How to Find the Perfect Name for Your Business

So you’ve launched a business, and it didn’t take long for you to learn that, just like people, businesses are fiercely competitive. And in this battle for clients and market share, branding is the name of the game.

Think of it as a chain reaction. In order to surpass the competition and be the best in your industry, your company must capture the attention of your target audience with a compelling brand.

And believe us when we say that a strong brand image attracts a lot of paying customers and contributes to overall business success. However, your company’s brand can only cause this reaction if it has a strong name. Why? Because words, particularly names, are extremely powerful and can give your business an extra advantage over others.

Finding the perfect brand name is the best way to set your company up for success, and here’s how you can go about it.

Your Business Needs a Great Brand Name

A great brand name is one of the most important things your company needs to prosper in the long term. This is because the ideal name has a long-lasting influence on your customers by providing them a quick idea of the value of your brand.

An outstanding name would increase your company’s ROI and help you achieve your brand’s goals. So, if you want your company to stand out, quickly win the hearts and minds of your target audience, and be successful, you’ll need a strong brand name since it can assist you in:

• Attracting loyal customers
• Building a powerful emotional connection with your audience
• Attracting the best employees
• Increasing client recommendations
• Creating buzz in your industry
• Increasing the sales of your products and services
• Keeping the cost of advertising as low as possible

However, understanding what your company stands to gain from choosing the right name is useless if you don’t understand what makes a brand’s name excellent in the first place. So, let’s take a look at the characteristics of a great name.

Here’s What Every Perfect Name Must Possess

Wise entrepreneurs new to naming their business are always curious about the qualities that make a brand’s name perfect. And if that sounds like you, then know that the most crucial feature of a perfect brand name is that it C.A.R.Es.

To put it another way, perfect names are:

Contextual

The perfect name is both descriptive and appropriate for the company it represents. It stands at the company’s core, providing support and setting the tone for several critical factors.

That’s why it’s not a wise option to get your company a humorous name if you want your customers to see your brand as serious and trustworthy.
With that said, make sure you put your company’s potential market impact in perspective by analyzing the strength of your brand name through the lens of your company’s brand, positioning, and goals.

Appealing

The perfect name is appealing to customers and won’t only trigger their interest in your business and products but also prompt them to tell their friends, family, and coworkers about it.

Don’t be one of the companies that, in order to stand out from their competitors and look edgy, use names that are not only difficult to say and spell but also have little appeal with their target audience demographic.

Remarkable

Great brand names are easy to remember and linger in people’s minds, making it easier for these companies to enjoy easy marketing and great customer referrals. So make sure you choose the best brand name for your company because it’ll help your business grow and survive.

Evocative

Perfect names evoke a powerful response from their target audience, whether it’s through stories, visuals, or emotions.

So make sure your company’s name is evocative because only then would it be able to make the most impact, stir strong emotions in your customers, and spark ideas related to your brand in the minds of people.

Now that you know why your business needs the perfect name and the key factors every great name must have, let’s get into how you can find the best name for your business.

Seven Simple Steps to Finding the Perfect Name for Your Business

1. Understand What You Want Your Company to Be

If you want to create a company that delivers exceptional service, you must fully grasp your industry and its products. And you can do that by gathering all of your company’s fundamental concepts and deciding which ones are the most significant.

Now, keep in mind that great brand names are birthed from great ideas, and this is simply because crafting a name from a powerful idea is much simpler than crafting a name from a weak idea.

Also, learn what works and what doesn’t since this will help you figure out what your company has to do to capture the hearts of your audience.

2. Know the Tone of Your Company

Understand that if a name fails to connect with its target audience emotionally, it loses its potency. This happens a lot when the name’s tone doesn’t resonate with the target audience.

Your brand’s tone has a direct influence on how your consumers perceive it, so make sure you know who your customers are, what they like, the difficulties they’re experiencing, what your company provides, and why they should be interested in utilizing your goods.

Also, don’t forget to study your competitors and their products to see what exactly they have to offer and how your company can exceed them with better products and services.

