Before we launched Phlox Partners, back when we decided to join forces and build a strategic marketing agency, some steps were easy.
We decided quickly how we wanted to divide responsibilities. We were easily able to focus our efforts on our areas of strength – Natalie leaning toward content strategy and creation, Maggie bringing her strengths in sales, marketing technology and business strategy.
After taking on some collaborative projects, we were confident we could use our complementary skill sets to create and implement strategic marketing and sales programs for our clients.
There was just one thing holding us back from getting started: a name.
You’d think it would be easy for marketers to come up with a name. After all, hear the word marketing and you’ll probably conjure up Mad Men style pitching of catchy slogans, or billboards with inventive plays on words.
In reality, great naming ideas don’t always just appear out of thin air, especially when you’re focusing on your own business. It may take a meeting or two, and a strategy session or two, to strike gold with a business name, slogan or catchphrase.
However, if you’re planning your business efforts from a strategic standpoint, your name can be a foundation for the way you view your company, the things that are important to you and the values you embrace when serving your clients.
So, we did the next thing that any good strategic marketing professionals would do – we got out a whiteboard and started brainstorming away.
How Did We Choose Phlox Partners As Our Name?
While we pondered dozens of words and phrases, phlox stood out to us for a few reasons:
We wanted a name that focused on our ability to help businesses grow.
As a business owner, what are you looking for from a strategic marketing agency?
Growth.
You want your strategic marketing team to give you the secret sauce that highlights your product’s appeal, boosts its visibility and gets results.
Phlox, when planted properly, has one of the fastest germination times among flowers. Considering the name Phlox gave us an image to go along with our efforts – focusing on helping clients get their business moving fast and being visionary, instead of bogging down in day-to-day efforts.
We wanted to make sure we stood for more than just fast growth.
Naming our strategic marketing agency after a fast-growing plant was an idea that appealed to us, but we also wanted our name to mean a little more.
Phlox, while growing fast, is also among the hardiest of plants. Once you let it take root, it’s contagious and long-lasting.
That type of longevity, even more than fast growth, is what we want our strategic marketing efforts to yield for our clients.
When we build a strategic marketing plan for clients, we make sure we have all the resources in place to make it more than a flash-in-the-pan.
We take time to understand what our client does, who their target customers are, and how they’re differentiated from others who offer similar products and services.
We create marketing messages that resonate.
We develop strategic marketing plans that are based on relationships, not gimmicks. On sustainable growth and development.
And, we love a good play on words.
During the name selection process, we found ourselves drawn to words that were versatile – that had double meanings, that could serve as a noun or a verb, or that sounded the same but expressed different ideas.
You know us marketers – we can’t resist a good play on words.
Phlox is an uncommon word with an unusual spelling (it would be a fantastic option to play on a triple word space in Scrabble). It conveyed a variety of meanings to us, and when we realized its homophone, that sealed the deal.
PHLOX = FLOCKS.
What could be more appropriate for a strategic marketing firm, one that uses its prowess to bring flocks of customers to your business?
We were sold.
Phlox Partners encompasses a few different thoughts, feelings and values for us. We’re committed to:
- Strong, hardy client relationships
- Sustainable growth
- Finding words that fit, have meaning and tell your stories
Finding a business name is a process, and it’s highly individualized. We’ve put together a few tips that might help you if you’re trying to find the perfect name for your business.
