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Business Name

Step 2: Brand Marketing: The Dos and Don'ts of Naming
 

Why the name of your company is so critical in making a good first impression.

If you don't think the name of your company is critical, think again. You have only one chance to make a good first impression, goes the saying, and a confusing or unmemorable name doesn't help. Be selective and remember, the best names are locked directly to a product benefit or a selling proposition.

 

Here are some strategies:

Simply describe what you're selling. Your name is the first thing consumers know about you, so capture the idea in very simple terms, as Toys 'R' Us did.

 

Connect the name with the strategy. A descriptive name like Lens Express tells consumers that the company is offering speedy contact-lens services. It isn't exactly clever, but a name like that can be effective if the company further defines it by, say, promising delivery within a certain time frame, as Federal Express did with 'Absolutely, positively overnight.' Just remember that you're committing yourself to whatever you say."

Steer away from generic names. To compete, a company has to give customers a sense of why they're going into its store instead of someone else's.

 

Additional Business Name Advice

Use the steps on this page to create a company name or tag line that stands out with distinction.

Part 1:  Create Name/Tag Line Candidates

  1. Come up with a list of keywords related to your business. The more words, the better - verbs, nouns and adjectives.

  2. To lengthen your list of keywords further, look up all the keywords in a thesaurus, or synonym finder, and add other words you see that relate to your business.  

  3. Try combining words on your list. Sometimes this alone sparks a champion.

  4. Consider whether any of the words on your list have a homonym - another word that sounds the same but is spelled differently. If so, add the homonym to your list.

  5. Look back through your list of keywords, and see if any suggest common sayings or clichés.

  6. Write down words that represent the benefits and results your clients/customers receive from your product or service.

  7. Ask yourself what character characterize your customers.

  8. Assuming you wish to be best, consider words that imply mastery, superiority, dominance, major, most excellent. 

  9. Think of what your customers and clients are trying to avoid or get rid of when they buy from you. For a house cleaning service that straightens up as well as cleans, it's chaos.

  10. What wishes, no matter how unbelievable, do clients often voice? For example, a word processing service might call itself Done Yesterday.

  11. Go back through your collection of keywords and find or create combinations of words beginning with the same letter or same initial sound.

  12. Similarly, try out rhymes and near-rhymes for your keywords.

 

Part 2:  Test Your Favorites

  1. Once you have one or more favorites you like, subject them to a few criteria for success.

  1. Is it pronounceable?
  2. Is it concise?
  3. Is it distinctive?
  4. Does it communicate your message?
  5. Will it sound pleasant to the ear? 
  6. Is it something you can stand behind?

  1. Try it out. Before committing yourself to your top choice, get feedback from people who'll be hearing or seeing it for the first time.

  2. For instance, you may be surprised to learn that most people in your target market don't quite know what the word "nemesis" means. In that case, don't use it. Or you may get a very positive reaction but find yourself shy or embarrassed about saying your new name.

  3. If after a few weeks you still can't get used to it, hunt for an alternative. I've seen people invent a business identity that they can't bring themselves to spread wholeheartedly - and their whole investment goes to waste.

  4. Check for legal troubles. 

  5. Use your new business identity everywhere - on business cards, brochures, Web sites, e-mail signature files and in ads