You’ve put in endless work developing a product or service or coming up with a spectacular business idea. Now it’s time to dedicate your efforts to think up a memorable brand name that will set you up for success. Don’t be like so many businesses and rush this process. It’s worth spending some time on this and getting it right.
Your brand name is what differentiates your business from another; it’s what imparts individuality into your brand persona. That’s why it’s crucial to have a great company name and domain name that attracts a customer’s attention – whether it’s on a business card, an ad banner, or a storefront.
I’ve been perfecting the art of creating catchy brand names for products, companies, and services for almost two decades. But you don’t need to have my level of expertise to come up with great business name ideas. If you want to come up with a lot of viable naming options, all you do need is to follow some essential steps.
Every Brand Name Begins with This Naming Process
Step 1 – Develop Your Creative Brief
To figure out your name, you need to get a clear idea of what you want to convey to your customers through your name. This isn’t just something to pull out of thin air. You want to spend some time figuring your brand positioning and what you want your name to communicate. This is called your Creative Brief.
Here is some key information you should include in your Brief:
Sum up your brand in one sentence.
Try to make it concise so that you have a sharper focus on what path you want to stay on.
Determine who the customers are that you want to reach.
Knowing who your target audience and secondary audience are is very important. If you’re a business that sells a product or service targeted to older citizens, you wouldn’t give it the same name as a business trying to attract tweens and teens.
You have to know who you’re talking to in order to communicate effectively.
Make a list of your competitors.
Research and determine who you’re competing against. This way, you know what to steer away from and how high the bar is being raised in order to reach it. Great brand names must differentiate themselves from their competitors.
Research important consumer insights about your products/services.
A great brand has great consumer insights. To have consumer insights is to know how customers behave—not necessarily their preferences. When you know how they behave, you are more adept at catering to their needs and creating a brilliant brand name.
Clarify how you want your brand to be positioned in the marketplace.
You want to stand out in the marketplace. The most iconic brands have unique brand positioning because it helps convey their specific value and brand image.
At Eat My Words, we use an official Creative Brief. If you work with us or sign up for my online course, you’ll receive a copy of our Brief for yourself.
Step 2 – Think Creatively
Now it’s time to do more creative research. Go with your gut when thinking about how your brand makes you feel and think—this is a good marker to know how other’s will react.
This step will guide your brainstorming naming strategy, so make sure to be thorough and honest.
- Make a list of 5-10 adjectives that encapsulate your brand.
- Make a list of 5-10 words that you want to consider having in your brand name.
- Make a list of 5-10 words that you don’t like or are off-limits for your new name.
- List 5 existing good brand names that you like and 5 existing product or company names that you don’t like. (Consider metaphorical names, invented names, descriptive names, etc.)
- Write a few examples of how you would like your new brand name to be used in a sentence.
- Make a list of a few things, ideas, or areas you want to explore.
Step 3 – Brainstorm Brand Names
Now that you better understand your visual identity, the first impression you want your company name to have, and what you want to convey—It’s time to begin the fun part of brainstorming company name ideas.
All you need is yourself, access to the internet, and a place to comfortably jot down all of your ideas.
Search the Internet
Reference your creative list of desired adjectives and words and run them through different search engines.
This is a great way to find an interesting word you hadn’t thought of, more inspiration to a concept you didn’t know could fit your brand, or lead you to the phrase that is exactly what you were looking for.
These are my favorite databases:
- Phrases.org – Just like the name suggests, this is a great database for finding popular phrases, idioms, and proverbs that contain the word of your choosing.
- Rhymezone.com – This search engine finds much more than just words that rhyme. You can find anything from synonyms to homophones to quotes that contain your desired term.
- Dictionary/Thesaurus.com– This is the failproof way of finding more word inspiration. You see the meaning of words you didn’t know existed and other methods of saying the same thing. You can go from one word to the next until you have a few that resonate with what you want.
You will arrive at your chosen name by utilizing these brainstorming techniques to become a human brand name generator. One will lead to another, like stepping stones to finding your chosen name.
A search for synonyms might give you an adjective you really like; you may then run it through the phrase engine and find a phrase you want, which you can then run through the image search and find an object that resonates with your brand—which you can then run through the dictionary to see other meanings—etc.
Step 4 – Rely on the SMILE & SCRATCH Test
I’ve created a straightforward 12-point name evaluation test (check it out, it’s free!) that helps you determine if your business name is any good or not and why. It’s called the SMILE & SCRATCH Test and it’s based on my philosophy, “A name should make you smile, instead of scratch your head.”
SMILE is an acronym for the 5 qualities that make a name shine.
If you check off most of these boxes, then your name is golden.
Suggestive
Your name needs to suggest something key about your brand
Memorable
You want a name that people will remember, and a memorable brand name should be sticky and easily associated with familiarity.
Imagery
Your name should evoke visualizations and images in your mind that illuminate more about your brand.
Legs
Your name should be able to have legs that can run in different directions and lend itself to a far-reaching theme.
Emotional
A perfect brand name evokes positive emotions that you want to be associated with your brand.
SCRATCH is an acronym for the 7 deadly deal breakers.
If your name checks off more than one of these boxes, you may want to reconsider it.
Spelling Challenged
If it looks like a spelling mistake, has a number in it, or just looks plain wrong—it will cost you in the long run.
Copycat
Too closely looks and sounds like a competitors name is always a NO
Restrictive
It puts your brand in a specific box and leaves you no room for future growth.
Annoying
Sounding phony or forced is a turn off for most customers
Tame
These names are usually ones that involve zero creativity; they fall flat and sound dull and descriptive.
Curse of Knowledge
There is no appeal in a name that excludes people that you have to explain what your name means.
Hard to Pronounce
Same with the spelling, if you have to coach potential customers on how to pronounce your name, it’s setting you up to lose them.
Step 5 – Trademark Screen Your Business Name Ideas
Before you settle on the perfect business name, be sure you search for identical and similar trademarks. Exact match domain availability is less important although you do want to have a strong online presence.
Bottom Line
Coming up with a brand name that is emotional, easy to pronounce and your customers find memorable is no easy task. But if you follow the steps detailed above, you should be able to create a brand name that you can be truly proud of.
If you want to learn more, check out my new online course and free Mini Masterclass, as well as my best-selling book, Hello, My Name Is Awesome: How To Create Brand Names That Stick.
