Guidelines for Company Names

In my last post we discussed different ways to come up with a company name.  We also scoured YouTube, the second largest search engine in the world.  We found a video from Business Blueprint which offered seven ways to choose a name:

1. Name by desire; i.e., DieHard Batteries, Lean Cuisine, Five Hour Energy Drink
2. Name by problem; i.e., Never Late Electrical, Fat Blaster
3. Name by alliteration; i.e.,Weight Watchers, Paramount Pictures, SlideShare
4. Own a word; i.e., Apple, Amazon, Yahoo, Yelp, Pandora
5. Invent a word; i.e., Facebook, YouTube, Kleenex, Xerox
6. Combine words; i.e., Microcomputer + software = Microsoft, federal + express = FedEx, group + coupon = Groupon, bandage + first aid = Band Aid, Walton + shopping mart = Walmart
7. Twist a word; i.e., Netflix, Xero, Digg, Fotolia

We also looked at new startups that have received funding.  We noticed that they were generally short, expressive, self explanatory names.  So with that as a backdrop we began to really boil down what we do to help us define our business in a clear and concise manner.  And before we could move forward we needed to address these issues:

1. A clear idea of who we are
2. A name that reinforces our service
3. An easily remembered name
4. A name that can be protected
5. A short name

These answers:

1. Our company tells our client’s story through compelling original content.
2. We act as the voice of our clients online.
3. We drew from Latin.  Although “dead”, Latin is a timeless language that is the foundation of much of the English language.
4. This is what attorneys are for.
5. We like one syllable names; “Coke” is stronger than “Pepsi”.

So, story told through a voice + Latin + short = the Latin word for voice = VOX, the voice of our clients online.  Welcome to VOX.  In our next post we’ll discuss crowd sourcing logos.