It’s surprising that a lot of business owners have never had proper branding done for their businesses. Starting with their company name. Many simply name their companies after themselves (ex. John’s Accounting Service, THM Enterprises, etc.) or just a name that they pull out of the air. What’s in a name? A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet. Right?…Wrong! Not if we called it a stinkweed! 

Your company name is everything. It’s a crucial part of your marketing and your brand. At the mere mention of your business’s name, clients and prospective clients should experience an emotional reaction. Your business name serves as an emotional anchor for your brand. So it should not be taken lightly. It’s ideal if your company name tells people what you do. Unlike the home improvement company that we came across named XRM Technologies. They actually install gutters, windows and vinyl siding believe it or not. 

So how do you come up with the right name for your company? For our clients, we use an exercise that we call the ‘name game’. Here’s how you “play it”. On a piece of paper, draw a line down the middle of the page, dividing the page into two columns. On the left side of the page, write down all of the problems or “pain points” that your prospect feels. I mean everything (ex. They have bad credit, can’t get credit cards, can’t get loans, have to pay higher interest rates, can’t get a mortgage or car loan, have to pay cash for everything, are embarrassed by their bad credit, etc.). Be very thorough and leave nothing out. 

Next, on the right side of the page, write all of the solutions to the problems and “pain points”. For example: problem – they have bad credit; solution– raise their credit score to a good score; problem – they are embarrassed by their bad credit; solution – instill in them a sense of pride from having an improved credit score. After you finish listing all of the solutions to the problems, look at all of your solution words and phrases and then piece them together to come up different names for your business. 

So, a real estate management company could be ‘Worry Free Property Management”. A florist could be ‘Last Minute Florists’. A dentist could be ‘Your Beautiful Smile Dental’. An insurance agency could be ‘Peace Of Mind Financial Services’. A fitness center could be “New You Fitness’. A green janitorial company could be ‘Clean, Quick & Green Janitorial’. A home improvement company could be ‘24 Hour Windows & Doors’. You get the idea. From your list, choose 6 – 10 of your best choices. Write them down on a piece of paper in column formation. 

Lastly, you want to do some surveys. Go to the local mall, bookstore or whatever place your industry prospects gather (the business district at lunchtime, supermarkets, seminars, hardware stores, hospitals, etc.) and get their input on your name selections. Perform at least 10 – 20 surveys. Tell them what you want your prospective customers to feel and think when they hear your company name (ex. trust your company, be relaxed, be excited, laugh, want to make money, become hungry, want to eat healthily, etc.). Ask them to listen to your choices and rank them each from 1 to 10 (1 being the worst and 10 being the best). Lastly, ask them if they didn’t like your name selections, are there any names that they’d recommend. This is powerful because your actual market tells you the name that appeals to them the most. 

The outcome of the ‘name game’ is a business name that appeals directly to your market. You effectively eliminate the possibility of having a non-compelling name that simply sounds catchy or flashy. Instead, you get a name that when your prospective and existing clients speak it, it instantly solves their problems.

Outsourcing to a Virtual Assistant (outsourced employee) can increaseproductivity, reduce costs and save you and your company time. Virtual Assistants, also known as VA’s, have been around for more than 10 years and in this day and age, utilize the technology era. They are highly qualified, educated and experienced people who basically can perform all of the same skills that traditional in-house staff provides. Many VA’s are College or University educated in business and office administration with work experience in an office setting.

We recommend a simple 3 step formula for determining what duties to assign an outsourced employee. First and foremost should be revenue producing functions. Simply write a list of what they should be. These include: appointment setting, cross-selling your existing customers on additional products and services (very important), telesales to new prospective customers, follow up sales calls on old leads that never closed, email blasting to generate new leads, internet sales, sending out online newsletters to existing clients, search engine optimization, blogging, article writing, handling your social networking (Facebook, Linked-in, Twitter, etc), updating your website with fresh content and articles, there are over 50,000 free classified advertising sites on the internet other than Craigslist.org they can post these ads for your business, and much more.

Secondly, are the revenue retaining activities. These include: customer service, technical support (online and on the phone), internet “live chat” on your website, invoicing, billing, taking phone payments, collections, sending out birthday or thank you cards and gifts to clients, fulfilling client information requests and more.

Third and last, are the non-revenue producing functions. These include: book-keeping, accounting, payroll, data entry, document and contract preparation, programming, research, answering your emails and cleaning up your inbox, scheduling and managing your calendar, acting as an answering service, fulfilling information requests from prospective clients, office management, employee scheduling, presentation preparation, making travel arrangements, desktop publishing, computer training, medical/legal transcription and more.

The benefits of outsourcing to a qualified VA are plentiful. VA’s use their own equipment so there is no wear and tear on your office equipment or a need for special equipment. By outsourcing to a VA rather than hiring an in-office assistant, you will never need to pay employment insurance, vacation pay, sick pay, or contribute to retirement plans and worker’s compensation.

There is no cost for training new or existing employees; VA’s are already qualified. There is no need for extra office space; VA’s do everything off location. There’s no need to worry about in-office employees requesting time off; VA’s are available when you need them. Like you, a quality outsourcing firm understands the needs of businesses today, ensuring the success of their clients. A good outsourcing firm values each and every client; it is because of these clients that they ensure your VA’s will aid in the success of your business.

How else can outsourcing to a VA save you money? VA’s are pre-trained and experienced individuals with the ability to catch mistakes made in-office, not only saving your business money but also protecting your business reputation.

And for those in-office employees that you cannot go without, a VA can take a little of the never-ending workload or less-important projects off their shoulders to ensure you, as a successful business, maintain your quality reputation and increase employee productivity.

So the question really should be, “why didn’t I do this years ago?”