One of the biggest challenges of starting a business is choosing a brand name. The struggle to pick a name that resonates with your mission and vision is hard. You don’t want to overdo it, nor do you want to be careless with the opportunity. This is the first challenge you’re going to face when starting your business. Entrepreneurs often underestimate the impact a dominant brand name has on the market.
Some valid examples of this are Vans, Kleenex, Google, and Xerox, just to name a few. These brand names have become so generic that people widely call out the brand name instead of their product. Vans replaced sneakers, Kleenex replaced tissues, Google replaced web browsing, and Xerox replaced copying. Consumers worldwide interchange and associate the brand name directly with the product. That’s how impactful a brand name can be.
The name you choose directly reflects the success of your brand. It becomes your image, value, and power in the industry, and there’s no denying that adds to the pressure and expectations of choosing the right name. However, you are not alone, as many people struggle in this domain.
But luckily, these tips are all you need to know how to choose a name that defines your values and helps you stand out from the competition. Read ahead to find out!
● Avoid Choosing Hard-To-Spell Names
The most popular way to lose clients is by confusing them. Not being clear with your vision, beliefs, objectives, and services is a proven way of losing potential customers. One of them is also having a brand name that’s hard to spell. As the new kid on the block, you can’t have people spelling your name wrong and making it difficult to find you online.
Not only will the name be super difficult to read, pronounce, spell and recall, but they’re mistaken for being unique when in fact, they’re tricky.
Avoid choosing a confusing name that overshadows the identity of the brand.
● Do A Lot Of Creative Thinking
Brainstorming is key to coming up with excellent branding strategies. But no doubt, it requires a lot of creative intelligence power. Define your startup with the products and services you’re offering to the clients. What makes your products unique? What’s one thing that’s common in all your products and services? Is there anything that distinguishes your work ethic from other businesses? Answering these questions helps you target a particular domain?
Creative thinking and innovation go hand in hand throughout the process. Active, creative thinking gives you room to experiment with different names. No one comes up with a unique business name on the first try. It takes multiple brainstorming sessions to narrow does the options.
Some time-worthy ways to brainstorm are group discussions with the team, solo thinking, notepad scribbling, and targeting the human psyche.
● Choosing a ‘New’ Name
Here, by new, we mean a name that does not exist in the same industry as yours. Avoid choosing a name that already exists, and make sure to research for any existing names before settling on one properly.
You’ll probably find a few businesses having the same name; however, if upon the research you find they’re targeting a different industry with that name, you can choose to keep it. It all comes down to your preference.
With that said, different businesses with the same name can confuse your customers, which is why it’s important to make an effort to choose a different name from your competitors. The name you choose directly reflects the effort and creativity of the brand.
● Ensure Domain Availability When Choosing A Name
Your website is not just a communication platform. It’s a social tool that establishes your presence in the industry. When a customer wishes to search you up, they usually look for your brand on social platforms, like Facebook and Instagram, or they directly open up the website by typing your brand’s name on the browser.
But what happens if your website domain isn’t easily identifiable. Everyone knows a powerful website ends with .com, and if you want to be identified as an established business, spend a bit more money and purchase the .com domain. If someone else is using the same domain name, you can always ask to buy from them.
The domain name is crucial to locate you easily and conveniently. Choosing an available and authentic domain name contributes to your brand’s success, and it’s easy and convenient to remember.
With that said, it’s important to set up your website and domain name when you have a stable internet connection to avoid any mishaps. You don’t want to miss an available domain name just because of a bad internet connection. With AT&T, you never have to worry about losing connectivity. AT&T home internet services keep you connected with high-speed internet 24/7, helping you get your preferred domain name anytime, anywhere.
Make sure to choose a strong domain name as it’s a direct reflection of your authenticity and online presence
● Avoid Naming The Brand After Yourself
You will find many small businesses named after their owners. While naming a brand after yourself isn’t something uncommon, it’s certainly not recommended. It’s a mistake in the corporate world. The name of the brand is expected to define values, products, services, or mission. Unless it speaks volumes about the business itself, naming a brand after yourself implies a lack of effort. Your name doesn’t mean anything to potential customers, and they don’t know what to associate it with.
● A Catchy Name Is Worth It
The name of your brand shouldn’t be too boring or too much. A certain balance should be visible to the customer since it’s your identity. Google and Yahoo are words that don’t make sense, yet they’re catchy and short, making them so popular and unique. They’re easy to remember, recall, spell, and pronounce, exactly what a brand name should be.
Although it’s difficult to sell names that don’t make sense or carry a specific meaning, it can do wonders for your image if done right.
The Bottom Line
Choosing the ‘perfect’ name for your business will always remain a challenge. What matters is how you choose it. The efforts and creativity you put into coming up with a name determine how strong your business’s branding is. Follow and practice these tips to come up with some unique yet thoughtful brand names!
