If you’re looking for the perfect company name we’ve got some great tips for you. Check out these tips and some interesting updates you really enjoy.
Selecting The Perfect Name for your Company
Update: Take a look at the bottom of the article for some great updates from the Brandings team.
Identifying the right name for a new business is one of the most important decisions an entrepreneur will make. Naming architecture firms charge huge fees to help companies pick the right name, and they are usually worth every dollar. The decision is that important.
At Brandings we take naming just as seriously. We develop great names, at a fraction of the cost of huge naming firms. And best of all when we develop a name, we secure the dot-com domain. Without trademark screening and ownership of the dot-com, the name is unusable.
What to look for in a great name –
When we develop names at Brandings we follow a few simple rules.
Keep it Short and Simple – We can’t say it enough, shorter is better. Virtually every successful business name, product name or service name is short in length, usually fewer than 11 characters. The longer the name, the greater the propensity for confusion or misspelling. And, because all growth-driven firms must have an active web presence, a typo or misspelling in a name could send customers to a competitors site.
Make Sure It’s Integrated – The name should carry the brand and be consistent with the industry. We know instantly that “zyxal” is an information technology company and “Dycot” is a biotech company.
Go for Emotion – A great company name engages the customer. Ideally the name should feel empowering and enlightening.
Consider Texture – The name should roll off the tongue and have a pleasing sound and texture. Great names just sound right and are easy to pronounce.
The Perfect Company Name is More Than Just a Name:
Importance of Visual Design – The visual design and logo design helps create a mental image of the company. The elements of visual design include size, typestyle, color, layout and other graphic elements. When the visual elements come together cohesively a powerful company identity is created.
Consider Expandability – If you’re considering expanding, it’s important not to have a limiting name. International Business Machines Corp. need to change its name when the company moved beyond business machines (they adopted IBM). A name should be expandable to allow for product extension and industry changes. Some names are secured for significant expansion while others may be highly specialized and targeted. While “OnlySinks” is a great name for a sink installer, it is limiting if the firm wants to move to other types of installation.
Remember You Must Own the Dot-com – Growing firms must own the dot-com domain name. While there is value in other domain extensions, the clear Top Level Domain (TLD) is dot-com. The company name and the domain name must be identical. Period.
And now the pitfalls to avoid –
Caution … Too Close for Comfort – If you’re company name is too close to a competitors run. Not only will the name cause confusion in the mind of the consumer, there are likely to be trademark infringement issues.
Stay Away from Tough Spellings – A good name is easy to spell. Ideally there should only be one way to spell a name. The more alternatives there are in the spelling of a name, the more likely a firm is to lose or confuse customers. If you’re looking to register the trademark for the name, it’s important that the name be unique enough to be “trademark able” but not so unique as to cause confusion. And stay away from funky spellings, for example, using the letter “z” instead of “s” will simply confuse customers. Think about it — “Brandingz” is considerably more confusing than “Brandings.”
Stay Clear of Names that are Difficult to Pronounce – If a name is difficult to pronounce, it will likely be difficult for customers to remember. A great name is easy to pronounce and ideally has just one possible pronunciation.
Avoid the Non-Suitable – The perfect company name should not be disconnected from the market. A name can be developed for an industry specific application or a name can incorporate an attribute that could be applied to multiple industries. For example, the name “Only Sinks” has a very specific (self evident) industry application, whereas the name “Prime Fresh” describes attributes that can be applied to myriad industries (e.g. grocery, produce, meat, floral, agriculture).
Make sure your company name doesn’t:
Avoid the “Annoyingly Clever” – A great company or product name will be clear of hidden meanings. And while a name may seem clever to you, others may find it annoying. Puns also should be avoided. “Curl Up and Dye” may seem like a clever play on words, but will likely evoke customer skepticism.
Stay Clear of the Boring – An unemotional, uninspired name will get nothing more than a yawn and may be overlooked by customers. While we’ve cautioned against being too clever, it’s important not to go to the other extreme, flat and boring.
Avoid Non-Alphabetic Characters – With rare exception, a strong name should not contain numbers or hyphens. Numbers and hyphens will just confuse your customer. In very select cases non-alphabetic characters can be used, but require careful design to avoid consumer confusion.
Make Sure the Name is Available – You can come up with the perfect name, only to find that the name is not available. It’s worth repeating, a great name is of no value if there are trademark infringement issues or you cannot secure the dot-com domain name.
One of the biggest challenges of naming architecture firms is creating a great name only to find it in use somewhere around the world. (At Brandings all names have been “pre-screened” and are available immediately. In some cases there may be limitations as to the suitability of a brand name with application in a particular industry or market or for use in a category of good or service articulated in the International Classification of Goods & Services.)
Other Company Naming Considerations:
Consider How the Name Translates Globally – For firms looking to market their good and services globally, the name must have a universality that translates globally. Here are examples of some pretty big naming mistakes.
A German company used the name “Body Bag” for their line of backpacks.
The vacuum cleaner manufacturer Hoover introduced a new vacuum called the “Zyklon.” Folks were quick to point out that Zyklon B was the lethal gas used by Nazis in concentration camps.
Pizza Hut rolled out their “P Zone” in Spain. They failed to realize that when pronounced it was similar to the Spanish word “pezon” the word for “nipple.”
“4F” was selected by a fitness equipment firm for a new product. They didn’t know that “4F” is the US military designation for “physically unfit.”
Panasonic licensed “Woody Woodpecke” for their new internet guide with an ad slogan “Touch Woody – The Internet Pecker.” This created a good deal of snickering before it was abandoned.
Ikea sold the product “Fjord” in Sweden. The name translated to “FartFull” in English. A shock to many when they say the product in US stores.
Final Thoughts on the Perfect Company Name:
Following these straightforward company naming tips and avoiding naming pitfalls will help in the selection of the perfect name for your business.
We are here to assist you in securing the perfect company name. The right name for your business, product or service is just a call or click away.
Update: Every once and a while we reread some of these article our team has written in the past. And, we’re going to have to say, we still think we knocked it out of the park. This article has a lot of great tips of anyone looking for the perfect name. We really like the idea about “Consider Expandability” people all to often box themselves into a name that wont let them expand; for instance Judy’s Long Island Flowers. Judy is going to have a hard time selling flowers outside of Long Island.
Thanks for reading our blogs and if you have any questions please feel free to contact us or if you are interested in the above Unique Business Name for Sale.