A business name is a crucial part of branding and can have an impact on the overall success of a company. This is why it is essential that you find the right name.
If you are finding it difficult to create the perfect business name for your new company or for a rebranding process, we’ve compiled a quick guide on everything you need to know about naming a business.
Types of business names
There’s an abundance of companies in the modern world, and this means that many business names are already in use. To find your own unique business name, you’ll need to put on your creativity cap and think outside of the box. It is worth understanding the different types of business names so that you can utilize one of these approaches if inspiration strikes.
Clever
A clever business name is one that typically involves a play on words. It engages your audience by using word techniques like a pun or rhymes.
Emotional
This type of name is all about creating an emotional response in your audience. You want them to feel something when they hear your business name, whether that be joy, sentimentality, or nostalgia.
Modern
Many modern businesses are seeking to use equally modern names. Think of titles that are edgy or abstract, anything that will help your brand to seem forward-thinking and stand out from the crowd.
Pragmatic
Pragmatic business names are all about functionality. Consumers immediately understand your brand and what you are offering.
Timeless
Some names are simply designed to stand the test of time. These timeless names are often classic and sophisticated and are favoured by high-end brands.
Techniques to find the perfect business name
Once you understand the types of names you can use, it’s time to begin the process to find your perfect name. There’s no one correct way to do this. In fact, you might find that you need to use a range of strategies before you land on the ultimate name. We’ve put together some helpful techniques that will guide your thinking and help you to get the creative juices flowing.
1. Define your brand
Before you even begin thinking about a name, it is important that you think about your brand and how you want your business to be represented. What will your brand be known for? What will consumers associate with your brand? Will your brand appeal to a certain demographic, have a certain style or support specific values? This will become the foundation of your branding, and it is important that your business name aligns with this image. This process is likely to begin generating thoughts and adjectives for your brand, and you might find that you land on your business name from this activity alone.
2. Use your value proposition
Another strategy you can use is to build upon your value proposition. Consider your business offering and why consumers should choose you over a competitor. Highlight keywords that describe your product or brand. Can any of these be turned into a business name? Think about how you can transform some of these words into a name by combining two of them to create a compound word or deliberately misspelling some words.
3. Do some brainstorming
Brainstorming is a great way to generate ideas, although a little structure is recommended to ensure you optimize the effectiveness of the process. Begin by writing down any idea that comes to mind, documenting each idea on a post-it note. It is important that you only put one idea per single post-it note. Think of words that describe your brands and your products, with no idea being unworthy of being written down. When you’ve exhausted your ideas, sort the post-it notes according to theme. Any ideas that are similar, put them in a group together. You will notice that some groups of ideas are bigger than others. These are your recurring themes. Focus on these thoughts as they are likely to be most representative of your brand. Have a play with these concepts and see if you can extract a brand name!
Testing your business name
When you think you’ve found the perfect business name, run it through a few quick tests to make sure it will be suitable for a broader audience.
1. Read to speak
Is the name easy to read? Will people know how to pronounce it correctly just from seeing the word?
2. Hear to spell
Is the name easy to spell? Will consumers be able to hear the word and correctly spell it to find you through search engines or on social media?
3. Speak to hear
Is the name easy to understand verbally? If mentioned in a crowded room, would somebody be able to identify it?
Finding the perfect business name can seem like an impossible task, but with these tips and a little perseverance, you are guaranteed to land on the perfect one for your brand.
Grant Polachek is the Director of Marketing at Inc 500 company Squadhelp.com, the world’s #1 naming platform, with nearly 25,000 customers from the smallest startups across the globe to the largest corporations including Nestle, Philips, Hilton, Pepsi, and AutoNation. Get inspired by exploring these winning brand name ideas.
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