You’ve invested in a business plan, scouted for a prime location and honed your target market. Don’t settle for an ineffective, lackluster name. Here are quick tips for selecting a memorable brand name for your business. You also can follow these tips to name a product or service and create an integrated marketing naming system.
A Is Better than Z
Web search engines use an alphabetically driven organizational structure, so be sure your name ranks at the top of the list by choosing a name that falls early in the alphabet. For more on create a search-friendly site, read “SEO Made Simple: Understanding Keywords.”
Tell ’Em What You Do
Using a name that fits your industry can strengthen your brand and deepen the understanding of what your company does, offers or sells. “Just Tires,” “Toys R Us” and “Microsoft” all are examples.
Pick a Name that Reverberates
Can you activate the name? Companies such as Google, Kleenex and Xerox hit brand bonanza as their names have slipped into our vernacular as verbs.
The New Speak Easy
If your name is easy to spell and say, your name will be easier for people to remember. Be clever with other areas of your integrated marketing.
Don’t Be Counted Out
Numbers can cause confusion and spelling problems when someone is trying to find your company, service or product. Is it one or 1; two or 2; three or 3?
One of These Is Not Like the Others
Sounding too similar to an existing company can cause confusion and make it more difficult to differentiate your company, product or service from the competition.
Forget the Fads
Be aware of trends in names (e.g. dot coms or the letter “e” before any name) that could be short-lived fads. Understand the future of your products, services and industry and how it might affect the name.
