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Stupid Name Theory
By Jobo Smith
For at least the last 15 years or so, my friends and family have had to hear my spouting off about "Stupid Name Theory". It used to come up quite often about 10 years or so ago, but in recent years either there are not as many businesses started OR they have gotten better at picking names. What is the "Stupid Name Theory"? Easy - it is a name of a business that when someone mentions it the first thing that comes to your mind is "Geez, that is a stupid name for a business." Usually the stupid name theory will indicate almost a 100% chance the business will go bankrupt. I had people doubt me on it but I have called so many of them (including several public companies) that they now do not doubt my theory anymore. A very notable one might be ZZZZ Best Carpets (from the late 80s, and a bit before my time with this theory, but still stupid). The one exception seems to be internet startup companies. While there is a preponderance of stupid names, some of them do actually make it. But a look further shows that most do not. Names such as Yahoo, Bebo, Diigo, Thoof, Yoono, AmCy.com, Flooz, and Yadayada.com to name just a few are all are really stupid names which mean nothing. Some of these are gone, some are still here. However, the average internet startup company, even with some funding, only lasts about 18 months. Could the name be to blame ... I think so. It seems like they go out of their way just to take stupid to a new level and impress their nerd friends. Now, there is one modification to the rule, that is any business named after its owner is almost always in the stupid name theory book, but its only if the business has grown to be quite large or is a public company listed on a stock exchange. Small mom and pop stores are exempt from this, and while there is a decent failure rate there too, it usually cannot be determined that the name did them in. In the bigger companies, the EGO of the person who builds the company under their own name usually does them in at some point. Not always, but really a high percent of the time. They start off running a tight ship, but over time the accolades get to them and they start thinking they can do no wrong. News stories about them talk about their success and the humble beginnings etc, and this just makes it worse. They become blinded to changes in technology, competition, and worst of all, consumer tastes and wants. Most of the theory is based on the fact if you do not put much effort into naming your business, there is higher odds you will overlook other aspects as well. This is what leads to the downfall, the name is just a tip off that the other stuff is yet to come. |
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Yeah, Jobo -- I guess I'd have to agree with your assessment.
The greatest asset that we have is our name, Jobo. The first thing that a customer knows about your business is the business name. Get it right!!
Keep up the good work.
Best wishes.
Frederick
G'day Mate,
Great intel. I suggest you do your (guided) keyword research first then use that research to select a name for your online businesses. Wishing you all the best.
Reg
More about my interests here.
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