While driving, I love nothing better than to listen to talk radio. It is my favourite way to kill highway hours. Last week I was traveling in the US. I was scanning the dials looking for NPR (National Public Radio) or any other talk radio show when I found myself listening to a string of ads for local businesses that could be typical for any town in America or Canada. One ad stood out for me because, well, it was horrible! Describing it as a “train wreck” would be kind. The only saving grace for this company was that even though I heard the ad three times in a stretch, I could not make out what the name of the company was. I really wanted to look them up to see if the rest of their advertising was the same. The reason why I couldn’t make out their name was because they used initials. Was that F or S? Was that a P or T? Turns out that I never did manage to figure it out. For this company that was a good thing…a really good thing.
The Curse of The Three Initials (or Four, Five)
Naming your company with initials puts you at a huge disadvantage in the marketplace. So much, it can even prove to be fatal. Naming your company with initials provides you with a name that means nothing, is hard to be heard, and more importantly is hard to remember. You have just made your company even more transparent in an already over crowded and competitive marketplace. Not what you ever want to do.
Before you start emailing me with the IBM, PPG, GM examples of successful companies with initials, let me save us both a little time here. That argument doesn’t hold water for the simple reason that each of those businesses started off with proper meaningful names before they switched in later years to initials. When you have reached the size of IBM or GE feel free to switch your name to initials. Until then do what is best for your business and develop a name that has meaning.
If you have a proper name and have started shortening it or using your initials in advertising or promotion it is a good idea to stop doing it. As I said, the last thing you want to be is hard to remember.
Until next time, TTFN!
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