The power of a name

In their landmark 1981 book Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, Al Ries & Jack Trout challenged a lot of conventional thinking in marketing and advertising.

“People suffer from the same disease as products,” Ries and Trout write. “They try to be all things to all people.”

But how do you carve out a perception of yourself in people’s minds? Become known for some great quest or goal or interest that you are devoting your life to. Stand for something. This makes people want to help you, rather than just seeing you as out for yourself. 

It also helps to have a good name - one that suits the image of the idea, product or service you are offering, or the person you are trying to be.

Would Ralph Lauren have become Ralph Lauren if he had stayed Ralph Lifshitz? Would Marion Morrison have become huge if he had not changed his name to John Wayne? What if Kirk Douglas had remained Issur Danielovitch? 

“There is only negative equity in a bad name,” the authors argue. “When the name is bad, things tend to get worse. When the name is good, things tend to get better.”

If your name is too similar to other people, change it. Liza Minelli may never have become so big if she had taken her mother Judy Garland’s name and just been “Liza Garland.” Toyota didn’t try to create a “Super Toyota” or a “Toyota Ultra.” It launched the Lexus.

When you come up with a name for your company or your new product, say it out loud before you write it down, and see if people can say it easily and like it. “The mind works by ear, not by the eye.” 

Jeff Bezos changed the name of his online bookselling site from “Cadabra” because to an early employee it sounded like “cadaver.” Amazon, the name Bezos settled on, conjured up an image of width and abundance.

Bottom line: You have to differentiate to be noticed. In products and in people, never ever underestimate the power of a name.