One of the things that sets my business apart from the competition is the name of my business – The Dippy Chick Company. There are a gazillion (well okay… hundreds) of companies out there that manufacture products similar to mine, but they are not very memorable. I am in the seasonings business and I honestly cannot keep them straight! There’s Garden Whimsy and Whimsical Garden; Whimsical Thyme and Garden Thyme… okay, not really but you get the idea. Those names are nice in a way, because they evoke a sort of natural, garden-y feel. It’s the safe way to go and fine if you’re local. People in your town will possibly remember you. However, if you intend to do business nationally on the internet or through distribution, you might want consider something more memorable.
One of the benefits of having an unusual name is instant recognition. People remember Dippy Chick and therefore remember my web address which is dippychick.com.
Another benefit is that the name appeals to people’s curiosity. When they see the name in my signature on a forum, they wonder “What is that?”, and it gets people to my site. The same thing happens when people see my signature at the bottom of my emails. I have my cartoonish logo at the bottom and my title is President, CEO and Dippiest Chick. When I email people I have never emailed before, they almost always write back that they followed the link in my signature and they “love my site” or “can’t wait to order”. This can be especially helpful when you are writing to someone who may be important to your business, like the editor of a magazine or a TV producer.
Advertising is another area where this helps. I often advertise on Google Adwords or Overture. When people type in “dip mixes”, my ad will usually show up on the side. My unique business name and web address pique people’s curiosity and they end up clicking.
My products all have silly titles as well. Most of the time my husband and I come up with them off the cuff, but sometimes I have to resort to other measures like a rhyming dictionary, thesaurus or urban/slang dictionary. Sometimes I’ll look up jokes about the subject, or quotes. If all else fails, sometimes I’ll bounce it off people’s heads on a forum here in the Startup Nation community, or elsewhere. The funny product names are what help in stores. I hear stories from the store managers about how the ladies always pick up a dip mix and yell, “Hey Marie! You’ve got to see these names!”
Here are some helpful links to get you started on our naming journey. Remember, it’s okay to be different! It’s okay to be a little edgy and fun. It could be the best thing you could do for your business!
Branding on Startup Nation – Search results.
RhymeZone – Duh! For words that rhyme.
Thesaurus – for words that mean the same thing like “cat” and “feline”.
Urban Dictionary – for slang terms and phrases
