Naming a business is one of the most exciting and frustrating things about starting a new business. Few business owners understand the impact that the name of the business has on its future success. However, finding the right name you’re your business is one of the most important decisions you’ll make. Naming your business is the first step in establishing your brand identity and will form the basis for all of your future marketing and brand decisions in the future. Here are a few tips that you need to consider when christening your business.
What to consider
When naming your business, you need to think about what it is that you are actually offering. When you think about your company, how do your products and services make you feel? A good business name not only helps customers visualize what you sell, but evokes feelings about those products or services. You’ll want to choose something that evokes positive feelings about the type of business you run so that customers will begin to create positive associations with your business. It is these associations that will drive casual visitors to buy from you and turn one time buyers into loyal customers.
In addition, your business name needs to be short and catchy. This will help people remember it. Shorter business names also help you find domain names that will represent you well on the Internet.
Last but not least, your business name should include a relative key word that describes the products or services you are offering. This will help reduce the level of advertising you need to do in order to help people understand what you are offering. For example, if your company sells widgets from the Appalachian Mountain region, an appropriate name could be Appalachian Widget Company. Not only does the name indicate what the company sells, it lets customers know where they are located, which will help with local SEO efforts later.
What to do
Now that you have gotten your bearings about what your company is all about, it’s time to get starting figuring out what to name your business. Start by simply brainstorming some ideas and writing them down on paper. Many people will tell you that it’s good to start with a handful of relevant keywords or phrases that relate to your business that you can play around with in order to come up with a few solid ideas. Involve family and friends in the brainstorming process in order to get different ideas down on paper.
It is important to note that you need to ensure that your business name is unique. Many people have the mistaken impression that by using a business name that sounds like a popular website or is a common misspelling of a popular website will land you a lot of misdirected traffic. And while it might, you will never get an opportunity to create your own unique brand identity, which will limit your growth in the future. Not to mention, the misdirected traffic will quickly realize they are on the wrong site and move on without buying anything from you.
A lot of successful companies spend a lot of time thinking about their customers when it comes to naming a business. They think about who these people are and what is relevant to them. This way they can make their business more relevant to their target audiences.
Once you have created a short list of names, it’s time to ensure that these names are available for use under copyright laws and aren’t associated with companies that have experienced some negative situations such as bankruptcy, are under litigation or other event that might reflect negatively on your new business. Before you decide on a name and register it with the business office, use a service such as InfoTrack business name search to ensure there are no barriers to using the name you’ve chosen.
Taking the time to come up with the right name for your business will go a long way to ensuring that your company will not only survive, but thrive.
