Well thought out business name
A business name is what identifies your brand; it’s what people refer to when they talk about your business. Having a good business name is an important thing because it helps reflect your face to your customers. Giving your business the wrong name can break your business, for example, naming your Mexican restaurant Taco Del Mar and not selling any seafood. It can fail to connect with your customers. A clear, powerful name helps with your branding and marketing efforts. You cannot set up a business without having a name; in fact, it’s one of the things you are asked to provide when registering your business.
So, how do you go about deciding on the right business name?
Relate your name to the .com domain
Before you decide on a business name, see if the domain for that name is available. Securing a .com domain name gives you an edge over your competitors. While you may find alternatives like .biz, .net, and .org, they may not be your best choice. Often, customers will associate a name with a .com domain extension with an established business.
What you may find is that someone may already be owning the desired .com name you want to use, so you can consider buying from them if they sell it reasonably. You can use GoDaddy.com and NetworkSolutions.com to see if the .com domain name is available.
Choose a name that communicates a meaning
The name you choose should be able to convey something meaningful. It should also be positively related to your business. Ask yourself if people are able to instantly have an idea of what your business is all about just from the name. Choosing names like Zappos, Yahoo, and Google may seem appealing because of their catchiness; however, these can cost you when it comes to branding. Companies that choose these kinds of brand names tend to have the financial muscle to help with branding or they are already established brands, probably they changed their name from another established business.
Some good examples of business names that convey meaning are; Cling, Afire, Canny, and Administer.
You may even consider involving your fans to help you decide the name you should give your business. Go to social media sites like Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram where you engage your fans and followers. Tell them that you are starting a business and would like to have their input regarding the name. They will of course help you with some names, but you also want to see if they work or don’t. Let the fans understand what your business will be about and what you intend to capture from the name.
Choose a name you’re happy with
Since you’re the owner of the business, you want to get a name that you will live with. A business name is not like a logo that you can change with time, it tends to remain the way it is for a long time unless the business changes hands or enters into other agreements. So, choosing a name that you love allows you to remain attached and connected to your business. It is most likely that the name you choose will also impress your customers. If you are happy with the name, it is most likely it resonates with your customers. Spend time when looking for a name and make sure you get the right one.
Use related words in a creative way
When we were looking to start our agency Deprigo. The following three were required.
1. One Word Name,
2..com Domain has to be available.
3. Has to be Unique, Conversation starter
After couple of months and many names we name, the final choice was Deprigo >
De – Design
Pri – Print
Go – Go
You may be tempted to use keywords in your business name; however, it may not be the best thing to do. Consider a name like General Motors; it may have worked for the automobile brand, however, these days it doesn’t work anymore. That being said, having a modified version of similar keywords can work so long as it expresses your business theme – what your business is about. If you want to create a name that’s catchy and memorable, use alternative versions of some common words that relate to the service or product you offer. Take, for example, Attensa, it seems to be a perfect choice for the content aggregation platform. If you look at this name, it plays around the word “attention.” So it somewhat relates to the service of the company. Other examples you can look at are Digg instead of dig, Compaq instead of compact, and Flickr instead of flicker.
The only downside with this kind of creativity is that you make it difficult for the customers to exactly remember spelling the name. They may spell it in a different way, however, with Google’s artificial intelligence and other technologies, it is possible for the search engine to guess what a user may have been looking for.
Choose a simple name
Refrain from selecting a name that is complicated or too long. If your customers find your name to be complex, they may not be able to recall it or even find it easily on online. Also, make sure that you have a name that is pleasing to your customers. You need to have a name that sounds familiar, pleasant, and invokes positive feelings. Besides, you need to choose a name that you and your customers can remember and pronounce well without difficulties.
You may want to be creative, however, don’t overdo it. Just keep it simple.
Don’t use your own name
If you’re not an established brand, you want to refrain from using your own name. You will realize that your name doesn’t offer anything meaningful or beneficial to your business. It also doesn’t mean a lot to your potential customers. You may have problems when you name it the same as your personal name when you decide to sell it in the future or when you want to expand. While there may be a few cases where you could incorporate your own name within the brand name, in most situations, it doesn’t work well. For example, Automattic was named after its founder Matt and takes in some characters from the name of the founder. PageRank what was named after the co-founder of Google Larry Page takes in some characters too. That being said, it is best you avoid using your name in your business name.
Keep it unique from your competitors
When it comes to business identity, you want to be unique, and branding is one way to differentiate your business from others. You don’t want to have a business that is close to your competitor. It could mean that you are imitating or being unoriginal and it sends the wrong image to your brand. Besides, a name that’s similar to other businesses can potentially confuse your customers. Often, you may find that your repeat customers are landing on your competitor’s company thus losing customers and sales.
Wrap-Up
These are some of the tips you can consider when choosing a business name. You need to keep your customers in mind when deciding on the name because you want them to be happy and able to pronounce or spell it easily. Also, ensure you relate the name to what you offer. A simple, creative name can help in branding your business. On top of that, you need to look at the availability of the domain name so that you use it as the brand name. This way, you won’t have a business name that is different from your domain name.
