E13: How to Create a Name for your Company

How do these big brands like Subway, Geico, Progressive and others like them create a Name for their Company? And I'm not talking about how they created their brand name, I mean how they became a household name for everyone?

Listen in to this week's episode as we dive in to how you can create a "name" for your business and how to put a face with your company. This will help build trust and loyalty from your customers. 

This is a big step that a lot of businesses miss and it was a common theme 40 to 50 years ago with businesses. Some companies know they need to do it but get stuck and not sure how to progress. Tune in as I give you some examples and break it down for you. 

Transcript

[00:00:00] Welcome back to the podcast, everybody. I'm the Wizard of Iz, and today's episode is a fun one for me because it's one that I actually sit down and talk to a lot of new clients about. And this episode is how to create a name for your company. I'm not talking about how to create the name of your business.

[00:00:21] It's how to get your name out there, how to get your company known for who they are, and that is a big thing to stand out from everybody else. Some companies just over time build their brand. Their logo is known to everybody and they stand out. Others have to create what's called an attractive character, which could be some sort of spokesperson, or it could be the owner of the business or someone who embodies the business that

[00:00:48] Is put in front of everybody to see who they are, you know? . Geico, , they have the gecko. , I. Progressive, they have flow. And a [00:01:00] long time ago, subway used to have Jared. Now we all know there's a lot of controversy amongst Jared and what Subway and what went on there, and we're not gonna get into that.

[00:01:12] But the point that I wanna get is Jared was the face of Subway for a long time, so making a name for your company, . , I think is a very big important step, especially if you're a small or medium sized business trying to grow. Now, all these companies that I told you about are large sized businesses.

[00:01:29] I completely get that. Yes, there's more money to spend here and there and in marketing and things like that, but what they're doing can be done at a lower level now with all the technology and social media that's presented before us. How do we create that? You wanna decide how you're . Business is gonna be seen by others.

[00:01:49] People like to have connections with the business. They like to know, Hey, you know, we're local and family owned, or we're veteran owned, or. Different things like that. People like to have a connection, and [00:02:00] not only is it important to say that, but it's important to put a face with that.

[00:02:05] This is something that you see a lot in family owned, small businesses. As I just said, when you establish this personal connection with your clients, they'll keep coming back. So you wanna create a name for your company and let people know who you are, what you are, what you do, what's your involvement. 

[00:02:28] Let's jump in. I got a story for you guys. And this is from my own experience of working with businesses and clients don't like it when I say this to them because I know that it's good to put a face out there.

[00:02:42] I have met, numerous. Businesses and other, clients and colleagues that, you know, they're running their business. They wanna make a name for their business, they wanna get their business out there. And I totally agree that there's nothing wrong with doing that, but you can grow much faster [00:03:00] when people can tie a business to somebody.

[00:03:05] Or something that they can trust that goes back to the big businesses I just described to you. You start to get accustomed to certain faces and people, and you build this trust, which gets the company to grow. when you put somebody as the face of your business, you start to build a reputation for your business of that person.

[00:03:24] So it's very important to figure that out. So as I was saying in my story, I meet a lot of clients who . As I talk to them, I say, , you should really get out there and get in front of people. You have, , . Good knowledge on what you're talking about. You have good education on what you're talking about.

[00:03:41] You represent yourself well, like people will be drawn to that. But a lot of people out there, including myself at times, we don't wanna be the face. We don't want to be known. We don't want be put out there. We don't want people to recognize us. We don't wanna be on camera, we don't wanna do any of that, but[00:04:00] 

[00:04:00] Sometimes you have to do that unless you can get somebody else to do that. A book that I've read before, maybe some of you have read this. It's by Russell Brunson, and it's called.com Secrets. I've read this years and years ago. I love the book and he talks about this. He talks about the importance of the attractive character, and I'm gonna do another podcast on the attractive character and

[00:04:23] List all the different descriptions of what's out there, because many companies use this model and you can use it again, you, the influencers you follow on social media, on YouTube, they are the attractive character for their business. They are the face of their business. They are the ones that you're building trust in.

