How To Choose A Business Name

When people start their new business, they spend a lot of time thinking about how to choose a business name.

It can be quite stressful and time consuming working out the perfect name for your new baby.

Your business name is a core part of your brand.

A way for potential, current and future customers to recognise and associate with you and what your business stands for.

Your business name also needs to reflects your business in a positive manner.

Trying to keep all of this in mind, as well as being quirky, funny, smart –  can be extremely overwhelming.

This blog post is aimed at helping you make your quest of how to choose a business name a lot easier.

 

How To Choose A Business Name  – Things To Get Right

The following is a list of things that you should considering when choosing the right name for your business.

 

1 – KISS

Following the simple mantra, keep it simple stupid.

Potential customers are not going to remember long-winded, random names.

Simple names are names that people are going to remember and be able to find you easily on the internet.

 

2 – Make sure it relates to your actual business

How do you want people to feel?

Does your name relate to what your mission and your values are?

You need to ensure that your name, which is part of your brand reflects this.

 

3 – Does the domain name exist?

Before you start designing logos and websites, check to make sure that your domain name is available.

You can find out and buy your domain name from sites such as GoDaddy or Crazy Domains.

 

4 – Be more than 6 letters

Ensure that your business name is more than 6 letters long.

It will be very hard to find a domain name that has not already been bought by businesses or by people who buy domain names for a living.

 

5 -Brainstorm

Ask a select group of people about their ideas for a business name after you have explained to them your business idea and target market.

Don’t get into a committee meeting about it, and need to get consensus on your final decision – but it may help to get other people’s input.

 

6 – Easy to say and spell

In order to be a name that people talk about, they need to be able to say and spell it.

It needs to be something that they will be able to spell correctly when typing into Google or another search engine when they are searching for you.

 

7 – Use a Simple Name With A Catchy Slogan

In some instances, you may need to have more words in your business name in order to explain what your business does.

In those situations,it may be that you have your business name, and then add a catchy slogan or tagline to explain your business in a little more detail.

 

8 – Registering your name

As soon as you have decided on a name, register it with the relevant authorities.

People start businesses all the time, and you don’t want to get caught out with your great business idea being taken by someone else.

 

How To Choose A Business Name – Things Not To Do

1 – Don’t come up with your name first

You should work through your business idea, your business plan and who your target audience is, before choosing a name.

This will give you the insight to choose a name that appeals to your niche audience rather than choosing a name that they will not be able to relate to.

 

2 – Don’t copy your competitors

Choosing a name that is similar or the same as your competitors is just plain rude.

It is OK to be in competition with businesses offering similar products and/or services.

There is enough money in the world for everyone to be successful.

But having the same name, especially if you are new to the game will backfire on you.

 

3 – Dont be generic, be memorable

You won’t stand out in a crowd or in a sea of competition with a generic name.

With so many social media platforms and advertising available, your name and how unique it is, will play a role in ensuring that potential customers remember it.

 

4 – Trademark issues

Be careful of choosing a name that already has a trademark on it.

It would be useful to check your government business name registers as well as trademark and copyright registers.

This way, if there is anything registered or pending, you will know before you get too invested in your name.

I have a friend who started her own business, and came unstuck after a successful market stall, where she receiving an email threatening legal action if she didn’t change her business name.

The name she was using had been trademarked and registered a year before.

There was a lot of tears and work to do to build her business again with a different name.

 

5 – Don’t be cute

Joining two words together or cutting words in half – may have the reverse effect on people.

People may think that you are just trying too hard.

 

6 – Stay away from trends

Trends come and go, but your business name will be with you forever.

Be careful of choosing a name that will last throughout “the ages”.

Choosing a name that is based on current high performing keywords may work in the short term, but as a longer term strategy it may backfire.

 

There you have it, a complete guide for the do’s and don’ts of how to choose a business name.

Are you having problems coming up with the perfect business name?

Comment below