3. Know Your Secondary Branding Elements

Although picking the right tone is vital, knowing your secondary branding elements would help you build a cohesive brand identity.
And that’s because they play a major part in helping you put together your brand name; think of your brand’s secondary element as the cornerstone that determines the entirety of your brand.

So, get a pen and paper and write down your thoughts about your company’s:

• Big ideas: What are the guiding concepts that power your business strategy?
• Brand values: What are the values that drive your business? It doesn’t matter whether they’re personal or audience values.
• Brand Story: Is there a fascinating story behind the establishment of your company?
• Benefits: What distinct advantages do you provide your customers?
• Emotions: What strong feeling do you want your audience to feel when they engage with your brand?
• Value proposition: Why should buyers care about your brand and its product?

Knowing your brand’s elements would allow you to develop a viable and workable brand personality that’d help you accomplish your brand’s goals. But know that your brand’s personality could be jeopardized if your branding is inconsistent with your customer’s expectations.

4. Prepare Your Project Statement

Preparing a project statement can help you choose the ideal name for your business since it’ll provide you with a clearer understanding of what your name should achieve.

Here’s an example of a project statement:

I need a powerful name for my IT firm that conveys brilliance, intellect, and expertise. It must be stylish, memorable, and appealing to Millenials.

5. Brainstorm: Embrace Your Creativity

It’s time to let your creative juices flow and come up with words that match your project statement and naming criteria. Search everywhere for words that align with your needs.

We understand that brainstorming for a great brand name can be challenging, but it doesn’t have to be, so feel free to assemble a team and explain your brand, its elements, tone, and project statement to them. Working with a team would make the naming process a lot faster.

Also, encourage your team to use dictionaries and thesauruses to come up with the craziest, most interesting, and inventive names they can. The goal here is to gather a list of names that align with the needs of your business and audience.

Your team should specifically lookout for short, catchy, intriguing, or symbolic words. Customers enjoy wordplay, so coming up with a great word combination can be your brand’s winning strategy.

But if you don’t have a team and coming up with a compelling name sounds challenging, then don’t hesitate to use a strong business name generator.

6. Test Every Name

Many business owners are overwhelmed when attempting to come up with a great name for their company. With so much information accessible, it’s getting harder to discern if the names on your list are brilliant gems or completely unappealing names.

So, make sure any name you choose for your business is:

• Unique
• Has a .com domain
• Has available social media handles
• Audience tested
• Scalable

7. Get Professional Help

We’ve seen entrepreneurs waste months searching for the perfect brand name, completely oblivious to the shocking reality that the business world moves rapidly and rivals are always improving their game. So, if you’re stuck because you’ve hit a creative wall, don’t be afraid to seek help from a professional brand naming agency.

These companies have a lot of experience crafting great and adorable brand names for big companies that connect with their target audiences, and they’d be glad to help your company come up with the right name.

Here’s What to Look out for While Finding the Perfect Brand Name

While searching for the best name for your company, you must keep an eye out for these danger zones and avoid them.

• Single English words because most of them have been trademarked
• Generic words like force, icon, unity, and power
• Overused metaphors and geographical names

But that’s not all; also avoid names that are:

• Difficult to spell or say: If your company’s name is difficult to say, spell, or remember, it will hinder referrals because clients will have trouble remembering or recommending it to their friends and family.
• Obscure: Using obscure personal symbols or metaphors is not be the best choice if your business wants to appeal to a large audience. Because, while a small percentage of your audience will appreciate cryptic and symbolic language that only they understand, the majority of your customers will not.
• Neutral: Although you shouldn’t use a name that is too technical or difficult, don’t also pick anything that will bore customers. A dull and unappealing name is more difficult to remember than one that is vibrant and attractive.
• Taken: Choosing a name that has already been trademarked by another company not only goes against your company’s goal of being unique but may also land you in serious legal trouble.

Finally, check with the US Patent and Trademark Office to see whether another company has already trademarked your name.