[00:04:41] You know, Russell Brunson was saying in his book once that. He talked to Tony Robbins because Tony Robbins brought him on to help him market a book, and Tony just wanted to kind of just market it, put it out there, and Russell said, Tony, no one can market this book better than yourself. Well, I don't want to do it.

[00:04:56] I don't wanna talk about it. He is like, no, you're going to, you are [00:05:00] gonna talk about it. You are gonna discuss it. And he convinced. Tony Robbins to be the face of his book and to get out there and to push it, and it blew up. It did so well because everybody trusted Tony. So they decided to buy the book because based off of Tony Robbins, you know, and that is the most important part, is establishing that connection.

[00:05:23] And he was right. There was no other marketing or nobody else who could have sold Tony's book. So when you look at your business, you have to look at what it is first and look at how it operates and see if having a face of it is more beneficial. And it usually, I'd say 90% of the time, nine out of 10 times, it is beneficial if you're the owner.

[00:05:44] And you give back to the local community, or you are involved in the community or you, like I said, you're veteran owned or you do different things like that. People like that. People like the family owned, they like the connection, they like the small business, [00:06:00] but how are they gonna know that unless you get out there and say that?

[00:06:04] And video's very big nowadays. So if you can put yourself on camera and people see who you are as the owner of the business, they're not gonna pass that up. So it's really tough when I talk to clients and they're, uh, I don't wanna be the face, or I don't wanna do that or do that, and I tell them, listen, I completely get it.

[00:06:22] But if you want a big boost in what you do, and you don't wanna be paying thousands and thousands of dollars a month on marketing teams and then marketing budgets, this is a way where you can get out there earlier and quicker. I'm gonna give you another story, and it's an example of a company that's local to us in Central Florida that I worked with.

[00:06:39] We had a leak in our . kitchen one year in our house, and because of the leak, it actually damaged not just a lot of our kitchen, but the restoration damaged part of our front room and ruined our hardwood floors. the company that was doing the restoration, they ruined our hardwood floors, so we realized we needed to completely redo [00:07:00] the floors in the kitchen and in the firm room.

[00:07:02] So we looked around. We looked at all the big name companies and we looked at the small family owned mom and pop places, and we came across the company. . And when we went in to see them, it's a small little showroom in like south of Orlando. And we went in and we talked to them and they were great. The way they greeted us, the way they talked to us, the way they sat and and picked things out.

[00:07:26] And they told us, they're like, Hey, we're not gonna be the cheapest, but we're also not the most expensive, but we're gonna do the job. Right. And that was important to us. Well, after we sat down, we first met with the son of . You know the, the dad that runs the shop, but the grandfather or the dad of the dad was the one who started it.

[00:07:49] It was a three generation family run business and the son who we met with and worked on stuff, you know, he's gonna be the one that probably takes it over the next 10 years. And his dad is the one [00:08:00] that we solidified details with. the fact that it was family run and local, and it was three generations deep.

[00:08:06] That actually appealed to us as wanting to work with them. And they didn't disappoint. They came out. They did a great job. No, they weren't the cheapest. weren't the most expensive either, but they did a good job and things that weren't right, they came out and fixed it and made it right. When they came back out and it was great and we went with them and part of their marketing right on their website is the three generations of men.

[00:08:29] The grandfather who started it, the dad who runs it, the son is gonna take it over. And that alone is one of the main reasons we went with them. If that story wasn't on there, they would've looked like every single other flooring company out there. So I say that to everyone I work with. How are you gonna stand out? It's a busier market out there in all businesses, and one of the ways that you can stand out in a crowded market is creating a name for your company out there. And in this case, it was them. They were the face of their business.[00:09:00] 

[00:09:00] They're the ones who are making the difference by standing out from other companies. So how can you do that? How can you take this and apply it to your business? Well, when you're a small and medium sized business, putting a face with a name can change everything. It can change the way you're looked at, it can change the way you're trusted.

