After spending more than 15 years as a professional namer, writing a book known as, “the brand name bible,” and naming brands and products for some of the top companies in the world, I’ve been asked countless questions about brand names. I’ve put some of the most popular ones into this post, including how to create a company name that is memorable.
Whether you are looking to create a catchy business name, renaming your brand, or finding a name for a new product, here are five questions and answers that will help you create a memorable and magnetic name on your own.
1. Why is my business name so important?
Let’s start with the most foundational question to cement the importance of the work involved in coming up with the perfect business name.
The simple answer is this: first impressions are everything.
Your business name is the first layer of contact your customers will have with your products and services. Your name is what breaks the ice between you and your audience, setting the tone for your relationship and determining whether someone will become a potential customer.
Putting in the extra work, hiring a professional for help, or focusing your time on coming up with a great business name is seizing a paramount opportunity for success.
And so, when it comes to first impressions, a good business name is what will set you apart from your competitors, increase brand awareness, and connect you with your target audience.
2. What’s the first step to coming up with business name ideas?
Contrary to what you may think, checking domain availability is not the first thing you should do. (We check domain names last, after we do a trademark search. If we cannot get an exact match domain name, we simply add a modifier word. Tip: check out namestudio.com, which will suggest prefix and suffix modifier words and also acts as a free business name generator.)
Your first step in the naming process is to complete a Creative Brief. This detailed document is where you’ll write what you want the name of your new venture to communicate and what it should accomplish.
The Brief will help you kickstart your brainstorming process and come up with strategic business name ideas instead of random words. And your Creative Brief will save you a lot of time by keeping you focused so you end up with a name that meets your objectives.
Go with your gut and listen to your instincts; try to be as honest and detailed as possible when creating your Brief. (You will get the same Creative Brief we use at Eat My Words when you enroll in my online course.)
Some questions from the Creative Brief:
1. What do you want your brand name to accomplish? Determine what you need to name, what you want the name to convey, and your goals for your potential name.
2. What is your company about? Sum up your brand/product in a few sentences.
3. How do you see your brand/product positioned in the marketplace? Detail how your business idea is different than the rest in the market and what makes it unique.
4. What do you know about your target market? Detail everything you know about your the consumer behavior and trends of your target audience.
5. Who is your target audience? In a few words, describe the customers you want to reach.
6. Who are your competitors? Make a list of the competitors to know who you are competing against to help you stand out and stay away from their ideas.
7. What do you want your company name to convey? Detail how you want people to feel when they see or hear your company name.
8. Make a list of 5-10 adjectives that best describe your brand’s spirit and personality.
9. Make a list of words and themes you want to explore as well as avoid.
10. Write how someone would use your name in a sentence.
3. What’s the best way to brainstorm business names?
And with these techniques, you don’t have to have a single creative bone in your body! All you need is the internet and a place to put down the ideas you like.
Offline
To warm up and start on the right foot, clear your mind and desk, and focus on jotting down words you associate with your brand attributes. These are not meant to be catchy business names, just interesting words that may lead to a name for your business.
Write down at least 12 “starter words” that you associate with your company; as random as they sound, it will get your creative juices going and get your mindset in the right place.
Online
You have an amazing company name generator at your fingertips: the internet! The online goldmine is vast and deep. For instance, online dictionaries are deep wells of name ideas and inspiration. The one I like best is The Free Dictionary, which provides much more than definitions. It’s also a thesaurus and a source of phrases and idioms, all of which can spark terrific names. Start by looking up meanings of your starter words, then dig deeper to get more ideas and words to explore. You never know where they will take you!
4. How can I tell if my new business name idea is good?
I’ve created a free 12-point name evaluation test to help you evaluate the strength of any business name. It’s called the SMILE & SCRATCH Test and is based on my philosophy, “A name should make you smile instead of scratch your head.” Here are some key takeaways:
Is it easy to spell/pronounce?
If your business name is spelled with numbers in it, is too difficult to pronounce, or looks like a typo, it will cause problems for everyone, especially you. (Siri or Alexa won’t like it either!)
A name that you have to stop and help people spell or pronounce is only a disadvantage for your business’ growth; it can prevent potential customers from finding you or recommending you to others because your name is difficult.
Will it work in the future?
Your business name shouldn’t limit future growth.
Unless “Joe’s Pencils” is a small business that plans to strictly sell pencils forever, then yes that name wouldn’t cause any problems down the road. Still, if Joe plans to someday expand into selling pens and paper, well, that may be confusing to potential customers.
Does it too closely resemble another brand?
A copycat business name is never a good idea. Not only can it potentially cause legal problems for you, but it can be confusing for potential customers and come off as disingenuous.
Make sure to do trademark research to see if your business name is available. (NOTE: Just because the domain name is available, doesn’t mean the trademark is. It’s always best to check with a trademark attorney before pulling the trigger on a company name.)
5. What makes a business name memorable?
One of the most important things your business name has to be is MEMORABLE. This boosts brand awareness, increases your chances of getting customers to come back, and helps your marketing campaigns actually follow through and bring in those potential customers.
If your potential customers can’t remember your name, then they will much more easily go to your competitors instead.
Here are three factors a memorable business name should employ:
Association
Customers are more likely to remember your name if you make associations with something that is already familiar to the general public—a reference point of some sort.
Take the children’s electronic toys company, LeapFrog, which references that familiar childhood game we all played while correctly conveying their brand identity.
Imagery
Light up more of those memory connections in your customer’s brains by creating vivid imagery in their minds. A name that has evocative images has a long-lasting impression on most people.
Choose imagery that effectively conveys something about your unique business. Metaphors are great for this. Look to car names for examples. For instance, Ram, Jaguar, or Viper.
Emotion
We are all driven by our emotions when we purchase stuff. Take advantage of this fact and choose a name that tugs at those emotional heartstrings—emotions that align with your brand’s personality, of course.
Think about what emotions arise when you think of a name and consider whether that is the reaction you want to bring out of your customers. Brands that do this well are LifeLock (safety); Caesar’s Palace (luxury); and Samsonite (strength).
Bottom Line
Squeezing all of my naming knowledge into one tiny article is impossible, but this post will give you a good overview and an excellent jumpstart.
The answers to these popular questions should guide anyone and set them on the right path to finding the perfect name for their business. But if you want to take a deeper dive and really learn how to create memorable brand names, check out my popular masterclass, free mini masterclass, or creativity book, Hello, My Name Is Awesome: How To Create Brand Names That Stick.
