TV crime dramas used to stipulate, “Only the names have been changed…to protect the innocent.”

That’s why I’ve modified the name of my company:

To protect the innocent who couldn’t seem to pronounce the old name.

To protect the innocent who somehow never figured out how to spell it.

To protect the innocent who couldn’t relate the name to what they needed.

To protect the innocent who prefer names that are personal or descriptive or seem familiar.

To protect the innocent who expect a name to work on the net as well as in print and broadcast.

…to protect the innocent.

If you are a consultant, solopreneur or run a professional practice you need to use your name not some fanciful combination or words letters or phrases that have to be explained.

I say, “Use your own name. People remember you by your name not your company name. My name outscores other keywords by a factor of 25 to 1 on Linked In. The analytics say, protect the innocent.”

For years I asked clients, “Is your company name easy to say? Is it pronounceable for you employees and introducers and, most importantly, your potential customers?” Protect the innocent.

A letter, followed by a hyphen just doesn’t work. People don’t know what to do with it. Most just shine it on. I made that mistake with Z-axis Marketing, Inc.

When I was in the Army, our Hawaiian-born company clerk was called “Pineapple” because folks couldn’t wrap their tongues around his name. His best friend whose grandparents had immigrated from Poland was called “Alphabet”. Same problem. Before you adopt any name for your company, test it. Find out how people expect to say it.

Listen to how much of the name they say as well. That’s a good indicator of how much difficulty prospects and customers will have in remembering and writing it.

People tend to shorten names of partnerships. Yesterday I was trying to refer someone to a law firm. Of the two choices, one possibility was easy to recall because it is commonly shortened to the name of the first partner in the list on the door. The other produced this Seinfeldesque chip off the old memory block, “Yadda, Yadda, Yadda and Bragg.”

Hear me, “If your company name is difficult to write, it will get butchered. To assure writing ease, don’t trick it up with uncommon spelling. Avoid Smyth or Smythe. Protect the innocent.”

People want to build a relationship with you. That’s hard to do if they don’t understand your name or think they can.

That’s why I’ve changed the emphasis on my web sites, my business cards and my other promotional material to my name from my business name. I’ll keep the legal name and it will appear but I would rather make it easy for people to find me.

I’m using my name to protect the innocent.

Learn more about how I approach marketing at www.JerryFletcher.com

For information on my international speaking activities go to www.NetworkingNinja.com