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6.06 AM Your company name determines how the world sees your brand | |
Your company name determines how the world sees your brand. When you start building a business, you have a lot of decisions to make. Naming your business will likely be one of the first decisions you make. What will you name your brand? How do you express everything in one or two words so that your brand is recognizable? The company name is not the best place to take a shortcut. Think about it. Fancy brands, famous brands, foreign brands, simple brands. All these names have one thing in common: they are unforgettable brands. To create the perfect look and feel for your new business, focus on the perfect name. Here are some important tips and exercises on how to name your business so that your brand name can play a key role in your success. Why is your brand so important? Your company name is a face. Your business is unlike any other, even if there are hundreds or even thousands of other companies offering the same thing as you. Because it is the only one you control that expresses your unique brand. So your brand name should reflect this. Your company name determines how your brand is perceived not only by potential customers, but also by other companies in your industry. That's why you need a business name that not only expresses your brand's personality, but also communicates it clearly and clearly to the world. It's a key part of your brand identity because it's not just the activity that people will see, it's what they'll hear; it should be something that references your brand and is easy to remember. Business naming guidelines When it comes to business naming, there is a lot to think about. When brainstorming business name ideas, keep the following points in mind: Growth and Pivot As your business grows, your name must remain relevant. Otherwise, your business may be stuck in a closed space or unable to find customers. This is one reason why it can be difficult to include any technical term in your company name (Bell Telephone, Radio Shack): as technology advances and we move on to new products and offerings, your name may become outdated. Consider how other companies like Circuit City and Micro Center use less specific but still technical terms in their names. Acquiring another brand may put you in a difficult position in terms of business naming. Are you simply rebranding the acquired company's assets under your own name? Combine two names? Keep the old name on some assets so as not to alienate longtime fans? When Leys bought Walkers in 1989, they chose the third option. Using your own name or initials is one strategy that will help keep your business name timeless. Alternatively, you could choose a name that has nothing to do with the industry you're in or the service you provide, such as how Apple is a technology brand and has nothing to do with real apples. The name of an international business is different from the name of a business that operates in only one country. And when the countries in which a business operates speak different languages, business naming can be even more challenging. As you work on different business naming ideas, research how each proposed name would be interpreted in the countries where you plan to operate. At best, it will simply sound like an exotic foreign word. Sounds like an inappropriate word in another language. Being an inappropriate word in another language. Be difficult or impossible for speakers of another language. Be the same as the name of another company that already has a trademark registered. If you've already chosen the perfect business name and changing it simply isn't an option, you can translate your name or even rename your brand for overseas markets. But if you haven't yet chosen a name and global branding is part of your business plan, make global markets part of your naming business process - and make sure you ensure you can trademark your chosen name in every market that you are planning. upon entry because: You must register a trademark for your company name in each country in which you operate, which can potentially be a lengthy, complex and expensive process. Once you have determined that there are no issues with your company's trademark in each country, begin the process before you actually start operating. When you're researching the availability of your name, search for URLs with a suggested name. Even if the name is not trademarked, someone else may already own the domain name (or something very similar) that you want to use for your business. In this case, you have two options: choose a different name or see if you can buy the domain name from its current owner. You can also just use the name you want, but use a different top-level domain (.net instead of .com, etc.), but we don't recommend this. Most people consider .com a “main” top-level domain, so they will use this address when searching for your brand. If the .com URL associated with your brand points somewhere other than your website, you'll be missing out on a ton of business. Stand out from the crowd. You don't want to appear too similar to other brands in your space... but you also want your audience to know what you offer.
