How to find the perfect business name

A business name is more than just words – it is a representation of your company and brand. The process of choosing a business name may seem simple at first, but there are many factors that play into creating a successful one.

David Poulos, director of marketing at Pinnacle Advisory Group, thinks the creation of your company’s name should be not be taken lightly.

It should be something you are proud of and willing to live with for quite some time, he said. While you’re never trapped with a name, choose one with the intention of maintaining it for years.

Having a name that resonates with your consumers can save you money since you won’t have to spend advertising dollars clarifying a muddled message.

A good name can also lift you above competitors, help you reach new markets and open doors to further growth.

What a good business name should include

While there are various rules and exceptions on what should be included in a good business name, experts agreed on some common elements. First and foremost, a business name should focus on the message you want to portray.

“The name chosen should reflect the attributes that you want to transmit to the customer,” Poulos told Business News Daily. “The best names are so indicative of a customer’s needs that it seems obvious.”

A good name should be short – two to four – syllables and easy to pronounce. Warren Diggles, president, and creative director of Diggles Creative said short names are ideal because they tend to be very brandable and easy for consumers to remember.

While your name will embody new or existing words, there area unit professionals and cons with every choice. made-up words – suppose Exxon – scale back the chance of confusion with competitors, however, it will take plenty of your time and promoting before you which means is established with customers.

Existing names go with established meanings, however, those terms are seeming to be employed by a number of your competitors.

An overriding concern regarding employing a common term as a part of your business’s name is whether or not trademark and domain names area unit out there, and plenty of common words area unit already taken in these areas.

“If someone in a similar industry to yours is already using a particular business or organization name, you should not use it, nor should you want to,” said Diggles. “You should also avoid any name that is confusingly similar.”

To help business homeowners establish the most parts of an honest name, Alexandra Watkins, founder, and chief innovation officer of naming firm Eat My Words, developed a 12-point analysis checklist: the Scratch and Smile take a look at.

Her philosophy wont to develop the list was designed on the thought that a business name ought to cause you to smile instead of scratch your head.

SMILE: The five qualities of a super sticky name

• Suggestive: It evokes something about your brand.
• Memorable: It is rooted in the familiar.
• Imagery: It is visually evocative to aid in memory.
• Legs: It lends itself to a theme for extended mileage.
• Emotional: It moves people.  

SCRATCH: The seven deal breakers of a name

• Spelling-challenged: It looks like a typo.
• Copycat: It is similar to competitors’ names.
• Restrictive: It limits future growth.
• Annoying: It is forced or frustrates customers.
• Tame: It is flat, undescriptive or uninspired.
• Curse of knowledge: Only insiders get it.
• Hard to pronounce: It is not obvious or is unapproachable.

How to come up with a business name

There square measure a range of ways you’ll use to plan a reputation for your company. Poulos and his team found the foremost eminent one to be a customer-centric naming methodology.

Poulos recommends beginning the method by gathering associate degree combination of assorted department employees or consultants to develop a listing of characteristics that you just wish your company to square for.

This group action session ought to lead to a series of on-brand character attributes that you just will then match with a group of words that square measure tacit by every trait.

With the tacit words, craft a series of word mixtures that bring out the assorted character traits and work them into a reputation that has that means for the client. this could evolve into an extended list of first-round business name concepts.

After you have your first set of potential business name ideas, Poulos suggests polling potential customers rank each name from 1 to 20, based on how well they fit or describe your business.

Use the consumer poll to narrow your list down to the top five candidates. Verify that these top candidates, culturally and linguistically, will not create a conflict in the countries where you want to operate.

A critical next step that many business owners skip is to research each of your top names for a corporate registry, trademarks, patent and domain name availability. Diggles said you should choose a name with an available .com domain.

“Unless you are a government, educational institution, or a nonprofit, you definitely want a .com,” said Diggles. “Your customers will automatically assume that your website is a .com because it is the most widely recognized name on the internet.”

Diggles warned against choosing a .net or .biz domain when the .com version is already taken by someone else – it confuses your customers and will likely send them to the wrong website.

He said the best option is to choose a name that allows you to register for all versions (.com, .net, .biz), if possible, to protect your company name.

After researching your top potential business names, you may have one clear winner or a few viable options. Either way, create a focus group composed of friends and family to analyze your top names and verify the final result. Diggles advised incorporating the four tips below when addressing members of your focus group.

• Write out the name(s) of your business and ask people to pronounce it.
• Say the name and ask people how they would spell it.
• Ask people what the name means to them.
• Check-in with members of your focus group the day after your meeting and ask them if they remember the name.

Common business-naming mistakes

Business names matter a lot. While a great name can spark a successful breakthrough, the downside of choosing a poor business name or one that doesn’t resonate with consumers can be significant as well. There is a fine balance you must achieve when creating the name of your business.

Many owners name their businesses after a specific product or service they provide. However, this can create issues later when the company offers goods or services unrelated to its name.

Similarly, if the name of your business seems completely unrelated to the goods or services you provide that, too, can have a negative effect.

Unless you have a large marketing budget to build your brand, an obscure name can take your target audience a long time to remember and understand, and it won’t be easily visible on search engines.

“[A name that is] Too literal or plain can only work if the logic holds and the business doesn’t plan to evolve or change direction under that name,” said Poulos.

“Too fancy, and the audience won’t know what it means or what business they’re in. Too inside, and you limit your target audience and push away those outside the core business, even if they have a use for your products or services on a peripheral basis.”

Along the same lines, creating a name with an odd or uncommon spelling can also be troublesome. Names with unusual spellings can cause issues, particularly with online searches. You can potentially miss out on new leads if consumers try to look you up online and can’t find you.

When you finally come up with the perfect business name, you’re not done. It is important to do extra research on available domain names and social media handles before registering your business name.

“The No. 1 mistake that we see is choosing a business name before finding out if the .com domain is available,” said Diggles. “People register their business name with the state, set up bank accounts, and then search for a domain name and realize it is not available.”

When branding your business, it is important to maintain consistency across all major online and social media platforms. Since domain names and social media handles are a commodity, you can’t assume that your desired business name will be available for use.

It is unlikely that the perfect business name will come to you immediately. Evaluate names for their potential rather than choosing one based on personal preference. Although the process of naming your business can be a challenging one, the end result will be worth the effort.

“You have to live with [your business name] for quite a while, so it should be something you’re proud of, comfortable with and that makes sense to the audience you’d like to reach,” said Poulos. “Don’t pick your first choice without working through some sort of process to research and vet its viability in your market.”

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