When you have an idea for a business, it’s an exciting moment because you realize you will be entering the business world in much the same way many other great people out there have done. You’ve looked over the numbers, got your finances in a row, and even spoke to the bank to see whether or not you could get a loan against your new business to get started. The problem you’re having now is that you have to devise a name for it.
You know that your product or service is solid, but the biggest catch is that the project name you’ve had in place has been your placeholder, and it’s always been temporary until now. Choosing the right name for your business is crucial. It creates your brand’s image in the minds of your customers and your competitors, and it shows what the company is all about. Branding is always important in a business, but the business’s name will significantly impact that branding. Using a name that’s overly descriptive or takes up too many words will be less memorable. But you don’t want to do something too short or too complicated that people can’t understand what it means. So, in this article, we’ve put together the top factors to consider when choosing a business name.
- Get to know your brand identity first. The name that you choose for your startup business is a big decision, and once you’ve put it into play, it’s there for the long haul. It sets the tone for the way that people think about your company and what they envision when they talk about your company. You have to understand what your brand identity is before you can choose a name for it.
- Make it unique, but not too unique. You want the name of your business to be memorable and easy to say, so you want to make it unique, but you don’t want to make it so unique that people forget what it is. If you keep it short and sweet, then you’re going to find it easier on social media and you’re going to be able to use a less descriptive name that’s not so clunky when it’s typed into Google search. You want to make sure that it doesn’t rub up against the keywords of your competitors but at the same time stands out on its own.
- It’s got to be simple. Choosing a word that sounds great on paper is easy, but you’ll struggle if you don’t know what that word means or if it doesn’t make sense to your customers. Company names can and should be creative, but they should be easy to deliver the message that they have about your brand. You want to ensure your customers are not confused about what you do and find your brand name familiar.
- Don’t step on any toes. Before you pick the name for your business, you need to make sure that you’re not going to be breaching any trademark issues. Trademarks really do matter, and you have to make sure that you’re not going to have to worry about Changing your company name straight away. Those impending lawsuits are impending for a reason, so make a point of ensuring that you are not stepping on any trademark toes.
- Make sure that it’s easy to pronounce. Naming is such a challenging part of the branding process for business, but you need to make sure that the name that you do pick is easy to pronounce. It should be easy to read and say, and you have to make sure you test it with people who are familiar with what your company does but don’t know your personal specifics directly. If you ask somebody what they come to mind when they hear of your business name, they should be easily able to identify what you do.
- Think about your company mission. When you think about your new company, you have to consider longevity. Sure, you may be able to rebrand later down the track, but most people like to choose a business name that is going to stick around for a while. Picking a name that accurately reflects your service or your product gives your business the cachet that it needs, as well as the culture that you are trying to protect.
- Avoid keyword issues. A very common mistake in thinking about a new name for a business is thinking about only how it relates to your industry. Make sure that you are researching the name with tools like Semrush to identify how popular the name is for organic and paid searches. If you do this, you’re going to avoid the SEO issues that could hit you in the future.
- Consider going a little bit out there. You can create a word that’s not even in the dictionary you should want to. You can then own the name outright, and you will not have to worry about highlighting your differentiation because it will be right there in the name. It will also help you secure domain names and websites because somebody may not have bought them. It should be catchy enough to be memorable, so think about the business names out there now that you remember off the top of your head and think about what makes them so catchy and memorable, too. Once you do this, you can determine your business’s name.
Make sure your business name links to your story. Your brand story is so important, and given that we communicate stories to our customers, it’s very important that you consider how you tie your business name to it. You need to consider a bit more than whether or not the name sounds cool when you are choosing it.
