Thinking of starting your business but not sure what to name it? Naming your business may give you the same excitement you feel when you have to give your pet a name. You may think that coming up with a name for your business is simple and easy. But, this is not the case.
When you are choosing an impactful name for your startup, you have to consider several factors. It should be something powerful that your target audience can easily remember. Aside from that, put in mind the legality of your business. Make sure that you will not encounter any legal problems with your chosen business name.
To further help you, here are seven (7) tips to choosing an impactful name for your startup business:
1. Choose a Simple Yet Appealing Name
Never confuse your audience with names that are hard to spell or read. Giving your business a hard-to-spell name may lower your visibility. For example, imagine yourself looking for a business name on the internet. But you do not know its correct spelling. What would you do? You would either stop searching for the business. Or there is a tendency for you to land on another business page.
You do not want that to happen to your business, right? Nobody wants to lose potential consumers or customers just because of misspelt words. So, make sure that your business name is simple and easy to spell and read. Then, you can choose a business name that is meaningful but tries not to make it too vague.
Make sure that it will not be difficult for your audience to know what your business is. So, rather than choosing a unique name, pick something that communicates to your audience. Make sure that they are something that may convey emotions to your clients. That way, your audience will feel an attachment to your business.
2. Don’t Use Your Name
As much as possible, avoid using your name for your business. You can apply this if your name has already established a good reputation in the industry. In guide 1, we mentioned that your business name should be meaningful. That it should be able to communicate with your audience. Now, if you use your own name as your business name, you won’t be able to convey its meaning to your audience. This may also limit your chance of communicating with them.
Ask yourself if you have plans to expand or sell your business in the future. If ‘‘YES’’ is your answer to this question, then you should not use your own name to prevent problems in the future.
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3. Investigate Your Competitors’ Business Name
If you are having a hard time thinking of a business name, you can investigate your competitors. Get an idea of how they named their business. But, as much as possible, never copy their business name. Nor come up with a name that is too similar to theirs. Doing so would pose confusion to your audience.
Aside from confusing your consumers, they may also accuse you of copying other businesses’ names. Nobody wants to be accused of copying others. And you wouldn’t like that either, right? So, investigate, but as much as possible, never copy your competitor’s name.
4. Choose a Name that Does Not Put Restrictions on Your Business
If you have plans to upscale your business, do not use a name that will restrict your business’s growth and expansion.
Avoid names that are confined to one target market, one type of product, or one location. As you start your business, you might be focusing on one type of product first. But as your business grows, you might want to venture into other products.
Scaling your business is not all about funding. If you need to scale, you can get a small business loan from licensed cashmart lenders like Jurong East money lender. However, a name is not as easy to change should it become a challenge when scaling.
So, for example, you want a scrunchie business. Do not use a business name that has the word ‘scrunchie’ on it. Especially if you are planning to try other products like tote bags or clothing. Also, refrain from putting the specific location of your business. Never try a name like ‘Scrunchie California’. This might cause problems if you are planning to expand your business to other locations.
5. Ensure the Legality and Availability of Your Business Name
If you want to make sure that your chosen business name is not similar to other businesses, check its legality. Here are two ways you can check the legality and availability of your chosen business name.
Trademark
You can check if your potential business name is already registered. See if it is registered as a trademark by other business owners. Do trademark research to prevent legal problems in the future. If you are sure that your business name is safe from any issues, register your business name for a trademark. By doing so, you will be able to protect your business from being copied.
Domain Name
Nowadays that most physical stores have closed, most expand their business online. So if you also want to build an online presence for your business, buy a domain name. But make sure that your domain name is easy to remember. It can be the exact name of your business.
However, there are instances where your domain is already owned by other businesses. Instead of changing your domain name from ‘.com’ to ‘.org’ ‘.biz’ or others, you can negotiate with the domain owner. Some domain owners are willing to sell their domain, but it might cost you. Or you can change your business name, but make sure that the domain name and the trademark are available.
6. Ask for Feedback from Friends, Family, and Your Target Audience
Getting feedback from people you are close with can help you decide on the proper name. They can give you honest feedback. Aside from that, they can share better ideas about naming your business.
You can also prepare a survey that your target audience can answer. That way, you can get them involved with the early stage of your business. But, when asking for feedback, make sure that you are prepared for criticisms.
Some of the criticisms may hurt you, so prepare yourself mentally for this. Accept their criticism as long as they are constructive and may help your business grow. But if you think that they are going overboard, learn to filter and take only those you consider are helpful.
7. Use Name Generators to Brainstorm
If after doing everything, you still cannot come up with a business name, you can use name generators. There are several resources online that will suggest business names. Here are some of the commonly used name generators:
- NameMesh
- Naminum
- BrandBucket
- BrandRoot
- Namelix
- VisualThesaurus
- Shopify (Business Name Generator)
Take your time as you name your business. Remember that your business name will be the new identity of your business. So, make sure that you are happy and content with what you will come up with. Hurdles and challenges may occur while you are naming your business. But if you follow the seven (7) tips to choosing impactful names for startups, it will be less difficult than you think.
