Renaming my Business

[Dave Kaminski]

Hey everyone,

I'm going to rename my computer repair business to prepare for future growth, and I don't want my name to be in the name because it really doesn't project anything special.

I think my excellent guarantee and excellent service are my best selling points, and I want to be able to advertise these with my name.

Death and Taxes Computer Repair is a little morbid, however, and Rising Sun PC Repair sounds maybe too eastern or religious. What does everyone think? What are some things that are guaranteed and strong, or what do people tie these to?

Thanks for the brainstorming help!

[Dave Kaminski]

I've come up with 'Edge Computer Services - Razor-sharp service, Guaranteed.'

Any ideas? Comments?

[Fusebox]

I generally dont like the word 'computer' in any company name...

What about 'Edge Microsystem Services (EMS)' .....??

something to think about. Good luck with it.

[Cat Dancer]

Originally Posted by Dave Kaminski

Hey everyone,

I'm going to rename my computer repair business to prepare for future growth, and I don't want my name to be in the name because it really doesn't project anything special.

I think my excellent guarantee and excellent service are my best selling points, and I want to be able to advertise these with my name.

Death and Taxes Computer Repair is a little morbid, however, and Rising Sun PC Repair sounds maybe too eastern or religious. What does everyone think? What are some things that are guaranteed and strong, or what do people tie these to?

Thanks for the brainstorming help!

A strong brand is one that is based on a proper noun, instead of being descriptive. See Al Reies' books for details, such as The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding or The 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding. A proper noun business name can be the founder's name (Ford, Dell, Bloomberg), made up (Yahoo, Google), or taken from something unrelated (Apple, Amazon). The association you want to create, the "something special" you want to project, is then formed in the consumer's mind.

Kaminski is a good business name. And much better than the descriptive names you've been brainstorming. (They sound like tourist traps )

Your excellent guarantee and excellent service is the key:

Kaminski. I guarantee it.

Now that is a strong statement. You don't need anything else for branding!

I didn't realize you already had your own business when we were talking earlier about your going into sales. Why not keep your business and focus on sales for your existing business, instead of working for someone else?

We'd been talking about how you wanted to select a product that is truly useful for people ("self-sustaining and helpful to the end user"). I think your mission looks something like:

"I create wealth by connecting people to technology that is useful to them".

(You could write that down and look at it first thing every morning!)

And your strong guarantee reflects your mission. You connect people to technology that is useful to them, so if it turns out not to work, you're willing to try again, until it does.

I'm halfway through [High Trust Selling] already. I told you I was buying it today! I'm stuck on chapter five, because I had a hard time on the Life Plan thing and I can't get the other three plans off of my freakin' mind!

Whoops, sorry, I missed that last entry of yours. I just saw it now when I was looking at the old thread. Are you still feeling stuck? If you feel stuck, I recommend you pull out a sheet a paper and write on it "I am stuck on..." and briefly list the things you are stuck on. Then continue reading ! It's not a linear process, read or skim through the rest of the book first, then you can come back to stuff later. You don't need everything to get started.

[Milo Riano]

"Dave Kaminski Systems" is strong enough depending on how you carry yourself.

[Dave Kaminski]

Yes but I want to expand beyond myself, and if I were to sell the business that would be weird for someone to be operating under my name. I want my name to express the idea of my business and its guarantee, but I don't want my name involved necessarily.

"I create wealth by connecting people to information that is useful to them," What do you think about that one?

[Cat Dancer]

Originally Posted by Dave Kaminski

"I create wealth by connecting people to information that is useful to them," What do you think about that one?

Are you selling technology or information?

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by Dave Kaminski

Yes but I want to expand beyond myself, and if I were to sell the business that would be weird for someone to be operating under my name. I want my name to express the idea of my business and its guarantee, but I don't want my name involved necessarily.

"I create wealth by connecting people to information that is useful to them," What do you think about that one?

I like that point, Dave. I worked for someone once who built a whole company based on his name and reputation, the downside of it is that he now can't leave it!

Is that your slogan? It's a tad wordy, I think.

'Connecting You?'

What do you think is your unique selling proposition, Dave?

