斯凱·斯庫利　薛洪君/譯

A business name is more than just words—it is a representation of your company and brand. The process of choosing a business name may seem simple at first， but there are many factors that play into creating a successful one.

企業(yè)名稱不僅僅是單詞——它代表你的公司和品牌。選取企業(yè)名稱的過程乍看簡單，但創(chuàng)制一個成功的企業(yè)名稱，有賴許多因素協(xié)同發(fā)揮作用。

Having a name that resonates1 with your consumers can save you money， since you wont have to spend advertising dollars clarifying a muddled2 message. A good name can also lift you above competitors， help you reach new markets and open doors to further growth.

擁有一個客戶能心領神會的企業(yè)名稱能節(jié)約成本，因你無須花廣告費對寓意不明的企業(yè)名稱作出澄清。一個好的企業(yè)名稱也能讓你凌越競爭對手，助你拓展新市場，打開進一步發(fā)展之門。

What a good business name should include

好的企業(yè)名稱應包含哪些要素

While there are various rules and exceptions on what should be included in a good business name， experts agreed on some common elements. First and foremost3， a business name should focus on the message you want to portray.

對于好的企業(yè)名稱應包含哪些要素，固然有各種規(guī)則和例外可供參考，但專家對一些常見要素已達成共識。首要的一點是，企業(yè)名稱應專注于你要呈現(xiàn)的信息。

“The name chosen should reflect the attributes that you want to transmit to the customer，” said David Poulos， director of marketing at Pinnacle Advisory Group， “The best names are so indicative of a customers needs that it seems obvious.”

“所選名稱應反映你要給客戶傳遞哪些特質?！盤innacle咨詢集團營銷總監(jiān)戴維·普洛斯說，“理想的企業(yè)名稱彰顯客戶的需求，使人一望而知?！?/p>

A good name should be short—two to four syllables and easy to pronounce， because they tend to be very brandable and easy for consumers to remember.

好的企業(yè)名稱應該簡短——有二至四個音節(jié)且讀來順口，因為這樣的名稱品牌性突出，容易讓消費者記住。

While your name can include new or existing words， there are pros and cons4 with each option. Invented words—think Exxon—reduce the risk of confusion with competitors， but it can take a lot of time and marketing before your meaning is established with customers.

選取的企業(yè)名稱可包含新創(chuàng)或現(xiàn)成字詞，但每種選擇都各有利弊。新創(chuàng)詞——想想Exxon （埃克森）——降低了與競爭對手混淆的風險，但可能要耗費相當多時間和營銷成本，才能讓消費者認同該名稱的立意。

Existing names come with established meanings， but those terms are also likely to be used by some of your competitors. A paramount5 concern about using a common term as part of your businesss name is whether trademark and domain names are available， and many common words are already taken in these areas.

現(xiàn)成名稱都有既定含義，但這類用詞也很可能會被你的一些競爭對手選用。若企業(yè)名稱中含有常見用詞，最令人擔心的是同名商標和域名是否仍可選用，有很多常見詞已注冊過商標和域名了。

To help business owners identify the main elements of a good name， Alexandra Watkins， founder and chief innovation officer of naming firm Eat My Words， developed a 12-point evaluation checklist： the Scratch and Smile Test. Her philosophy used to develop the checklist was built on the idea that a business name should make you smile rather than scratch your head.

為幫助企業(yè)主辨識好的企業(yè)名稱所具備的要素，起名公司Eat My Words 的創(chuàng)始人兼首席創(chuàng)意官亞歷山德拉·沃特金斯研究出一份“十二條”評估清單：Scratch與Smile測試法。她制定這一清單所遵循的基本思路是，企業(yè)名稱應使人會心一笑而非撓頭不解。

SMILE： The five qualities of a super sticky6 name

SMILE：黏性超強企業(yè)名的五大特質

Suggestive： It evokes something about your brand.

Suggestive（強示意）：讓人想起你的品牌。

Memorable： It is rooted in the familiar.

Memorable（易識記）：根植于耳熟能詳?shù)氖挛铩?/p>

Imagery： It is visually evocative to aid in memory.

Imagery（具形象）：可喚起視覺聯(lián)想以輔助記憶。

Legs： It lends itself to7 a theme for extended mileage.

Legs（可延續(xù)）：讓主題具備延展效應。

Emotional： It moves people.

Emotional（夠煽情）：能夠打動人。

SCRATCH： The seven deal breakers of a name

SCRATCH：取企業(yè)名的七大昏招

Spelling-challenged： It looks like a typo8.

Spelling-challenged（拼寫缺陷）：看上去就像出了排印或打字錯誤。

Copycat9： It is similar to competitors names.

Copycat（盲目模仿）：與競爭對手的名稱相似。

Restrictive： It limits future growth.

Restrictive（作繭自縛）：限制未來的發(fā)展。

Annoying： It is forced or frustrates customers.

Annoying（使人不適）：牽強生硬或是讓顧客厭煩。

Tame10： It is flat， undescriptive or uninspired.

Tame（索然無味）：平淡、空洞或是毫無創(chuàng)意。

Curse of knowledge11： Only insiders get it.

Curse of knowledge（知識詛咒）：只有內部人士才能領會。

Hard to pronounce： It is not obvious or is unapproachable.

Hard to pronounce（詰屈聱牙）：生僻或高冷。

How to come up with a business name

如何創(chuàng)制企業(yè)名稱

There are a variety of methods you can use to devise a name for your company. Poulos and his team found the most successful one to be a customer-centric naming method.

