10 Tips for Naming a Startup or Small Business
You might have a business idea that you want to turn into a reality, but naming it is a whole new problem that needs to be tackled. It takes a lot of time to agree on a single name that will stay with you for a long time.
There are a few factors that you need to take into consideration before you do it. We have a list of ten tips that will help you naming your new startup or small business.
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Think about what you want the name to convey
A name conveys identity. That is why you need to consider it before it is too late. It will appear on your website, physical store, products, and business cards. If it is catchy and easy to say, people will remember it and associate it with a particular niche. Click here to read more.
If you are service-oriented, it is best to opt for something that will include the name’s service. One example could be “Easy Tax” if you create a company that handles taxes for people. On the other hand, if you are in a rural area, it is much better to go with a friendlier hometown name. Urban businesses need to opt for a more corporal image, so their identity needs to project it.
Naming a startup: brainstorm a lot
As soon as you agree with your team about the idea that the name should convey, try looking at different translations of that word. Go to Google Translate and check all the languages. You might find out something that clicks in Latin or Greek, which will put an even bigger accent. Put all those names on a whiteboard and go through a voting process. The one with the most votes wins.
Keep it short and simple
The most popular brands are short and sweet. This means that it will be easy to remember and easy to write. Brands like Microsoft, Apple, Tesla, or Google are short and sweet. They found the sweet spot when it comes to length and spelling.
Avoid literal and narrow names
If you focus on only one niche and name your business after that, it might become difficult to scale when the time comes. Something like “Lenovo Repairhouse” might sound great at the beginning if you only know how to serve one type of laptop. But that might become a problem when you want to scale to other products and services.
Test it with other people that aren’t in your industry
When you decide on a few final contenders, call your friends and family, and ask them what they think. You can also seek help from professionals like Brandlance to help you develop a branding name and unique identity.
Since most of them will not be in your industry, you will get an idea of how the message will be conveyed to a straight audience. They will give you great feedback, which might influence your final decision, and that extra push will be the thing you need to set the gears in motion.
Naming a small business: don’t go with plain words
Since Apple is a bare word, you might be tempted to go with something similar to your own brand. However, there are many risks when you pick something straightforward because that makes it incredibly hard to differentiate from others.
If you are not the first in the niche, it will probably not pay off to use something straightforward. A perfect example of that is General Electric, a combination of two plain words, but they were the first company to do it. Follow this link to read more https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/298581.
Don’t use geographic locations
The main goal of every business is to make more profits. You only make more money when you grow. However, if you use a local name, that might hinder your growth process when you start scaling to other locations.
On the other hand, if you want to be working in a single area for the business’s lifetime, that might be a good idea. Think about the negative consequences that might happen if you want to go to another place with a local identity.
Avoid using obscure words
Using a word that no one knows could become a problem if you do not have a large marketing budget. Since the Internet is the biggest company battlefield, creating something from scratch will potentially pose a problem for search engine optimization and ranking.
You will not have a way to target a mass audience if you do not put a lot of money into advertisements. If you do not want to go through all that effort, it pays off to use something simple and easy to remember.
Don’t follow trends
Trends come and go. Just think of the previous year and how many things changed on the Internet. Everything is a fad and only lasts for a few months at most. If you use a trend in your naming process, maybe people will remember you as sticking to the past, and they will remember the past instead of your future as a brand.
Sure, companies want to evolve, but you can do it differently. Set the name in stone, and then try to work it around the trends. That is one of the best ways to stay relevant and reach a big audience.
Naming a startup: consider available website domains
Most of the good website domains are either taken or expensive. You do not want to spend thousands of dollars to keep your name online. Also, some competitors from a different industry might have already used it, which will confuse your customers.
That might also induce a lot of problems when you might want to trademark your brand. When you go online and search for a domain, make sure that the dot-com version is available.
Finally, the biggest tip when it comes to naming your business likes it. You have to pick the name. If you do not like its sound, it will not matter even if the whole world loves it. As long as you like it, everything else will fall into place.