Find out what other brands in your industry call themselves. This doesn't mean you have to do exactly what everyone else is doing, but it can help you determine what type of business name is best for your brand. For example, there's a reason you won't find many law firms with funny names, but you will find plenty of indie boutiques and bakeries with them. Choosing a name that's completely different from the typical style for your industry can make you stand out from the crowd, but be careful... it could potentially turn off potential clients. Use your industry's culture as a guide to determine which names are appropriate and best suited to clients. Then focus on finding your true name. Find a name that is unique but not too weird Think about the names of brands that you interact with regularly. How do they fit into the industry paradigm of being different (but not completely weird)? Other brands don't need to make their product obvious and instead connect with the audience instantly despite having famous names. Here's a word that you won't think is weird because it's so common, but it's a random word that most people aren't familiar with... and it's not even spelled correctly: Google. How to come up with a company name So now that you know what to do (and what not to do) as you explore brand ideas, it's time for the fun part: coming up with your company name! Grab a notepad and pen (yes, you want to brainstorm by hand... research shows you're more creative this way) and start writing down everything that comes to mind when you think about your business. Write down your brand's personality traits. What are you standing for? What kind of clients are you for? How do you want people to describe your company to their friends when they recommend you? Then write down all the words that might be relevant to your business and industry. How do most people perceive your industry? Does your business cater to industry insiders (which means you can go ahead and use industry jargon in your name) or the end consumer (which means you probably shouldn't)? While brainstorming, decide which business name would best suit your brand. Using your name or initials is a classic move, but it means you'll likely have to illustrate what you do in your logo. Another option is to choose something random and unrelated to your industry, but just like using your name, you need to clearly state what you do through your logo or tagline. The good thing about these names is that they are easier to register than names directly related to your industry or product. But what if you really want to name your business for your product? This can also be done in different ways. Maybe a playful and silly name is perfect for your brand, or maybe you'd be better off with something simpler. Brand naming exercise: Quantity over quality. Yes, you read that right. Unlike most things in life, it's not about coming up with the perfect name right away, but about generating lots of ideas that can build on each other. Teamwork makes the dream work. You can certainly do a lot of brainstorming on your own, but fresh perspectives can be very helpful and surprising. So if you can, involve a wide range of other people and create a brainstorming environment where people feel comfortable sharing wild ideas and judgment is suspended. So don’t just write, but also formalize your ideas. Draw poorly; It's not about artistry, it's about getting the point across. The images can inspire a name, and as a bonus, you now also have a vision for your company logo. Play games. A brainstorming session where you just sit down and write a bunch of names in a stream-of-consciousness style won't last long. Make it fun and productive by combining exercises and challenges. You don't have to come up with every name alone or with a team. Use a thesaurus for synonyms of relevant keywords and naming tools such as Naminum and Namemesh for a wide range of keyword-based name variations. Then play with them to find unique variations or spellings. Iterate. Of course, the golden rule of startups applies here too. Take a break (or go for a walk, or take a nap) and repeat the brainstorming exercise again, and then again. Try to diversify your surroundings to promote a different creative process. If it's a group effort, try it with different groups such as team members, friends, future users, etc. and different group sizes. How to choose the right name for your brand. Here's how to sort through all the ideas and choose the best one: First, group them by similarity (e.g. same root word) and remove any duplicates. Secondly, remove those that are semantically too complex and that would be very cumbersome to write/type. Trust me, you don't want to miss out on future sales opportunities because the sales manager couldn't write your company name and therefore couldn't reach you online. Third, try to say them out loud. Are they easy to say? And do they sound funny? Fourth, test it with other people; preferably people unfamiliar with what you do. Ask them about their initial impressions of the name: how it sounds to them and how it makes them feel. Look at how this relates to the company values and mission that you laid out at the very beginning of the process. Finally, wait a moment and then ask people which name on your list they remember. Which one is stuck? And which one do they most associate with your business? Should you use an online name generator? How about using an online generator to come up with business name ideas? They can provide useful starting points, but you're better off developing your own business name rather than having a generator create one for you. This is the same reason we recommend that you work with a professional graphic designer to create your logo instead of using an online generator: the human touch makes it come alive. Anything the generator puts out will seem generic, and that's the last thing you want your brand to be. But there are many considerations to take into account if and when you do so. Changing your business name is a big deal... and the larger your business, the more ambitious it becomes. Before you decide to change your business name, carefully consider why you want to change it. Typically, renaming a business is part of a larger rebranding and is part of a larger overhaul that includes a new color palette and new look. Companies rebrand for a variety of reasons, including: Changing the products or services they offer. Updated to suit the tastes of modern consumers. By detaching themselves from past prejudices and associations that they no longer hold. Looking for success in new markets. Also consider what you will gain from the new name and what you may lose. You may gain a new audience, but you could potentially alienate existing ones. Carefully consider how a name change could benefit your business and how much the change could potentially slow down or even undermine your success. Then, if you decide to proceed with the name change, make sure you minimize the potential negative impact by communicating the name change to your audience well before rebranding. The last thing to consider before you decide whether renaming your business is worth it is how much the rebranding will cost you. However, this is just one cost associated with changing your business name. You also need to: Register a new URL. Change the design of your site. Update your messages everywhere: social media, email template, signage, SWAG branding. Change your logo design (if your name is part of the logo.) While some of these upgrades cost money, others simply require time and effort. Add these non-monetary costs into your business naming budget to determine the true cost you'll need to make to rename your brand. This means taking stock of everywhere your business name appears: business cards, official invoices, print ads, websites, email signatures, signs, swag...each of these will need to be updated. And not right away - you'll need to launch a campaign telling the world that you've changed your name, and depending on what you're actually selling, you may need to change your product packaging design to a transitional design that displays both names before switching just a new name. When it comes to branding, your company name comes first. But branding doesn't end there. Once you've determined the perfect business name, it's time to create the rest of your brand identity. | |
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