要為公司設計名字，有多種方法可供使用。普洛斯及其團隊發(fā)現(xiàn)，最有成效的是以客戶為中心的命名方法。

Poulos recommends starting the process by gathering an aggregate12 of various department staff or consultants to develop a list of characteristics that you want your company to stand for. This brainstorming session should result in a series of on-brand13 character traits that you can then match with a set of words that are implied by each trait.

普洛斯建議，命名之初，要召集多位部門員工或企業(yè)顧問，列舉出大家心目中的企業(yè)價值主張。通過這場集思廣益的討論得出一系列彰顯品牌精神的特質，再為每條特質匹配由其寓意引申出的一套用詞。

With the implied words， craft a series of word combinations that bring out the various character traits and work them into a name that has meaning for the customer. This should evolve into a long list of first-round business name ideas.

用這些推敲出的詞，創(chuàng)制一系列詞組闡發(fā)各條特質，再將其融匯為顧客能會意的一個名稱，由此可衍生出一長串企業(yè)名稱初步方案。

After you have your first set of potential business name ideas， Poulos suggests polling potential customers to rank each name from 1 to 20， based on how well they fit or describe your business. Use the consumer poll to narrow your list down to the top five candidates. Verify that these top candidates， culturally and linguistically， will not create a conflict in the countries where you want to operate.

普洛斯建議，在得出潛在企業(yè)名稱初步方案后，對潛在客戶進行民意測驗，根據(jù)與本公司業(yè)務的契合度或對業(yè)務詮釋之貼切程度，對這些名稱進行排名（第1到第20名）。通過客戶民意測驗，將名單壓縮至候選名稱前5位。從文化和語言角度對這些最優(yōu)選項進行核驗，確保這些名稱不會在公司要開展業(yè)務的國家引發(fā)沖突。

A critical next step that many business owners skip is to research each of your top names for corporate registry， trademarks， patent and domain name availability. Warren Diggles， president and creative director of Diggles Creative， said you should choose a name with an available .com domain.

接下來這關鍵一步會被很多企業(yè)主忽略掉，就是逐一排查這些優(yōu)選名稱是否仍可登記為企業(yè)名稱及注冊為商標、專利和域名。迪格爾斯創(chuàng)意公司總裁兼創(chuàng)意總監(jiān)沃倫·迪格爾斯認為，應當選用一個域名（帶“.com”）有效的名稱。

“Unless you are a government， educational institution， or a nonprofit， you definitely want a .com，” said Diggles. “Your customers will automatically assume that your website is a .com because it is the most widely recognized name on the internet.”

“除非是政府機關、教育機構或非營利單位，否則必然首選‘.com?！钡细駹査拐f，“客戶會自動認為你公司的網站名后綴是‘.com，因為這是互聯(lián)網上認可范圍最廣的域名形式?！?/p>

He said the best option is to choose a name that allows you to register for all versions （.com， .net， .biz）， if possible， to protect your company name.

他認為，如果可能的話，最佳方案是能用所選名稱注冊所有版本的擴展域名（“.com” “.net”“.biz”），從而保護你的公司名稱。

Common business-naming mistakes

給企業(yè)命名的常見錯誤

Many owners name their businesses after a specific product or service they provide. However， this can create issues later when the company offers goods or services unrelated to its name. Similarly， if the name of your business seems completely unrelated to the goods or services you provide that， too， can have a negative effect.

很多企業(yè)主用自己企業(yè)提供的某一具體產品或服務為企業(yè)命名。然而，若公司后來提供與該名稱無關的商品或服務，此舉就會帶來問題。同理，如果你的企業(yè)名稱與你提供的產品或服務貌似毫不相干，也會有不利影響。

“Too literal or plain can only work if the logic holds and the business doesnt plan to evolve or change direction under that name，” said Poulos. “Too fancy， and the audience wont know what it means or what business theyre in. Too inside， and you limit your target audience and push away those outside the core business， even if they have a use for your products or services on a peripheral14 basis.”

“太依字面或太過平實，只有在邏輯自洽且企業(yè)無意依此名稱搞衍生業(yè)務或轉變業(yè)務方向時才行得通?！逼章逅拐f。“過于花哨，聽眾會不明就里或疑惑企業(yè)在搞哪門子生意。內情太深，則又將公司的目標客戶限制得太死，推開了非核心業(yè)務客戶，即便他們是你公司次要產品或服務的用戶。”

Along the same lines， creating a name with an odd or uncommon spelling can also be troublesome. Names with unusual spellings can cause issues， particularly with online searches. You can potentially miss out on new leads15 if consumers try to look you up online and cant find you.

同樣，起一個拼寫古怪生僻的名字，也會引起麻煩。拼寫生僻的名字會帶來問題，在線搜索時尤其如此。如果消費者試圖在網上查詢你的公司而未能找到，你可能會錯失潛在客戶。

It is unlikely that the perfect business name will come to you immediately. Evaluate names for their potential rather than choosing one based on personal preference. Although the process of naming your business can be a challenging one， the end result will be worth the effort.

不太可能即刻就想出一個理想的企業(yè)名稱。選擇時要評估名稱的潛力，而不是單憑個人喜好。盡管企業(yè)名稱的命名過程可能充滿挑戰(zhàn)，最終結果值得這樣的付出。

“You have to live with [your business name] for quite a while， so it should be something youre proud of， comfortable with and that makes sense to the audience youd like to reach，” said Poulos. “Dont pick your first choice without working through some sort of process to research and vet16 its viability in your market.”

“你要與（自己公司的名稱）長久相伴，所以它應該讓你引以為豪、自在愜意，而你的目標客戶也能夠意會?！逼章逅拐f，“不要貿然選擇第一眼看中的，而須經由市場調研和可行性檢驗這一步，再做決定。”

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者）