What’s in a Name: 9 Tips for Choosing a Company Name That Customers Will Remember
Your business name is critical for success.
This is why naming your business shouldn’t be a spur of the moment decision. It should be carefully considered in order to produce the best results for your business.
You also want your business name to represent your brand and be memorable. You want it to represent the services you offer and how you can help people.
This is why you need to consider how you are choosing a company name if you are starting a business in Ontario. You want your customers to remember your name over your competitors.
Here are the 9 best tips to consider when choosing a company name that your customers will remember.
1. Think Outside the Box
When you are considering a business name, you have to be creative. You have to think outside the box.
Sometimes this includes coming up with names such as inventing words. When you think outside the box, you have more freedom to think of something new. You aren’t limited by the words in your industry.
What you can do is write down a list of words that are part of your industry, then you can try to combine some of the words to come up with something catchy and memorable.
2. Think About Your Brand
While you are thinking of new words, you should consider what your business name will say about your brand.
Your brand tells a specific story about your customers, especially how you are helping them overcome a problem. Your brand is your unique value proposition, and it’s what separates you from your competitors.
When you consider different business names, you have to consider if it enhances your brand or even it’s related to your business.
For example, if you were to start a bakery you would want your business name to do something with baking. It gives people a reminder of what your business does for them.
3. Don’t Make It Complicated
Another tip when you are coming up with business names is to not make it overly complicated. This means you don’t need to make it long or make it hard to pronounce or spell.
On the contrary, it should be easy to spell in case someone wants to search for your business online or in a directory. Your business name should be something simple and yet distinguishable.
4. Is It Too Similar to Your Competitors?
As you brainstorm business names, you should consider looking at what your competitor names are.
You don’t want to choose a similar name that’s only different by a couple of letters. It can make it confusing for your consumers.
You want to make sure your business name is completely unique from your competitors, so there is no confusion.
5. Can You Create a Website Domain Name With Your Business Name?
After you’ve selected some potential business names, you want to make sure these names aren’t taken online.
You want to see if your potential business names are available as a website name. You want to make sure it’s available because if your business name and your website name don’t match, it can result in some confusion.
Your consumers might be confused about how to find your website if it’s different from your business name.
6. Don’t Be Overly Plain
Another tip to consider is making sure your business name isn’t overly plain.
You want to ensure that it’s memorable. To use the bakery example again, if you were to start a business, you don’t want the name of the bakery to be simply, “bakery.”
You want to add some flavor to it. You want to make sure your business name is interesting and not boring. You want it to be something memorable.
7. Ask Your Target Market About the Name
Another pro tip to consider when you are choosing a business name is to simply ask your target market.
You can send out a survey to them that asks them what name they prefer. You can also have a control group that you test to see what their preference is when it comes to business names.
8. Don’t Forget to Register Your Business Name
When you do have a list of potential business names, you want to make sure that it’s not already registered by another business.
This is why you need to do your research and see what’s available. This is also why it’s a good idea to create a unique word that only you know.
It makes it more unlikely that someone will have taken that business name.
9. Make Sure You Like the Name
If you have a list of business names that are available and interesting, but you don’t like the name, then don’t choose it.
It’s your business, so you should make sure you enjoy the name. While not everyone has to love the name of your business, it’s important that you love it.
Now You Know Everything About Choosing a Company Name
Choosing a company name can be challenging. This is why it’s important to consider these tips and all the factors that can influence how you choose a company name.
By following these tips, you have a better understanding of what it takes to choose a company name. You know how it reflects your brand and everything you enjoy about your business.
And, make sure to search all your business name ideas using our Free NUANS Preliminary Search.
