When starting out in business, one of the most important aspect is coming up with a name. A name can be the making or breaking factor of a startup so getting it right from the start is important. We have come up with tips on how to name your business so as to help you get it right.
Here are 7 tips on how to name your business.
1. Unique
A company name should be unique, that is, distinct from other business names.
You don’t want to sound like a copy cat or like the Chinese who have a similar alternative name to every major brand or name on planet earth. There’s Adidas, they have Abidas, there’s Nike and they have Mike and the list grows by the day.
Very soon they will be copying African brands like Econet as Ecopet.
2. Use A Name That Is Descriptive Of The Business
Think of Food World and Ok or TM, think of Chicken Inn or Eat ‘n Lick and Mambos. Any rational human being can easily identify what business Food World, Chicken Inn or Eat ‘n Lick are in. Not so for OK, TM or Mambo’s.
It is important because it can easily drive traffic to your business especially when you are still a Startup and you need to get as much traction as possible.
3. Easy To Spell
We are living in an era where every business has to have a presence on the Internet to reach every customer far and wide and a website is a must.
Imagine having to miss out on a client because you can’t be found because your company name is differently difficult to spell. Names like Flickr or Delicio.us are a total ‘NO’.
However, with intensive marketing campaigns you can get away with it. But since you are still starting you might not have those big marketing budgets.
4. Not Too Long
Long words are boring, the least to say.
Imagine having to say Central African Building Society every time you want to talk about a bank. You would bite your tongue before you even finish. Maybe that’s why they just use initials, ‘CABS’.
Long words also lack the attention grabbing effect. Think of Google, Vaya, Lift etc. They did a great job in keeping their names short and attention grabbing.
5. Universal
Names have different meanings in different regions of the world.
In certain places, it might make sense and in another it will carry a whole different meaning. Think of Bic; in certain regions it is pronounced with a ‘k’ sound on the ‘c’, like ‘Bik’, however in some areas with a ‘ch’ sound on the ‘c’ which is a whole different thing all together. Geisha means prostitute in Japan but its one of Zimbabwe’s best brands.
You need to research on the meanings of your name in different languages of the world to avoid, for example, offending other people.
6. Make Sure Its Trademarkable
You would want to keep your business name forever and make sure no one takes advantage of the brand you have built. This is done by trademarking your business name that no one will be able take your name or have a name that is similar to yours.
7. Available For Domain Registration
Imagine naming your business House but having Housed as a domain name. It creates confusion in the mind of the customer.
It also means you cant be easily found on the Internet. Moreover, the intensive marketing effort you need to put in marketing your name with a different domain name.
We don’t even need to start talking about brand inconsistency. One needs to check if their chosen name is available for registration with the many domain registration sites on the Internet and this can be done easily and freely.
Some sites you can use to check domain availability with are
We hope this article helped with tips to naming your business. If you liked this article, then please consider sharing it with your friends and leaving a comment.
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