[Dave Kaminski]

No that quote is more of a personal mission. I've always seen myself as a sort of information liaison. My USP is the guarantee and complete repair and networking solution packages. Added value through package purchases sort of deal.

[Bruce Achterberg]

Originally Posted by Dave Kaminski

I've come up with 'Edge Computer Services - Razor-sharp service, Guaranteed.'

Any ideas? Comments?

Maybe I can help out. Do note, however, that I'm really picky when it comes to naming things, but if anything, that should help you. I’ll also add that I have pretty much no idea about marketing, branding, etc. I don’t really see that as a bad thing, it’s just something to take into consideration when it comes to reading what I have to say – it gives what I write perspective.

Anyway, for this post I'm going to venture away from my regular, more formal and structured posting style. I’m going to let loose a bit and list some of the thoughts that cross my mind when I read the name(s) you've come up with, and also detail my thoughts about what you’re trying to do in general (name your business). So, lets see here...

____________________________________

I like the word “Edge” - it invokes a sharp, striking mental image. Although at the same time you need to remember that “edge” can also refer to the “edge” of something, such as a cliff or, I don't know, an object with an edge. “Edge” doesn’t really have much to do with your motto, either (“Razor-sharp service, Guaranteed.”)

I don't like how “Edge” blends with “Computers”, though. It seems like it doesn't match up to me. However, that could change if you somehow blended “Edge” with “Computers” in some way, such as a logo or something -- something to promote visual imagery.

To give you an example of something I found to be quite memorable that I saw recently, check out these PS3 ad campaign videos (the campaign apparently cost about 150 million). They's 3 of them and they go for about 30 seconds each. They're pretty trippy, but in my opinion, damn good for advertising because they use really abstract imagery that leaves a pretty heavy imprint on your mind (at least, I think so). Here are the links to the videos:

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PS3 “Baby” Ad (I assure you, it's FULLY not what you think):
YouTube - PS3 Baby commercial

PS3 “Eggs” Ad (again, FULLY not what you think):
YouTube - PS3 Eggs

PS3 “Rubiks cube” Ad (not as good as the first 2, but not bad):
YouTube - PS3 Rubik's
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The subconscious mind likes to remember symbols - things that are uncommon, things that stand out. So maybe you could blend a logo of your image in with the name, like what McDonalds do with their “golden arches logo. Here's an example image of how McDonalds incorporate their “M” logo into their name (source: McDonalds - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).

On the other hand, if you wanted to stay away from a logo and just use the name, I think “Edge” is good, but “Computer Supplies” just makes it sound pretty common - like what everyone else is doing. It’s descriptive, but it isn't too memorable. I think “McDonalds” would look a little strange if they had called it “McDonalds Fast Food”. Sure, after people sample your high quality service they may remember you from that, but if I were you, I'd want to draw people in and get their attention by the name alone. For example, if you have an ad in the phone directory, you want a catchy, flashy name so it catches attention, and if you have really good guarantees and service, this should entice people further. You don’t see Maccas calling themselves “McDonalds Fast Food”

Additionally, I don’t think it’s what you say that is important (the name of your business), but how you say it (the delivery of that name). For example, you can say something in a timid way and gain no attention, or you can say something in a strong, confident way, and gather lots of attention, or, at least, give people the idea that you’re serious and in there for the long haul – you represent something that they can invest their trust in and not have to worry about risk.

Ultimately, I think you want to concentrate on connecting your business name to what you specifically provide (ie. your strong guarantee and service). To give you an example, take Steve’s website – he called it “StevePavlina (dot) com”. If you know nothing about Steve that may not sound very strong or attention grabbing, but as soon as you get an idea of what Steve’s about, it leaves a strong association in your mind. As a user, I don’t remotely care what Steve’s website is called – it’s the value it provides and the attributes of Steve himself that I associate with the name.

Which bring us to using your own name for the business, as what has been discussed above. Like Cat Dancer, I think “Kaminski” is a really good business name. It’s strong, direct, and confident, especially when phrased the way Cat Dancer did it:

“Kaminski. I guarantee it.”

