“I’ll search for that term with a search engine.”

What’s wrong with the above statement? Technically, nothing. The problem is that no one talks that way. Try this one:

“I’ll search for it on Google.”

Hm… there’s still something wrong. No one says that, either. Last try:

“I’ll google it.”

Jackpot!

These days, the measure of success is if your product/company is a verb. Verbing a company name makes it ubiquitous.

“I’ll record this show on my digital video recorder.”

Wrong!

“I’ll TiVo this show.”

Ding!

Think about it. If this word did not have the ability to be verbed, the makers of TiVo simply would not be as famous. “I’ll record it on TiVo.” You might as well say, “I’ll record it on my VCR.” The word enters the language, but it doesn’t enter your consciousness.

When your company’s name is verbed, it means your company is one of action. It’s not something people use; it’s something people do! And that, my friend, makes all the difference. People like to think they’re doing something.

However, aren’t there other ways to make your company name ubiquitous? Well, no, not really. There’s the McPrefix route. McJob, McDiet…. Yet, we don’t have WalJob. If you can think of a prefix, by all means, go for it, but we don’t live in a prefix world anymore. We live in a world of acronyms and verbs. (Although acronyms may be becoming passe with the onslaught of GSAVE.) I can’t think of any other company with the ubiquitous prefix. It’ll be very, very hard to break McDonald’s stranglehold on the prefix.

That’s why I suggest the verb. Verbing words is what all the hip kids are doing now. Of course, verbing existed before, but the internet age made it cool. Verbing really works with electronic/digital products.

Another route is the ubiquitous noun. Kleenex is trademarked. Band-aid is trademarked. Yet you hear these words more often than tissue and bandage.

However, we now live in a service industry — in the digital age. You’re not making products that will replace what we normally use. It’s just not going to happen anymore. If you’re making a new company, you are most definitely making something people do, not use. That’s why you need to verb.

Don’t believe me? Does anyone remember the Segway? Do you know why the Segway failed? It’s because they didn’t attempt to market their product as a verb! It was the next big thing. It wasn’t something you do. It was just another disappointing toy.

Segway was perfectly verbable, but there was a tiny little culprit in the way: The. The Segway, it became. If they the your product, you are dead. It’s their own fault, though. It was the Segway Human Transporter. They tried to make it cool with the HT, but it didn’t work. Verbing is what’s in. Unfortunately, the visionaries weren’t visionaries in linguistics.

So, all you budding entrepreneurs: Remember, make sure your company name is verbable, and can’t be thed, if you want to really succeed in the 21st century.