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May 20, 2006

A Rose is a Rose: Eight Criteria for a Good Business Name

What’s in a name?

That which we call a rose, by any other word, would smell as sweet.

In his famous line from “Romeo and Juliet,” Shakespeare seems to be saying that a name is nothing more than an artificial and meaningless construct.

Granted, the old Bard could turn a phrase better than anyone. But he obviously never ran a business. For when it comes to positioning products, services and companies in the marketplace, a Lexus or a Starbucks by any other name would not smell as sweet.

Imagine if Intel were called “Microchip Systems Technologies.” Doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, does it? Plus those little “Intel Inside” stickers you see on the outside of almost every PCs would have to get a lot bigger in order to fit the entire name.

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Posted by Rod Whitson at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

April 13, 2006

Let Your Best Brand Ambassadors Speak!

Guestblogged by Jennifer Crossen

As professional communicators, we are taught to control the message, limit the spokespeople to those trained and credible enough to deliver our carefully crafted corporate message.

But blogs have changed this.

While not for every company, blogs are an incredibly powerful communication tool when put in the hands of the rank and file. The leveraging of blogs for the PR department and executive suite should be reconsidered and instead, the value of empowering your hundreds or thousands of brand ambassadors to speak their minds and hearts about their lives and your work should be evaluated.

But what if they share all your secrets? Tell your customers how they really aren’t respected? What about controlling the message?

Your company culture will be a big determinant here: if your culture is closed and secretive, this will never work. But if you can stand to hear the good and the bad, within reason (more on this in a moment), the blogosphere and your customers, partners, investors, will be better for it. Because blogs are all about being real, transparent, accessible. Who has more of these qualities than your front line brand ambassadors? Especially when your company or value proposition is complex, these daily touchpoints for your brand can be the clarifying experience your potential or current customers need.

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Posted by Jennifer Crossen at 10:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)