You don’t have to go with something exactly like that, but you get the idea. If you really consider your strong guarantee and service to be your strength – your selling point – I’d be using the name in a way that makes it a vessel to convey that strength. Either that, or use something clever to associate that strength with a name (although that is much harder to do and can end up sounding a little “gimmicky” in the sense that it starts to sound a little lame).

If you’re really opposed to using your own name, why get creative and come up with something more unique? Maybe you could even use your own name as a catalyst. For example, you could try rearranging the letters in your name to form something new. You don’t have to use all of them, nor do you have to be limited to those letters alone – use what you need. Or, you could go a totally different route and pull a Nintendo. I’m not going to explain who Nintendo are (if you don’t know check out the link in the previous sentence), but what Nintendo did with their latest console system was something completely “out of left field”.

Nintendo’s console was originally called “Revolution” in the prototype stage of it’s development, but then later it was given a new name. Nintendo called their new console the “Wii”. A crazy move for sure, but damn, I’ll never forget what a “Wii” is – it really sticks in your mind. Plus, Nintendo have been creative in using their name by saying things like “Wii will rock you...”, “Wii will connect users to games like never before...”, etc. They also used the name of the console to name a new service they offer – they called it “Wii Connect 24”, which is basically a something that keeps the console connected to the internet “24/7”. I particularly liked the name “Wii Connect 24” (as in “we connect you all the time”) because it really made a lot of sense and was able to incorporate the name of their console in a creative way. For more info on the (Nintendo) Wii (info that is related to helping you choose a name for your business), check out the links below:

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Several game developers comment on the name of the Wii and share their thoughts (you may find some ideas from the article):
Gamasutra - Feature - "Wii Reactions: Developers Comment"

Why Nintendo named their console “Wii” (if you want more info about the Wii the other sections on that page will help you out as well):
Wii - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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So with that I’ll leave you to think about what I’ve written so far. I haven’t really given you any potential names to use, but hopefully I’ve given you some ideas. I think coming up with a name for something is largely something you’ll have to do yourself (think of it like a filtering process - once you've gone through all of the "bad" names, you'll find the one that works). I personally wouldn’t use a name someone gave to me even if it was a good name – I’d feel as if I need to come up with something myself (although you may be different). But hopefully those posting in this thread can help you reach that point a little faster. Remember, you want to go with something that is right to you - something that you’re satisfied with.

One last thing. I checked out the website for your business (Welcome to KaminskiPC.com), and while I dislike flash, I like how you’ve used it for your website. The music is a nice touch as well. Anyway, the reason I brought this up was because I was wondering if you plan to completely revamp the website when you come up with a new name. I think that out of the names you’ve mentioned so far none of them really match your current website, and that’s a shame since there’s nothing wrong with the website. Perhaps (assuming you like the website and what it represents) you could extract the “essence” of the website and somehow form that into a name for the business. Just an idea. And while on the topic of your website, I’d like to make a minor suggestion:

For the cube navigation elements that you click on to go to the various pages, I’d have the names of the pages displaying all the time, not just when you mouse over them. You may argue that this would decrease interactivity, but I'd say clear functionality is more important then interactivity (at least in terms of what your doing).

Perhaps what you could do is have the names displaying constantly above the cubes but have them display very faintly so that when you mouse over them they become more distinct and apparent. In addition to that, I also think you should use a bigger font on your website (the individual sections that is - so much white space not being put to use), but I disgress. Either way, just a thought. Hope you make some progress with your business name.

[andrew]

Great advice Bruce, I agree.

“Kaminski" sounds really cool. I spent weeks trying to think of mine, Desuade. I really like how the letters go together and it just flows off your tounge. And you're going to remember it easier than Andrew's Flash Components - there's no branding there. But if I had a unique last name, I'd use it.

Also one of the biggest factors is domain names. I really think your companyname.com is very important.

[richie]

how about 'Expertz'

[andrew]

And on that note, I hate most replacements of 'z' for 's' 'k' for 'c' etc. 99% of the time it looks unproffesional. Not to mention everyone and their mothers in 96 thinking their 'kool' using z's and x's everywhere.