17 Tips for Naming a New Business or Startup
Choosing a name for your business can be a little bit challenging since you want a name that would be perfect and portrays the values of your new business or startup. Choosing the right name would have a significant impact on your business, so it important you do it right. If you choose the wrong name that face to connect with your customers, it can cause you a lot of problem also. This article is here to help. Check out these 17 helpful tips for naming a new business or startup.
1. Find out what your business stands for
The most important of the tips for naming a new business or startup is first understanding what your company stands for.
Why are you starting this business? What is the foundation of your enterprise? What problem are you trying to solve? What do you want to accomplish?
Answering these questions would give you an idea of the kind of company you want to build. Cool names idea would begin to pop up in your mind.
Don’t get too excited at this point. There are still several steps you would have to take before you choose the perfect name.
2. Most popular business name categories
There are six very popular categories that are used in naming businesses.
These categories include “owner’s name”, “mainstream words”, “trendy words”, “abbreviations”, “obvious” (that is what service the business offers) and “made up words”. You can try any of these categories and choose the one that suits you best.
3. Avoid names that are hard to spell
You want to make sure that the name you choose would not be hard to spell.
Don’t choose names that would confuse your customers or names that they might easily misspell. Keep the name simple and easy to remember.
4. Do not choose a name that would limit growth of your business
When naming a new business, it is important that you choose a name that would grow with your business.
Do not choose a name that would be limiting as your business grows.
Since you are starting your business with growth in mind, it is important that you choose the perfect name.
If Jeff Bezos had chosen the name “books hub” instead of “Amazon”, he would have limited the growth of his startup. Amazon is much more than a marketplace for online books now.
5. Conduct a detailed internet search
This cannot be overemphasized. When you have finally selected a name for your business, ensure that you do a detailed internet search to make sure that the business does not already exist.
You do not want to start creating a marketing campaign with a name that already exists. If you find out too late, you mind have already spent thousands of dollars on a campaign or worse be faced with a lawsuit.
6. Try out free business names generators
There are free business names generators that you can find online to help you with the creative process.
You would put in keywords and the industry you are establishing your business in and the tools would generate name ideas for you.
Even if you do not like their options, it can help you creatively again. The best part is they are all free tools.
7. Avoid wordplay dangers
In a bid to create a cool name for your business, you might end up missing the mark. A cool name can actually backfire in the long run.
Some of the kind of names you should definitely avoid:
- Mess Graphics Inc
- We See Hot Wings
- Supreme Fish Delight
- Circus Pizza World
- Dick Wood Hardware
8. Get the .com domain name
When naming a new business, it is important that you also check for the availability of the .com domain name.
Customers are more likely to associate with a .com domain that it’s .net, .biz, .org and other domain extension alternatives.
You can use an domain tool like Godaddy or Namecheap to see if a domain name is available.
Why you choose a company name, buy the domain extension. Even if you are not ready to build a company website yet, it is important that the domain is in your ownership because when you are finally ready, somebody else might have bought. You would then be forced to spend a huge sum of money to get it back.
It is also important that you create social media handles for your business name immediately.
A lot of people create social media pages for businesses they don’t own, hence creating problems for the real owner’s.
9. Conduct a trademark search
You might search for a company name on Google and you might not see any results. That doesn’t mean that the company does not exist.
To be on the safe side, conduct a trademark search for the company also. You can use USPTO.gov to see if a trademark for that name is available.
10. Conduct a Secretary of State search
Since your business would most likely be a corporation or LLC, it is important that you check the Secretary of State records.
You do this so that you won’t choose a name that is too similar to another existing business.
If the name is too similar, the Secretary of State office might not accept it. A corporate lawyer can help your run this kind of search.
Point 9 & 10 shows that while naming a new business right is important, you also have to take steps to avoid any legal difficulties in the future.
11. Get feedback from friends and family
The name might seem amazing to you, but not to others. Remember that you are not the customer. Ensure the name you choose for your new startup would please your customers.
Come up with some names and try to get feedback from your friends, family and target audience.
Also remember to check the meaning of your name in various languages to ensure that it doesn’t have any negative connotations.
12. Does the name sound good when said out loud?
Your name might look good on a paper, but sound horrible when said out loud. You should try to avoid that.
Also ensure that when someone hears your company name, they would be able to spell it without even seeing it before.
13. Be careful with geographical names
The only reason why you should add your city or location when naming a new business is because you plan on working only there.
Choosing a geographical name might affect you in the long run so it is better that you avoid it.
A good example is Minnesota Manufacturing and Mining. When they were based just in Minnesota, the name suited them. But as the company grew, they needed to find a new name because the old name limited growth. They changed it to 3M.
14. Keep it short
Keep your business name short. They are the best types.
The biggest companies have short names – Nike, Apple, Walmart.
A study by a UK insurance broker showed that the average length of company names in his region are 22 characters.
Most of these companies have an average of 14 to 24 characters.
Your company name shouldn’t sound like it’s a sentence. Sometimes you might need to use up to two words like Waffle House, but it still sounds short and easy to remember.
Keeping your name short would also make it very easy for your customers to remember.
15. Keep your logo in mind
When choosing a name for your brand, keep your logo design in mind. The kind of logo you would use is important for your marketing campaign.
People would remember something that is visual rather words. Try to make you logo memorable and customers would easily remember it.
The M in the McDonald brand is very unique and iconic. It easy to remember and spot no matter where you are in the world.
When choosing a brand name, ask yourself how it would translate into a logo before moving forward.
16. Make sure you are happy with the name you choose
The name of your business or startup is something you would make use of everyday.
If you are not happy with the name, you best not use it. Do not choose a name because someone asked you too.
If you don’t like the name, it would have a negative impact on your company. You would not be as productive or as efficient as you would like if you loved the name.
17. Avoid me Inc
It is best not to name your company after yourself. If sometime in the future you plan on selling the business, it would be difficult. Potential buyers might not want to purchase a company that is named after its founder.
Conclusion
The name of your brand is very important and might determine how successful your company would become.
Do it with extreme focus and diligence. Do not just approach it haphazardly. It is best that you take your time to choose a name rather than having to change it in the future.
