So you are starting a new business that would offer a great product or service. You know your product/service is of top quality, but your customers don’t know that. In fact, they might be hearing your name for the first time.
In such a condition, why would someone buy your product or service against a trusted brand they already use?
How will you attract them and then how do you make sure they remember your name and come back to you again?
You need a good brand name that instantly connects with your customers and projects a premium image of your products.
But most people end up keeping names that are too obvious and common. It is because they do not know of a specific way to find a name. Think, were you ever taught to find or create a name?
With all this in mind, we have put up a step by step process to find and select a good brand name. So, here you go!
What type of name should I choose?
Your brand name is the image of your business. The most important thing about choosing a brand name is that it should be in sync with your brand strategy. Remember, it is important that you create a brand strategy before deciding on a brand name.
Once your brand strategy is in place, you need to identify all the parameters for choosing a brand name and define criteria for selection.
Your standards may include a different weight for different parameters.
For example, parameters weight (on a scale of 0-100) could be 50points for audience perception, 20 for better sounding than the competition, 10 for meaningfulness, 10 for short length and 10 for the message.
When you start looking at a list of probable names, having criteria will help you avoid confusion.
What are the different ways to choose a name?
There are many different ways to find a brand name or come up with a unique one.
1. ACRONYM BRAND NAMES.
An acronym style brand name is an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word. These words could be a message, audience perception or famous quotes. TGIF is an acronym for the brand “Thank God its Friday.”
2. AMALGAM BRAND NAMES.
Such brand names are created by taking parts of words and putting them together. An example of amalgam brand names is Nabisco (National Biscuit Company).
3. DESCRIPTIVE BRAND NAMES.
Descriptive names either relate directly to or describe a business’s service or a product. A perfect example is Toys R Us.
4. INVENTED BRAND NAMES.
Invented brand names either include non-English derivatives or by their rhythm, sound, and appearance in print.
Xerox and Kodak are two great examples of invented brand names.
5. EXPERIENTIAL BRAND NAMES.
Experiential names offer a direct connection to the audience’s experience rather than to what the company/product does.
Askme is an excellent example of an experiential brand name.
6. EVOCATIVE BRAND NAMES.
Powerful and unique brand names without actually describing the essence of a company or product.
Amazon is an excellent example of an evocative brand name.
7. FOUNDER’S NAMES AS BRAND NAMES.
Founder’s name(s) are used to create a brand name.
Hewlett-Packard is an excellent example of founder’s name.
How to generate a list of brand names?
The primary way is to generate a list of names trying above methods. If you still are not satisfied and want differently sounding names, there are a few websites that help you do this.
Shopify’s brand name generator.
https://www.shopify.in/tools/business-name-generator
Namemesh’s company name generator
https://www.namemesh.com/company-name-generator
Names 4 Brands business name generator
https://www.names4brands.com/
All these tools require you to enter a word, and it will display many options based on that.
One important thing to do is to check for domain name availability for the words you shortlist. Once your brand becomes famous, it can get challenging to get a domain name back from someone who owns it. Some people end up spending thousands of dollars to acquire these domain names.
Do it Yourself or Hire Someone?
As you can see, finding the right brand name can be a lot of work. I would recommend doing it yourself, but if you do not have the time, better outsource it to someone who has done it before.
Copyrights to protect your brand name
Copyrighting your brand name ensures no one else uses it to their advantage. It also verifies that you are not using anyone’s copyrighted brand name and saves you from legal actions.
After all the pain you take to find a great name for your brand, next step is to get a professional logo design. Just like a great brand name, a professional company logo design is a great asset to your business. You may also want to read few guidelines to design a good logo.
