6 Tips To Make Naming Your Business Easier
It’s an exciting place to be: you have a business model, your business plan is underway, you’ve identified your target customer, and scoped out your market. All that is left is settling on your business name. After reading “7 Mistakes to Avoid When Naming Your Business” by our President, Susan Payton, I wanted to write about naming a company from a marketing perspective.
When you’ve just begun conceptualizing your enterprise you may have a name or a phrase to which you have an emotional attachment that you’ll want to use for your business without any research or forethought. It’s great that you have the enthusiasm to forge ahead, but it’s important to do some study before you commit to that name. After all, you’ll be stuck with it for the life of your business, so it should be well-planned. Here are six things to keep in mind as you develop your company’s name:
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Investigate the Market
Wherever you intend to do business, look around and study the names of other similar businesses. If you see a lot of resemblances to the name you’re considering, you already have an idea of which words to avoid in the development of your business names. You may feel more secure following the herd, but going in the opposite direction is a great opportunity to stand out.
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Think About Your Online Presence and Search Engines
Before you commit to a business name, look online for available URLs and social media handles. While it’s ideal if you can secure both with your business name, it won’t always be possible. Look for alternatives to expensive and highly coveted phrases. There are tools available that make it easy to find creative options
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Make It Easy to Say and Spell
Ask your friends and family to read and say your proposed name, and give you their feedback. While your name’s meaning may appear straightforward to you, it is good to get another perspective and run it by advisors you trust. Remember that you’ll likely be saying this phrase over and over for many years to come, so listen for phrasing and flow.
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Look for Unintended Meanings
We live in a world that grows more connected with each year, so it’s important to consider whether your company name has an unintended meaning in other languages. We’ve all heard the urban legend about the Nova car not being a big seller in Mexico, where the name means “no go.” Potential acronyms are also another source of inadvertent chagrin so pay attention.
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Connect It With Branding
You may want to stick with a simple name to avoid complications, which is great if that is a part of your branding strategy. However, if you are opening an upscale spa, “Sally’s Spa” does not communicate sophistication, and doesn’t help you in the way of branding. Your company name should use wording to communicate traits in line with your brand identity.
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Appeal to Your Customer
Ultimately, you may love your business name a whole lot, but if it doesn’t appeal to your customer, you may hurt your company’s chance of survival. During the development of your business plan, you have a substantial opportunity to define your target customer and that is who you most need to think about when finalizing your business name.
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