One of the first steps to creating a business is deciding on a brand name. It’s how you’ll be known to the world, how people will find you and could determine your success.
UK formations company, SUAZ, have pulled together marketing and branding experts to share insights into how you should name your business.
First of all, here are some initial questions to ask yourself when thinking about an ideal business name.
- Will the name limit your business? Avoid being too specific about your offering in your name, in case you later decide to expand or change your business’ focus.
- Does the name make sense for your business? Does the name indicate what you do? Some businesses opt for unusual, abstract names but these give less information to potential customers.
- Is it easy to remember? Shorter names are often better and it usually pays to avoid acronyms, hyphens and special characters.
- Is your name easy for people to spell? If not, you could end up repeatedly spelling it out for customers and suppliers, and risk people not finding you online.
- Does it sound good? Is it easy to pronounce? Does it have a nice ring to it?
- Is the name meaningful just to you? A random name with meaning only for you tells people nothing about your brand.
- Is the name visually attractive? Think about how your name will look on your website, on a billboard and anywhere else it might appear.
- Is the name (and domain) available?
The Branding and Marketing Experts Advice
Expert number 1 – Daphne Diluce – award-winning international designer, brand expert, business strategist and co-founder of Roar Media Creative.
‘In my view, the pivotal elements in selecting a business name revolve around customer comprehension. It must convey what the business or service offers, enabling clients to envision and grasp its purpose. This profound understanding is the key to attracting the right, loyal clientele to the business, ensuring constant growth and success.’
Expert number 2 – Chelsea Spencer – Head of Marketing, Fenn 1875.
‘Functionally – can you get all the domain and social handles of the brand name and have it the same, is there anyone else out there with a name like it (I’ve had clients in the past literally rip off other brand’s names just because they like it and then faced the repercussions on diminished marketing returns later due to confusion, overly competitive SEO / PPC).
Once I had a client that launched a sub-brand, created all the marketing and products for it and only then realised the domain they wanted was taken but not being used – the person who had the domain then tried to sell it to them for over 50k (they’re a medium sized business so to them this was a lot) – which they ended up paying because they’d already invested and marketed so heavily.
‘Also, trademarks. A current client is setting up their brand and they wanted to call it after a well known product of a direct competitor – it had a trademark on it and before they engaged with me they were having packaging and a website created under this. As soon as I embarked on the project with them I put a stop to it because the potential fallback would have been disastrous.
‘The less functional – ease of pronunciation, spelling (doesn’t have to be a real word like monzo) but the more simple the better traction they tend to get.‘
Expert number 3 – Andrew Burnett – founder of helleau®, a thought partner to self-aware brands.
A good name is SCUMMY™:
- Short
- Consistent
- Unique
- Memorable
- Meaningful
- Your brand appropriate.’
You can view the full piece here: https://www.suaz.co.uk/knowledge-base/naming-your-business