So you still think spending time on a name, is a waste of time?!

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