When parents-to-be are expecting their baby, one of the most frequent questions they hear from their friends is “Have you already chosen the name?” The name you choose for your beloved descendant will play a major role in their life.
Translated into the business context, it’s extremely important to come up with the right name for your newly founded small business. It will affect its popularity, as well as its recognizability. That’s why we’ve put together a handy guide that will help you give your business an original and purposeful name.
Generate associative ideas
The name you decide to use for your business should unambiguously reflect your business mission. Because of that, the first task on the path to the proper business name should be brainstorming.
The procedure is simple – gather your employees (if any), sit down and take a piece of paper or make notes on your computer. Think hard about the main purpose of your business and try to generate as many interrelated associations as possible. Include all the parts of speech you can think of in this process, paying special attention to verbs and adjectives, as well as acronyms.
What’s more important for this part of the name-giving operation is not to discard a single idea, no matter how ridiculous it might look or sound. When you leave them aside and get back to them a few days later, you might be surprised with some original names you’ve come up with.
Think globally
This is the age of globalization and you should choose a name for your business with that in mind. If you limit your new brand to the local or domestic area, you’ll undermine its international potential.
Even if it might seem too far-fetched at the moment you’re filling out the business registration form, you can never tell when it will become an internationally acclaimed business. For instance, if you look at the story about the inception of Airbnb, you’ll see that it was formed out of the mere inability of their founders to pay the rent. Now they’re one of the most lucrative international accommodation websites.
Therefore, dream big if you want to become a successful enterprise and include that grandeur into your business name. However, avoid too pretentious a name, because it will look ridiculous and might provoke derision with your business rivals or clients. For instance, an e-store that contains the surname of its founder and an additional descriptive word is a great choice for both local use and international appeal.
Incorporate original meaning
While the name of your business can be complexly rid of any practical meaning, try to incorporate some meaningful features in it, if possible.
The greatest advantage of this move is the fact that your prospects will immediately be able to recognize what you do. At this point, it would be great if you could combine the business name with a suitable domain name. For instance, a businessperson preparing to found a cleaning business can go for a name that would call to action, such as clean.me or something similar.
Including some meaning related to your business will also have a positive effect on your visibility in search engines. Namely, more often than not the keywords in your business name will match the online queries made by Internet users, improving your SERP rankings.
However, bear in mind that most of such catchy domain names are usually taken. Still, don’t fall into despair, but check at ICANN.com if the domain name you’re aiming at has already been sold. If so, continue with your inquiry and identify the owner of the name. When you reach them, ask them if they’re willing to sell that name to you. Moreover, if you can’t afford to pay it, suggest a business collaboration. If not, consider choosing an alternative close to it.
Keep it short and simple
If you want your business to resonate well in your customers’ ears, keep it short and simple. This rule is applicable in every single niche because it will save your business many irritable drawbacks.
First and foremost, keeping the name short will reduce the possibility that your business name will be misspelled or misheard by your customers.
Apart from that, the tax and legal administration are less likely to make mistakes regarding your business name. Such mistakes are pain in the neck and can cost you a lot of time and energy that you would otherwise spend developing your venture.
Moreover, if you want to find new clients online, you should avoid using multi-word business names. Also, packing too many syllables into your business name is highly likely to cause confusion and ambiguity. Both Internet users and search engines like straightforward business names, so think about that when choosing the business name.
In line with that, more Internet users and will soon get familiar with your business if your name sends a short but clear message. It’s no wonder that Twitter, Skype, Snap and other popular online brands promote clipped and impactful names.
Insist on uniqueness
In order to be sure that your business name is unique, conduct a research on your local trademark administration website. For instance, in the US you can perform this check in a matter of seconds on the USPTO website. If the name you’ve opted for is taken, repeat the entire procedure to come up with a new business name.
A rule of thumb is that two different businesses shouldn’t share the same business name. Nevertheless, you can make an exception if you realize that there’s another business with the same name as yours, but it’s situated across the globe, working in a different niche.
However, whenever it’s possible, you should insist on your entrepreneurial uniqueness, especially if your doppelganger works in the same niche as you do. Even physically far away, you might have a keyword clash, due to which you might lose some potential customers.
Finally, every growing business undergoes numerous changes. What’s important here is to keep the brand popularity intact during these processes. Having an original, yet impactful name will serve as the best brand preservative regardless of all the changes the brand experiences.
Conclusion
A wisely crafted business name is your ticket to success. Your business partners will easily memorize such a name and your customers will gladly share it with others. What’s more, it will be more immune to various fluctuations of the market, preserving the value of your brand. For all these reasons, follow our tips and come up with an authentic business name that will represent your business in the best light possible.
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