For some, when they first start thinking about setting up a new business, the name is a secondary consideration. No wonder when you take account of the work involved in developing the product or service and the market research to test demand. However not prioritising details such as the business name can affect how your business performs and over time will have an impact on its success.
Some will leave the business or product name to a brainstorming session, which in itself is a good technique for coming up with original ideas. However, if you haven’t done your research beforehand, your efforts will be hit and miss at best.
People may take account of the purpose of the business or consider a name that incorporates their own. And while these are valid considerations they are not enough if you want your business name to support its success in the long term. So what are the different factors you need to consider and what are the consequences of getting it wrong.
What’s in a name?
Your business name will help define your brand. It should reflect your business values and describe and compliment what you want your brand to mean to your target market. The ideal name will be memorable and original. You will want to stand out from your competitors and draw the attention of potential customers.
What your business name means to your customers over time will change as you cultivate your brand. You want to be able to associate your business name with trust and confidence in you and the product or service you provide.
To these ends, the cost of brand development can be high. If you choose a poorly considered business name that you need to change at a later date, it could be costly.
So what are the main considerations?
- Relevance to your industry or niche. Your business name should be relevant. If Ford Motors had called themselves Whishwow or something equally non nonsensical, people may well have been confused about what they were selling.
- Its true that there are brand names which say nothing about the businesses they represents. In such cases the brand owner may have wanted a unique name without the connotations of existing words or any confusion with other brands using similar words. However, to establish such a brand name the businesses would also need huge marketing budgets. If you’ve got deep pockets you could try this, otherwise I would stick to a relevant but original idea for the name of your business.
- Don’t try to copy what’s already out there unless you want to be unremarkable or blend in. Worse still, if if can be argued that you are sufficiently similar to be accused of copying, you could be sued.
Simple and memorable
- Don’t overcomplicate your name. You want it to be easily remembered. Simple spelling and pronunciation are the best. Aim for short names and not lengthy phrases. This is particularly important when looking for domain names.
Domain names and trademarks
- No business is complete without a website. Today there are businesses that make their money by buying up as many desirable domain names as they can and reselling them at outrageously inflated prices. Such businesses are legitimate and if you are committed to a business name but the domain name has been acquired by such a business, the cost may be worth it for you. That said, if you take the time to create a business name that is unique to you it may be possible to find a domain name that suits your needs at a significantly lower price.
- You need to also consider search engine optimisation when deciding on your domain name. If your domain name also includes keywords relevant to your business, it should help with SEO. Online marketing is as important as traditional marketing today. Depending on your business it may be more important, so thinking about this at an early stage is important.
- As mentioned earlier, your business name should take account of any existing business names. You want to avoid any similarly sounding names or names that another company has trademarked.
Established businesses can spend significant amounts of money developing a brand around their business name. If you create a business name that is similar or the same as that of another business, it is likely to be considered a violation of their brand and they could take legal action to prevent your use of it.
Getting the business name wrong
Hopefully this isn’t something you will have to deal with but if you do, you could be faced with slow sales and the cost of re-branding.
A poorly chosen business name may not resonate with your customers unless you have a good marketing budget to back it up. This means your business may be slow to attract customers.
If you need to re-brand you could be starting from scratch when it comes to establishing your business. Re-branding may include changing the logo and colours on your website, packaging, any signage, letterheads, etc. All before re-marketing the business.
To add to this your existing customers may not recognise you once re-branded, which may result in loss of sales.
And finally…
Choosing a business name should not be a low priority task when setting up a new business. Nor should it be a task only undertaken before research. Researching the competition, the keywords your target market would associate with your business and considering what you want your business name to say about you, are all important prerequisites before coming up with the the right one.
Try to be original and test any name in the same way you would test your product or service, with market research. A survey or focus group with a small reward for providing feedback would be a great way to find out how your business name idea comes across to your target market.
Always keep in mind where you want to be in 5 years time. If your business is scalable with a wider target market than you are currently focused on, consider how the name will fair if you expand.
For instance, a name that incorporates a geographical reference such as London or Aberdeen will be limiting if you decide to expand beyond these areas. Also think about how your business name might be interpreted in other languages if you are likely to want to expand overseas.
Even the best of brands, re-brand occasionally for different reasons. Think of X, formally know as Twitter. Other brands such as Virgin are adapted to encompass many types of business and is well established in the minds of customers across the world. The name you choose is important. If you give the time and attention such a decision deserves to come up with the right one, it could support your business in its pursuit for success for many years to come.