Picking The Right Brand Name for your Business

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Picking the perfect name for your brand is a lot like giving your own child a name. The name has to be simple, unique, and easy to remember for the people outside your family. A good brand name should ideally give your business a distinction – setting you apart from all the other businesses that offer similar products or services.

 

In this post, we’ll share 5 essential tips to pick the right name.

 

  1. Find ideas and inspiration by brainstorming with your partners and create a list of possible names

 

Before anything else, you should convene with your business partners and brainstorm about the name of your brand. Together, you can share ideas, phrases, and words that may eventually form your brand name.

 

The trick here is coming up with as many names as you can, listing them down, and slowly ticking away the ones you don’t like until you’re left with the best candidates for brandable domain names for businesses. While you do so, keep the following tips in mind.

 

  1. Go for clear, descriptive, and memorable names

Of course, you want your customers to remember your name easily. However, this doesn’t mean that you should be using weird words to attract attention. It’s important to ensure that your brand name doesn’t send mixed messages about you, or the wrong message altogether.

 

Instead, go for words that can are associated with the product or service you’re offering, what customers can expect from your brand, or the mission your company stands for.

 

  1. Ensure it’s a Unique name

The last thing you want to deal with is a trademark suit. So, before you go about setting your heart on the brand name, do some research and see whether there are other brands who are already using it.

 

In case you get an exact match, there might still be some wiggle room. For instance, is the business in the same location or industry as you are? Still, even if it isn’t, it’s recommended that you tweak the name a little, such as by adding locality, initials, etc. to avoid confusion.

 

  1. Skip the Buzzwords

Having trendy new words in a brand name is one of the ways to make it memorable. It can be quite helpful when it comes to garnering attention and interest especially from the younger demographic. The key problem with building your identity around a trend is that it’s simply a trend.

 

Trends will come and go – so, it won’t always make sense for the long term. For instance, what makes sense for millennials today won’t necessarily make sense for the young generation of tomorrow, and your brand could easily lose its relevance. So, try to choose words that you can define and ones that will stand the test of time. Instead, save the trendy lingo for your timely marketing strategies.

 

  1. Ensure the name can be carried over to your slogans, logo, and taglines

The consistency of your branding is critical to your growth, and it all starts with the brand name. The name should sound and look great alongside the rest of your branding – taglines, logos, slogans, etc.

 

To put this into perspective, check out the following successful brands and their taglines for inspiration:

 

Apple: Think Different

Before Apple became synonymous with world-class tech company, the brand didn’t sound much like a tech name. The reasoning behind the name used to be a mystery. Despite sharing a name with a fruit, Apple was able to entrench itself in the digital technology industry successfully. The slogan “think different” essentially reflects what the company stands for – innovation in the tech space, differentiating itself with other brands in every way, including its unconventional name.

 

Dollar Shave Club: Shave time. Shave money

The Dollar shave club is a subscription service that delivers grooming products to its clients every month, with a membership fee that starts at $1. Notice how their brand name has incorporated their value proposition. Instead of trying to be overly clever, the name is simple and goes straight to the point. It also doesn’t shy away from the core message and benefit: price. Their witty slogan also reinforces their value proposition, which culminates into a very strong branding.

 

MasterCard: There are some things that money can’t buy. For everything else, there’s MasterCard.

MasterCard is a compound name that essentially brings two things to mind: a master key and a credit/debit card. Just as a master key can be used to open any door, MasterCard promises to help you pay for any purchase. The accompanying slogan helps to make “MasterCard” synonymous with money, which drives home their promise on utility – as a universally accepted way of making payments.

 

With this in mind, it’s your turn to make a good brand name for yourself. Hopefully, the tips shared above will help you build a brilliant brand name.