You have a great idea for a business, but how are you going to take that idea from concept to a commercially viable company? Never underestimate the importance of choosing a great name for your business. Think of businesses like Starbucks, Levi’s, and Coca-Cola; the names and logos of these companies are tightly integrated with coffee, jeans, and soda, respectively. Your company’s name represents its entire identity.
Don’t take a careless approach to choosing your company name. When you take a methodical approach, the name is more likely to be the perfect fit for your startup. Here are some tips on how to name a business.
Company name ideas
Gather together with your team for a brainstorming session. You can do this online, but if you meet in person, the creative energy will flow more freely. Come together at a WeWork space; there are offices in major cities across the country where you can collaborate with your business cohorts.
Don’t invite too many people when you’re brainstorming. Keep the session to key decision-makers. If a lot of people get involved, some may feel put out that you didn’t choose their suggestions. Trying to appease everyone could result in a mediocre name.
Some of the ideas that you come up with might relate to:
- Your name. If one individual is the main brain behind your startup, you might choose to use your own name as part of the business name.
- Your purpose. What products or services are you going to sell?
- Your values. What ideals do you want your name to convey?
- Keywords. What keywords do consumers most commonly search for when they’re exploring businesses in your industry?
You could also dig into word play or puns to find the perfect name for your company. For example, “Wooden It be Lovely,” “Pita Pan,” and “Hairy Pop-ins Pet Nannies” are all real business names that take advantage of aspects of pop culture that the public already knows and loves.
During your brainstorming session, avoid judging any name ideas. Simply throw them all on the table. You can organize them into lists or just create a jumble of ideas that you’ll sort through later.
After you have a bunch of potential names in front of you, begin to whittle away the ones that don’t appeal to you. Strive to get your possibilities down to 25 or so. From there, you can use the following tips to cut down your list until you settle on a winner.
Make sure you’re not stealing a name
You don’t want to end up in legal hot water before your business even gets off the ground, so it’s important to make sure that your company name is unique. If you infringe on someone else’s trademarked name, you could end up having to pay damages, and you’ll likely have to change your company name and logo.
Check the Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) to search for marks. A mark could be a name or a logo — anything that serves to identify a business or other identity. Also, remember that trademark protection is granted to the first person or entity to use a mark, regardless of if that trademark is registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
The main criteria for trademark infringement is whether a mark will cause confusion. For example, two companies might be named “Smith,” but if one sells sandwiches and the other is in the clothing industry, and their logos are significantly different, there is a very slim chance that consumers would confuse the two names.
Also keep in mind that trademarks are registered on both state and federal levels. If your company is in California and someone else in Georgia has a similar mark, you’re unlikely to have to worry about any infringement issues unless that Georgia company decides to go national.
If you have any questions about trademarks, it would be wise to get in touch with an intellectual property lawyer who specializes in trademarks.
Other things to avoid
Stepping on another business’s toes isn’t the only thing you want to avoid when you’re picking a name and logo for your company. You should also make sure that the name is not:
- Too narrow. At the beginning, your company might focus on one thing. However, if you later branch out into other services or other geographic areas, you don’t want to be boxed in by your name. For example, if you name your company “Los Angeles Hair Clips,” and you later decide to sell other hair products, your name could give the wrong impression to customers.
- Too hard to remember or pronounce. If you use foreign words or complicated language in your company name, customers are less likely to remember your business. If the business name is a little on the complex side but you don’t want to change it, you could organize a fun marketing campaign to help customers remember you.
- Too hard to spell. If you use nontraditional spelling in your company’s name, it may make it difficult for customers to find you online. An average grade-schooler should be able to spell and remember your name.
- Too vague. The name should give some indication of what your business does.
- Offensive. If you live in an area with an ethnically diverse population, you should research to see if your business name might shock or offend someone from another culture.
- Too boring. If you use generic words in your name, you risk becoming just another part of the white noise that consumers see when they browse through businesses in your industry.
Of course, there are many well-known businesses that don’t follow the above suggestions for their names. However, they have already found firm footing and are well-established in their industries. As a new player, you should probably play it safe with your company’s name.
Another thing you need to consider is the web availability of your business name. To check if a domain name or web address is available, you can use the WHOIS database. If the web address you want is available, claim it right away.
Test potential names
When your list of possible names has been narrowed down to two or three possibilities, it’s time to test how audiences react to the names. You could ask your friends and family for their feedback, but because they want to support you, their opinions may not be as objective as they should be.
Perform online A/B testing. Create a separate landing page for each name. You can do this on Unbounce or LeadPages. The landing pages should be identical except for the company name. Run traffic to the landing pages, and then use the analytics to discover which page received the most interest. Which page had the most hits? Which page kept visitors on it for the longest amount of time?
You want to attract targeted traffic that includes real potential customers. Running Facebook ads is one way to achieve this.
Register the name
Once you decide on a business name, you need to register it. This isn’t the same thing as registering a trademark. You need to file a “Doing Business As,” which is otherwise known as a DBA. This document lets your state government know that you are operating your business under a name other than your own name or the legal name of your corporation.
If your business name is your own name, you don’t need to file a DBA.
Don’t be afraid to change the name
So, you’ve settled on a name. Congratulations! But what if, despite your best efforts, you later encounter problems with the name? It might not be as well-received as your testing indicated it would be, or you may find that you overlooked some details during your choosing process.
Don’t be afraid to change the name. Let existing customers know about the name change well ahead of time so you avoid confusion. Hopefully, the new name will have the impact you were aiming for from the beginning.
Choosing a name for your business is a big deal. Your name will identify your company and be connected with its reputation and its goods and services. Use the above steps to settle on a name that will give the right impression and be something you can stand behind as you propel your business toward success.
