Wordlab

What is the difference between IM and IT? Information management professionals care about content. Whether it’s paper or electronic, we have expertise on how to manage your information so you quickly find what you need and legally get rid of the rest.

I know the regulatory framework that supports e-information, and I have plenty of hands-on experience.

My tentative business name is PaperGo. Does it have zip?

Here’s my vision statement:

Help business develop lean e-information systems such as Electronic Document Management (EDM) where all is paperless, easy to find, and fast to move. I will support businesses by providing consulting services, instruction, and hands-on practical help – including documenting and removing old paper collections.

Other options include plays on word with my name. I am Janet Karasz, intials JK (Just Kidding!). But I fear that will make me look silly rather than professional.

I’ve used JGNAT as my sign on name for years, another play on my name. I am pleased to think of myself as Plato’s gnat, buzzing in the ears of the bureaucrats, asking simple but disturbing questions. But again, I think that may be too obscure or off-putting for my potential customers.

I look forward to your collective ideas.

If it would help, here’s the names of my direct competitors:

Connelly Consulting, Corporate Designed Solutions, Information Management Consulting, CriticalControl Solutions, IMERGE Consulting,
Lantham RIM Consulting, and TRAC Records

I love ‘Plato’s Gnat’

…that would be different and memorable in your field. Couple it with a tagline that gives an insight into what you do, and you could have the best of both worlds.

Plato’s Gnat
Information management without the paper

PaperLESS
Streamline Systems

JK (Just Kidding!) is a bit frivolous for a serious business and although Plato’s Gnat is very clever, something easily recognizable / clearly representative of your business is perhaps more effective for marketing / advertising? Something that will instill confidence and relief (in discovering your services) for your clients rather than more thought processing. Just a thought.

You’ve given me much to think about. I’ll let this percolate for a day or two more.

The point about a brand is that it should be memorable; that way every investment in the brand builds real value. If the name is memorable but doesn’t give a direct clue to the nature of the business, the strapline comes into its own (…and I would be happy to play with the strapline I suggested if this does not get the heart of what you do across).

The problem with names that are directly business-related is that it immediately puts you up against everyone else who is doing the same (unimaginative) thing. If you are first into the market space it is perhaps acceptable (although I would still argue against it) but if the space is filled with competitors with the sort of names that jgnat has listed above it is, frankly, brand suicide.

Good advertising/marketing gets to the heart of the brand promise and is entirely independent of the brand name. If that were not the case then Virgin would be a disaster.

A name that is ‘clearly representative’ of the business you are in may appear to be ‘safe’. It is certainly ‘me too’, indistinguishable from your competitors and unmemorable.

In truth, it is so ‘safe’ that is actually unsafe in that you risk no-one taking any notice of you and you fail to win any sort of share of voice in the market. And that means you do little or no business. That is not my kind of ‘safe’.

Taking a risk by choosing a name that is a brand and not a descriptor, and that has a better than even chance of provoking a ‘wtf’ reaction, is a much better bet.
‘Wtf’ grabs attention and gets people interested in finding out more.
Get the strapline right and you’ve got them hooked.
Get them hooked and you’ve won the right to that extra one minute of their time to put across what it is that makes you different and relevant.
Do that and you’ve got an enquiry.

If I had one message to give to the world of naming, it would be that ‘safe’ is very dangerous…..

@jgnatca, @chris is right on, couldn’t have said it better myself.

Plato’s Gnat is great. It completely unique, memorable, and when people hear it they’re going to lean forward and want to know more — they will be engaged in a conversation about your business, rather than just tuning you out. This is your name. Do it.

Point taken. Plato’s Gnat is perfect then.

Oh, your help is priceless. I do get engaged in a conversation every time someone asks about my online persona. I blush at the same time.

If I can get the blushing under control, I may just have a winner.

As a follow-up, I took your advice. You are looking at the fresh Director of Plato’s Gnat Ltd. (http://www.platosgnat.com). You are right that the name generates curiosity and conversations. The reactions have been positive as I’ve explained the meaning behind the name.

Glad to hear it, @jgnatca (and great work fellow Wordlabbers!). I added a link above to your new website and gave you a shoutout on our home page blog with a link there as well. Good luck managing the world’s information!