[00:09:20] So what's the best way for you to approach it? One, I would say . Look at you. Are you the owner? If you're the owner, would you feel comfortable enough to being the face, being the expert in what you do, making that connection with people? If you are, then go for it. Start telling your story. Start telling why you started this business.

[00:09:40] Start creating content around yourself. Video content, written content, man. Do a podcast about the type of work that you do for your business to get people to . You know, believe and trust in you start a YouTube channel. I mean, you don't have to do all those, but these are things that you can do. Tell [00:10:00] your story, have an emotional attachment with your clients.

[00:10:03] What else can you do? What else is there? Well, if you are not the face of your company, you don't feel comfortable with it. , who could be the face of your company? Is there somebody there that just has that personality, that likeness, that, you know, charisma that would pull people in? That's something that you can use too.

[00:10:22] There's nothing wrong with that. Are you? A franchise has multiple locations. Maybe you have one or two franchises that just have workers that excel and go above and beyond that are very likable that you should put in front of people. Your company is only as good as the people that work there and the name that you make for it.

[00:10:40] I actually was also a partner in a previous business that I've discussed on the show before and gave some examples and in that business my wife was a partner and we kind of made her the face of the business because we knew that not only did she love to go out there and meet people and talk to people and make connections, but just who she was [00:11:00] organically.

[00:11:01] People would love to hear. What she had to say, they would listen in and they would trust what she had. And because of her, the business did really well until both of us weren't out of it anymore and then started to do bad because she was that spokesperson and no one ever took those reins. So I'm not saying you can't be successful without creating a name for your company, having to face for your company, but you can get there much quicker and maybe get even more by having that.

[00:11:33] So what else can we do that are items that we can tackle this? So not only can we maybe just, bite the bullet and get in front of it and just work ourselves as the owners. We can find someone in the business, like I said, that is charismatic, that people like, or you know, you can create a fictional character.

[00:11:50] Look at Geico. Do like Geico did. You can completely put a like fictional character. They actually did the cavemen too. Do something like the caveman [00:12:00] break the mold make something animated about your business. But the idea is, is there's a character that people buy into and trust.

[00:12:07] So those are multiple avenues of actionable items you can take on creating a face for your business, which will help you create a name for your company on getting that out there. . I strongly believe that you can sell more products, you can sell more services with a face behind the company that will create the name for you guys, and you won't get lost in the faceless abyss because there are plenty of companies out there that do what you do or do what you wanna do.

[00:12:38] And they have nothing that makes them stand out and you can get one step further from them. 'cause if we look back 20 and 30 years ago, I guarantee you the job that you do or the business that you run, unless you're very, very, very niche and you niche down to a very specific point that yeah, probably no one's like that [00:13:00] for you unless you got there, which most businesses don't.

[00:13:03] There's probably 20 or 30 other businesses that do what you do nowadays compared to 20, 30 years ago when there was a lot less. So you gotta stand out. You need to make a name for your company, you need to have a face behind the company, and you need to get out of the faceless abyss. And I know you can do it because I believe in you that you will find.

[00:13:26] The best way to represent your company, either through yourself by getting up there and letting people know about your history and why you did it, or whether you get somebody who embodies what your company is and you put them out there, or, hey, maybe you come up with something cool like the Gecko, Geico, and that represents your company that people buy into and trust as well.

[00:13:48] That's what I got for you today. I hope you find this information useful and . Able to grow your business past where you have it. [00:14:00] I also encourage you guys to check out the website. I do have a merch store on the website and I got some fun merch on there. Uh, you know, journals, coffee mugs, got some t-shirts and other things like that, and more coming.

[00:14:12] Check it out. I hope you guys enjoyed the show. I'll catch you on the next episode. Keep listening, stay tuned, and I appreciate all you.

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