You have your business idea, you have done your market research and you have a strategy in place.
This hard part is over right? Wrong.
Now, you have to choose a business name that is not only catchy and says what your business does but also reflects the personality of your business and can stand the test of time.
Wow, no pressure or anything.
Here are 9 mistakes to avoid making when choosing your business name to make the decision process that little bit easier.
1.Choosing Obscure Names
If your business name is too obscure then your consumer will have no idea what it is that you do or even how to search for you online. When you are at the starting phases of your business you want to make it easy for the consumer to make the connection between your business name and your service offering.
2.Getting the Everyone Involved
When coming up with a business name, you may want to check out your ideas with some third parties to make sure that it works well. And, rightly so. Constructive feedback can be just what you need when making the decision to name your enterprise but be very selective with who you ask and how many people you ask. If you ask the advice and opinion of too may family, friends, colleagues, business people, etc. you will, without a doubt, receive conflicting opinions and end up more confused that when you started out. Ask a few select people that have good insight into the business and value their advice. Other than that, you may end up with a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth.
3.Using Place Names in the Business Title
Initially having place names in your business title can help attract local business and get your enterprise off the ground but be careful about including it in your actual registered business name as it can have restriction when you want to expand. It may also stop people outside of the geographical area of reference from using you service or buying your product as the name has little relevance to them.
4.The ‘Trainwreck’ Method
The ‘Trainwreck’ Method is the process of sticking an adjective onto a noun for a quick and easy business name. The result: business names like QualiServe and TranquiSpa. Quick and Easy but terrible and cheesy. There’s nothing particularly wrong with these names but it shows a lack of thought and effort – don’t let that be the first impression of your business.
5.Using unusual Spellings of Common Words
MutzKutz, FotoBoothz, KwaliTech. Not only are these names an absolute eye sore but they make it much more difficult for the consumer to search for your business in directories or online as the spelling is so far off what the spoken name sounds like.
6.Choosing a Business Name that is too long/ hard to pronounce
If the consumer can’t say the name of your business, how can you ever hope to have strong brand recall or recognition in the market? It is so important that the consumer can, at the very least, discuss your business. Make sure that you give them to opportunity to with a business name that is easy – or not difficult – to pronounce.
7.Failing to check existing Business Names
Check that your business name is not already taken. You could spend a lot of time and money on the branding and design of a business name to realise that the name is already taken by another business. First port of call would be to check your business name at https://www.cro.ie/ or https://ebra.be/ or at the very least – Google the business name!
8.Using words so Plain that they Don’t Stand Out
If Google had been called ‘InternationalSearchEngine.com’ do you think it would have had the success that it has had today? I am not saying that the name itself was the reason for Google’s success but let’s not bore your target consumer to death before they even finish reading the business name. Your business name should go to some length to reflect your brand persona and stand out in the crowd.
9.Refusing to change a Deadbeat Name
We all make mistakes and sometimes a business will have a name that is holding it back. It is really important to understand that sometimes – even though it take time, money – changing the name of the business could be the one thing that makes it soar. Don’t let pride or fear get in your way. If a deadbeat business name is not working – then change it!
Keep these in mind when naming your business and you should be on to a winner!
