Tips on How to Choose Your Business Name

In business, you are faced with making decisions daily. Whether you choose to make one or not, you are actually making a decision. The best decision you can ever make in a start-up business is picking a suitable name for your business.

Believe me, when I say this, the name you will choose will eventually have an incredible impact on your business. If chosen rightly, your business name will definitely drive in customers and get your competitors confused.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Business Name

The essence of picking a good business name is to build your customer base, as well as remain in line for a very long time. In picking a business name, you must consider the following.

1. Uniqueness

Being unique in picking a business name makes you unforgettable. It is like an inseparable sticker which makes a print in the majority of your customers’ memory. If you eventually come across a name that stands out in the crowd, it will definitely remain fresh for a very long time.

Out there in some garage is an entrepreneur who’s forging a bullet with your company’s name on it.

Gary Hamel

Uniqueness gives you a sense of ownership. If you are original in your dealings with the naming of your establishment, it will be very difficult for others to take advantage of your business.

2. Simplicity

This is another important factor to consider. The shorter the length of your business name, the better it sounds. You should avoid a longer name, they create confusion. If it is possible, pick a name that can easily be twisted into a verb. The most popular is Google in which people tend to say, “Google ABCD” to mean “Search ABCD”.

3. Sense of Meaning

In most cases, you get to see business names that are meaningless. It is a strategy that might work for some start-ups. You should not get involved in trying so because; it might just become a topic in town instead of a destination for business. Believe me. You can choose to switch words in picking your name that gives it a sense of meaning, “Google” instead of “Goggle” with a similar meaning from my own point of view. 

4. Availability

In picking a business name, one should endeavour to check its availability. You don’t want to share your glory with another man’s business. You should make sure that the domain name is available before taking a stand. It is also important to take note of its registration. Before becoming too attached to the name, if you intend to register your business, you should make sure that the name is available for registration.

5. Unusual Spellings

It is also vital for you NOT to use unusual spellings. It will go a long way in sticking to names that can easily be spelt by your customers. Though as stated earlier, you should stand out, it is also relevant to consider not using confusing words in your business names. They can make it difficult to be seen by search engines like Google, Yahoo or Bing.

6. Ease of Pronunciation

Aside from considering the spelling issues of your name, it is also relevant to consider its pronunciation. It is much easier to be remembered if your business name can be easily pronounced. You should note that using a dominating language can be the best if you intend to make your business global.

7. Alignment

This is another factor that is very important if you want your business to grow even faster. Aligning your business with its name is very important. You should pick a name that gives prospective users clues as to what your business is all about. The business you intend to stick to should tell your customers what line of business you are into. For instance, “Facebook” tells its users what it offers from its name. You will get a book with the faces of friends and families as well as a search for faces around the world. 

Practical Approach to Picking a Suitable Business Name

It will be unrealistic to only tell you the factors to consider without giving you a thing or two about the approach you can use to pick a suitable name. There are need to learn these few secrets, they have actually helped me a lot. I was privileged to start up a small business some time ago. Believe me, picking out a name for the business was a very exhausting task to do. It started out fun, not until I was trapped in a corner dining on a vicious cycle.

The mistake I made was to believe I could be able to tackle this on my own. This made me settle for the name I loved and not mind what others might think. I did not only lose my pride that day, but also the prospective customers I might have acquired with a better-suited name.

Therefore, there is a need to follow this practical approach I will lay down for you now. They will help you pick a very good name for your business.

1. Understand the Concept of a Good Name

What is a good business name? A good business name is simply a name you give to your business that creates awareness of the business for admiration and patronage. To cut this story short, it is a name that you choose that will eventually boost your customer base. As discussed in the various factors to be considered in picking a business name, it is a name that meets all.

2. Draft out a List of Names

You already know what a good name entails. You should draft down a list of them. They can be twenty, thirty or more. If you are full, you should consider picking up available names related to your niche and work on them via brainstorming with others.

3. Brainstorm with a Team to Select the Best

In brainstorming with a team, you should place your aim and objectives on the chalkboard and work toward getting a name that rhymes with them. In so doing, you should check out the strengths and weaknesses of the list you have and slice down the “bad eggs” in the list.

NOTE: It is a big mistake to brainstorm with family and friends. It is an unwise thing to do. The reason is that you are favoured and there might be no opening for criticism. You will get to only exploit the beauty of like minds and not “foes”.

4. Check for Availability

As discussed earlier, this is a very important consideration in picking a name. If you intend to have a website for your business, you should check if the domain name for the business—which is, of course, the same as your business name—hasn’t been taken yet. If the name(s) you have taken have been selected, you should go back to the drawing board or opt for an alternative.

5. Sample Potential Customers

Your potential customers are those you intend to sell out to. This is an important step to getting your name established. It is important to note that in dealing with customer reviews, the criticism should be considered more critical than the praises. Also, in dealing with your prospective customers in establishing a name, you should be open to changes. It is part of life, my friend. 

In sampling the opinions and suggestions of your prospective customers, you will also be privileged to get the desired colour and logo design for your business as well. This means that you will be able to kill three birds with one stone.

The Business Name “Alibaba”

Alibaba Group is a Chinese company involved in diverse online businesses. Alibaba was created in simple structured words, which implies a platform where large and small vendors come to hawk their wares.

The name Alibaba was chosen as a result of the brainstorming with a team comprising the CEO, Jack Ma and other members. When Ali Baba is mentioned, most people are familiar with the name. It is a name linked to “Open Sesame”.

According to sources, Jack Ma was out on the street asking random people if they are familiar with the name, Ali Baba, and they all claimed to be familiar with it.

The character born to be captured in his line of business was centred on the tale “Open Sesame”.  Ali Baba is a kind and smart business-oriented individual. He was privileged with the chance to help and he helped the village. Therefore, Jack expresses that Alibaba Group opens sesame for small to medium size companies. 

From this brief tale, you will agree with me that Jack Ma not only understood the concept of a good name but also get involved in brainstorming and sampling ideas of prospective customers.

In conclusion

There is power in a name that is so magnificent that it drives in your first and most powerful customers. You will need to consider the smallest details such as colour for your customers and see their reactions. Your major aim in picking a good name should not be based on beauty but rather on getting to build your customer base.

It is more effective to do something valuable than to hope a logo or name will say it for you.

Jason Cohen

To build your business begins with your name. Getting a good business name without building on the business is like washing the back of a dirty dish to serve your customers.