Why You Should Name Your Business Something People Will Mispronounce

When it comes to rules, Paco Underhill, author of Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping, says, “You have to either follow them. Or break them with gusto.” For instance, you’d think that a store would need to have a pronounceable name to be successful. But Underhill tells of a friend who successfully operated a store in NYC that was named after a character in the Superman comic books — Mxyplyzyk. Having a business people mispronounced would also put you in pretty good company: Hoegaarden, IKEA, Hyundai, Hermes, Adidas, Adobe … It’s a long and impressive list. You could even specialize in dogs whose names people can’t seem to get right: Dachshund, Bichon Frise, Keeshond …