Choosing the right name for your business can be quite tricky, especially with the abundance of emerging businesses. While it may be difficult, still, it’s not impossible. Choosing the right business name will imminently have a significant positive influence on the development of your business while the wrong choice will only lead to obscurity and lack of recognition. Normally, your business name should transmit that you offer high-qualitative, reliable service while at the same time differentiating you from other competing businesses.
What makes for the right business name?
First and foremost, start by asking yourself what you wish the name of your business to convey to your targeted audience. The answer to this question will help you to get started with the right name. Generally speaking, the name should encompass the main features attached to your expertise. If your business name manages to mirror your business’ characteristics, this will help you to convince customers to opt for your services.
On the other hand, opting for a name that is too descriptive might not be the best choice either. Most common mistakes are those concerning geographic or generic names. Including the name of the region in which the business is located might not be a good choice. You must take into consideration that, in the future, you might want to expand your business, and offer diversified services in various locations in the country or even on an international level.
Naming experts strongly recommend entrepreneurs to opt for business names that people can easily remember and relate to on an emotional level (when possible). This is mainly the reason professionals advise entrepreneurs to avoid enumerating initials or numbers, as this sort of business names are nearly impossible to bear in mind.
Nonetheless, abstract names are believed to manage to suggest what the business’ expertise focuses on. And this should be the top priority to every entrepreneur who wants to launch a business.
Be creative
At the present, it is quite a difficult mission to come up with brand-new, creative business names, given the fact that basically every existing word is used in hundreds of ways. Thus, in order to stand out of the crowd, coming up with a creative, catchy phrase might ensure your long-term success. However, experts do say that coming up with invented expressions is not always recommendable. New words may imminently convey the impression of a complex, slightly complicated business, which might not always be the case. Also, if you’re not quite experienced in the business-naming area, you might find this mission quite overwhelming.
Thus, it might be easier for you to use existing words in new, creative ways. For instance, Compaq – the name of a portable computer company – originates from the word “compact”, and this modification was meant to raise attention while at the same time being easy to remember.
Unique and memorable
In the business naming industry, this particular feature is conveyed as “stickiness”, meaning it should easily remain in the head of the targeted audience. This is quite a tricky mission, given the ever-increasing number of companies that emerge on a regular basis. Every entrepreneur wants his/her company to have an unforgettable, unique name, but not all manage to remain fresh during years of business practice. What if Yahoo! would have come up with GeneralInternetDirectory.com instead? While the name would have been much more descriptive, still, it wouldn’t have managed to catch the attention of users.
Simple is better
The shorter the name to your business, the easier it is to remember, and this should be one of your priorities as an entrepreneur. Try to steer clear of using hyphens and multiple characters that will only manage to confuse customers when trying to look you up.
Avoid lack of clarity
Now, you might want your business name to stand out of the crowd, but end up with an unclear, slightly obscure name, which will make customers wonder what services you provide. While it is a positive thing to have a unique business name, still, that shouldn’t mean you should opt for irrelevant connotations. If your business name is a mystery to customers, it will remain so.
Also, there are cases in which something slightly metaphorical might work perfectly, say for a branding firm. Metaphorical hints hidden in business names work especially if you’re trying to reach out to a mass audience. Nonetheless, if you’re planning to launch a fast food restaurant or to brand your sewing services, this might be utterly inappropriate.
What would your company name look like in a Google search?
This is something you should anticipate. As your business will develop, you will imminently display your services in the online directory as well. Thus, consider looking into what keywords would people use when searching for the services you provide.
Check availability
While it may sound obvious, before getting your hopes up that you have found the perfect name for your business, it is advisable you check whether you can use it or not, so that you are sure that you aren’t liable for infringement on someone else’s trade name. You might consider hiring an attorney to check this particular aspect. If, in worst case scenario, you infringe on another business’s trademark, you will imminently get into alegal battle that will affect your success and shadow your reliability in the future. Thus, this move will only ensure that you won’t be dealing with any legal battles. Also, you might want to avoid opting for a business name that is overly similar to a distinct competing business in your domain.
Seek the assistance of professionals
Coming up with the right business name can be tricky indeed. Thus, a lot of entrepreneurs turn to experts in the domain to help them to settle which business names are memorable, and which are mundane and slightly unattractive. Turning to specialists might be the right choice, particularly if your field of expertise is one in which the business name has a strong influence on your long-term success.
Images “How Name Your Business sign in a conceptual image / Shutterstock.com“
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