This company’s name (and domain name) is hard to spell.
Xero is a nice looking name. It’s short and easy to remember once you see it.
The problem is that it literally fails the radio test. As a result, about a quarter of the commercial was spent explaining how to spell it.
“That’s Zero… X-E-R-O”.
So it’s not really that good of a domain name. If you tell someone to visit Xero.com and don’t tell them how to spell it, they’ll end up at Zero.com.
Google owns (but doesn’t use) Zero.com. It would be a real bummer for Xero if someone bought Zero.com from Google and used it for a financial products or service. That’s an entirely logical use for Zero.com.
Every time I hear that commercial I think of the failed radio test. The other one I hear often is for zyppah- which is a snoring cessation product. On that one- the announcers have to literally say that it is ‘happy plus the letter z’ backwards. I suppose they think they will stand out with these interesting spellings but to spend 25-33% of the radio time explaining your name and not your product cannot be beneficial.
Mike
“It would be a real bummer for Xero if someone bought Zero.com from Google and used it for a financial products or service” No can do if Xero have a TM on XERO for financial products or services. Pronunciation matters as well. Just saying.
If the company that bought the domain name used it for the same, similar or other services within the natural zone of expansion of Xero’s services in a country where Xero is the senior user than that would be trademark infringement. Xero would have the right to stop the buyer from using the mark.
Stevan Lieberman
http://www.aplegal.com
The “radio test” is an obsolete method of measuring domain quality. When was the last time you listened to the radio with commercials? Me, I think it was 1998.
Even in a tv commercial, you see the words, you see the brand, you hear how they choose to spell it – especially those pharmaceutical companies.
That being said, “X” is often used in place of the Greek ksi letter (ฮ/ฮพ) which makes things more confusing, as there is a rule to be observed in English: at the beginning of a word, X is pronounced as “Z” (Xerox) and in the middle or ending as “eks”. That’s why Xenophon is “Zeenophon” and axis is “aksees” but in Greek it’s “Ksenophon” and “aksees” consistently.
@Acro,
Although it’s called the “radio test”, it’s not limited to radio. Conversations over the phone or face to face … face the same test. In all these situations, we rely on hearing to guess the spelling.
Um, I heard it in a podcast, so clearly it’s not antiquated. People hear stuff all of the time.
Only domainers invoke the “radio test” ๐ Brands are independent of domains. Remember the magazine ads you posted recently? ๐
Everyone is reliant on the “radio test” if it involves hearing the name and /or trying to remember how big is spelled after the fact.
If it isn’t easy to understand when you hear it, remembering how to spell it could be an issue as well
My point is, the days of sole exposure to audio references are over. Sorry it’s so hard to understand.
Brands – and domains – are shared on a large number of apps, including chat, and on social media; they literally become known and viral on non-traditional media first.
Arguing whether xero is a good brand because it sounds like “zero” is strictly an obsession domainers focus on. If that were the case, there would be no brands, and everything would have to be .com.
I think this concept is lost on you. Sole exposure via audio hasn’t been a think since before domain names exist. Passing the radio test is just one of the factors that makes a domain name good.
Let’s agree to simply call it the “recollection test” from now on.
almost everyone that sees the name would pronounce it as Exero. They should just buy Exero and pronounce it the right way. It’s a nice domain.
@Nick,
I’m not so sure about that. Personally, I would have pronounced it as “zero”. A lot of words follow that x=z pronunciation: xylophone, xylem (as in “xylem and phloem”), xenophobia. These days, we all ought to recognize xenophobia.
Xero.com is a good brand name. Works well enough once seen. Obvious drawback if only heard. But life’s about tradeoffs. Xero has enough pros to be worth a con. That wouldn’t be true of Zyppah, which Mike Sallese alluded to. Zyppah has no pros to offset the cons.
Talk to random people and not domainers and ask. There are only 2 words and 1 brand that everyday people use to pronounce X as Z. All other words X is pronounced Ex to them . Ask someone off the street if they know what your example means: xylem, I didn’t. I guess my college education was horrible. Most people see a word or name like Xavier , and pronounce it like Ex-avier
@Nick,
I’m sure it would be a mixture of pronunciations. Don’t know myself what the percentages would be. You’re right that polling people is the way to find out.
A lot of pharmaceuticals brands with the “x” = “z” pronunciation advertise on TV. In that context, they can say and show the name simultaneously, which clarifies things. But we’d be wrong to take our cues from pharmaceutical naming, in any case. Their spelling is often deliberately weird.
I haven’t watch a commercial in years because of fast forwarding on my DVR, so I don’t know any pharmaceuticals that start with x. Whenever I’m around friends and I’m bidding on my phone I ask their opinion and I learned how they pronounce things , like words starting with X. Also, just a side note , for most of them English is a second language.
“xylem … I guess my college education was horrible.”
Sure, I know the word. But don’t ask me to explain how xylem and phloem work. My knowledge of botany is limited to 3 kinds of trees: Palm, Pine, and Other. And the only thing I really know about trees is that they’re made of wood.
I honestly never even once heard of that word before , or phloem. When I googled it, I just remembered learning about photosynthesis but not those words
“Most people see a word or name like Xavier , and pronounce it like Ex-avier”
Some will call me Zavier..
Also Xander pronounce Zander ๐
Totally agree! ๐
I think it looks fantastic. People will just remember it. . . like XEROX
Aha! Now there’s a good example.
I definitely love that name!
First of, My Name starts with X and XERO can be marketed as X ERO (X Hero).. Okay no joke I love it!
It will be easy to brand and you don’t want to be called a ZERO.. especially if you are in the finance business ๐
The X in front makes it unique and techy (Xchange?) It is also really short and sweet!
Andrew – Ran out of thread space, fix your template ๐
The concept isn’t lost on me, I’m simply explaining why “radio tests” belong to a different era. And please don’t tell me a podcast covering Xero (example) would not include the brand in print elsewhere.
I’m telling you why it’s still relevant. What I heard was an ad in a podcast (it was actually a syndicated radio show). I have never heard of Xero before or seen it in print. The company realizes that it needs to tell people how to spell the name (because it fails the radio test) so it explained it twice during the short ad.
That’s the very definition of the radio test and why it still matters.
Try giving your email to someone over the phone. There is huge value in not having to repeat yourself or spell anything. I always say the full email address and then wait for the …. what? repeat that? how do you spell it? If I get instant understanding it’s a good domain.
Yep, that’s a huge issue. Having to spell your name every time you tell it to someone.
Hasn’t stopped them from getting a million customers though, eh?