The name you chose to give your business is one of the first and most important decisions you will make when you first start out. Choose the wrong name and you could be stuck with it. The right name however, will grow with you and be easily recognisable and the corner stone of your brand.
Your brand identity often starts with your name. After all, it is usually one of the first things that people see, and hopefully remember. Even if you are offering the most amazing products or services in the world, your customers need to remember your name, in order to be able to recommend you or come back for repeat business.
Find a name that suits you
The name of your business needs to reflect the personality of your brand. You must make it memorable and give it a sense of character. Whether if makes a direct reference to the products you sell or the services you offer, or whether you chose a more personal name – it must reflect your brand in one way or another.
When finding the perfect name for your new business, remember these three key things:
- Keep it simple – long names, or those that are super fussy will be easy to forget. Keep it simple, keep it memorable and make it relatable.
- Keep it positive – it goes without saying really, but always use positive connotations. “Best T-Shirts” for example, will definitely be more memorable and attractive to customers than “Bad T-shirts,” even if you are just trying to be clever.
- Keep it original – carry out enough market research to ensure that your name is unique. This is all useful when it comes to choosing your domain name, social media profile names and other digital marketing tags. You wouldn’t like to see two shop fronts in the one High Street with the same name, so try and ensure that this doesn’t happen online either.
Once you have a few ideas in mind, ask people you trust for their opinion. You can also Google your name considerations to see if there is any negativity associated with the name, or companies that may have existed in the past, but that have now gone out of business.
Finally, have fun with your words. Unless you are offering very serious or sensitive services, a witty play on words can be just the gimmick you need to help spread the word about your business. Try lots of ideas on for size, play with your logo ideas and look up the availability of domain names before you make your final decision.
Your brand name can stay with you for a very long time, so make sure it suits you from the outset.
