Finding the right name for your startup can have a significant impact on your success. However, it can also be challenging and time-consuming. The wrong name can do worse than failing to connect with customers; it can also result in insurmountable business and legal hurdles. In contrast, a clear, powerful name can be extremely helpful in your marketing and branding efforts.
Whether you leverage your network to help in naming your startup or small business to find a name on your own or you are going to hire professionals to help with that. Here are 12 helpful suggestions on how to come up with a winning name for your business:
1. Avoid hard-to-spell names
- You should avoid getting potential customers confused about how to find your business while you are marketing your business online.
- You want to avoid having to continually correct the misspelled version of your name. Keep it simple.
2. Think about what you want your business name to convey
- The company name is an essential part of your company’s brand identity.
- The name will appear on your business cards, letterhead, website, promotional materials, products, and pretty much everywhere in print to identify your company or your company’s products and/or services.
3. Test your company business name with others
- It’s good to involve your friends, family, employees, and customers in finding a name for your company.
- However, there are risks as people may be upset if you don’t pick a name they think is excellent.
- If you are planning to involve others, pick a small group of people who understand you and your business (and pick a mix of types of brains so that you can have some variety) this will help you in finding the best name to fit your business!
- Once you’ve selected a few possible choices, you can share them with your trusted friends, family, and customers to get some feedback about the name.
4. Get the .com domain name
- We advise securing the “.com” domain name for your business rather than alternatives such as .net, .org, .biz, or other possible domain extensions.
- Customers tend to associate a .com name with a more established business.
- Undoubtedly, someone will already own your desired .com name, but many domain owners are willing to sell their name for the right price.
- You need a corresponding domain name for a website and want to avoid any trademark disputes. Also make sure to grab your desired business name on popular social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
5. Be careful with geographic names
- Some people use their city, state, or region as part of their company name.
- If you plan only to work in your city, then this might serve you well.
- But a geographic name could hinder you later. You can find lots of examples who succeed in their city/county but once they decide to go out of their city/ county they change their name to something else to suit the changes they want to go through.
6. Avoid obscure words
Company names that help tell stories can be powerful and memorable (think about Google, for example). But obscure words or references might be difficult to spell or pronounce. Be especially sensitive if you’re trying to reach a mass audience (such as the Internet). Obscure or invented names can work – Xerox is a great example – but this often requires a huge marketing budget and tremendous effort.
7. Try to stand out from the crowd
The worst approach a company can take is to mimic its rivals. All you need to do as a startup is to find new creative ideas that your competitors don’t have. This will help you to shine and to outperform your competitors, even if you all provide the same services or products, the creative idea will differentiate you from others.
8. Use subtle psychology
Getting into the psychology of words can’t be easy at all. The range of advice includes choosing a two-syllable word, rather than one or three, and finding an onomatopoeia to evoke a sound associated with whatever service you are providing.
The researches show around the emotional impact of certain word categories; fruit names are apparently calming (Apple, Blackberry).
Taiff hopes that you have enjoyed this article, and now you have a clearer understanding of choosing your business name, will be glad to work together!
For any further comments feel free to contact us!
