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In this new quest for a creative company name, many entrepreneurs, CEOs and marketing directors are at a loss for what to do. They feel it's something they are more than capable of handling internally, but with each new suggested name there's a trademark conflict, no matching domain name, lack of coherent message, etc. It might just be time to call in professional naming consultants. Here are a few of the warning signs:

1. You've invested hundreds of hours of valuable management time and gotten nowhere.

   This is probably the top reason to look for outside professional assistance. I've spoken to hundreds of clients who have spent weeks, if not months, of their time in staff meetings generating countless names. Wouldn't it be better if the CEO, marketing director and product managers could focus their time and attention on their own areas of expertise, rather than doing word associations, domain name look ups, and trademark searches? By the time many of these clients contact me, they have what I call a "naming toothache." The pain has gotten so bad, they simply want a solution--any solution.

2. You've resorted to an employee suggestion box. Go ahead, you can admit it. You circulated the email or put up a suggestion box. Now you've opened the naming equivalent of Pandora's box. Everyone in the organization feels they now have input. Even if this strategy were to work, you would have one happy employee and the rest who feel snubbed. It also assumes that your employees understand your brand message, your future brand architecture, and how the whole identity piece will come together. In addition, as in warning sign number one, you've turned productive employees into part-time linguists.
3. Bad names have started sounding good.

   At this stage numbness starts to set in, and with it your judgment gets clouded. Names you would never have considered initially, you begin to justify. You find yourself saying the company name, followed by "Get it?" When the puzzled listener furrows his brow, you impatiently explain the bad pun, play on words or forced construction (i.e. Qwalitronixs! Get it? Quality and Electronics! Yeah?). Unless you can be there when each potential customer hears your name, they will all have the same bewildered reaction.

4. You start rationalizing that the .com domain name isn't important.

   In a continuing downward spiral from mistake three, you find yourself justifying that the domain name really isn't all that important. You have a name you like but there's someone using the name, and using it with the word "Group" and "Associates" and "Partners," etc. So you find yourself thinking the .net version might be fine, or that a hyphen in the middle of the name really isn't that big of a deal. That works until you discover that important emails and proposals are being sent to the wrong email address. Or a competitor has set up shop on the main .com domain name. Sure, customers might be able to find you doing an internet search, but wouldn't it make more sense if they could simply type in your name? (Full disclosure--This is one rule I didn't even follow and it's caused some confusion. I initially chose PureTungsten.com as the company domain name vs. TungstenBranding.com. As a result, clients refer to us as both Pure Tungsten and Tungsten Branding. This demonstrates the impression power of a domain name. We now own both domains.)

5. You've begun to question whether a good company name is really all that important.

In the final throws of a belabored internal naming project, it comes down to this--"Is that name really even important?" This is where we really enter the danger zone. Like a tired Marlin, you've lost all your fight and you're ready to just give in and take whatever's available. You rationalize it by thinking of all the companies that have bad names, as if you want to join their ranks. You wonder if maybe there just isn't a good name out there and that they are truly all taken. It's at this stage that some companies decide to cut their losses and just slap on a label and move forward. Unfortunately, they often come back to revisit the decision again and again, in the form of spelling out their names each time on the phone, trying to explain a name with no meaning, or spending marketing dollars on a forgettable name in order to make it stick. The long-term cost of promoting a poor company name is far greater than the initial investment in a good brand name, with a matching .com, and a solid marketing message behind it.

In a rush to go to market, it's easy to overlook the importance of a great product or company name. Frequently a lack of time or lack of budget is cited as the main reason to go it alone. In the long haul, a great brand name can help better define your niche in the market, establish a unique presence, increase customer recall and improve gross margins. Fortunately, with the growing need for great company names has come a growing supply of naming specialists--each with their own area of expertise. There are now between 50 to 100 company naming consultants worldwide, focused solely on crafting unique and compelling identities--ones that will complement your brand strategy. By conferring with these specialists, you can outsource your naming projects, improve your results, regain valuable staff time, and best of all, reclaim your sanity.