Learn the 3 Steps Required for Choosing an Influential Business Name

Have you scrolled through Facebook or Instagram today? If so, consider how many ads you’ve seen for various businesses. Now, name a few companies that have appeared in the ads. We bet you can’t because there are just too many of them. 

In today’s market, you can no longer stick an extra word or two to your last name and put it on your building. The digital world requires that entrepreneurs choose the perfect name that consumers will be interested in and excited about. Your name is often the first thing customers see about your business, making it a crucial part of branding identity. In fact, coming up with the perfect business name is so vital that companies devote their entire existence to helping clients do just that. 

But, we here at Squadhelp, a naming agency have helped over 35,000 clients find the perfect business name, and we can confidently tell you there are three crucial steps in the naming process. Let’s take a look.

#1 Know Your Business Identity

The name is basically the primary component of your brand. And there is no way around knowing your business identity when choosing the perfect business name. 

Thus, the first official step to naming a brand is creating brand imagination. This is among the most overlooked of all naming tools. It gives you the ability to visualize a personality for your brand. 

• How does your brand feel or look?
• What are your brand’s values?
• What tone do you project?
• Does your brand evoke emotion from customers?

Understanding these elements allows you to better position yourself toward choosing a great name. 

#2 Host a Brainstorming Session

This is the fun part! Gather your team of confidants, friends, family members, or whoever else you can and start thinking feely. This step is not analytical, so don’t overanalyze each name; we’ll get to this later. Simply tap into your creative mind and see where it takes you. 

And at this stage, no name is a bad name, so write down every idea that comes your way. If you need to add extra zing to your thoughts, check out these tools:

• Thesaurus
• Rhyming Words
• Industry Slang
• Visual names 
• Root words
• Crowdsource Naming Agencies

Another excellent tip for the brainstorming stage is to include people from many backgrounds and age groups. These people tend to bring notions about pre-eminent vs. innovative names, so they can have very valuable thoughts. 

Towards the end of this step, you should have a comprehensive list of names. Now it’s time to start shrinking the list. While shortlisting names, you’ll want to keep only those in line with your brand’s tone and value proposition. 

Once you’re down to just a few, it’s time to see how they sound and look on platforms such as social media. But also, you want to choose a name that gets you and your team just as excited as potential customers. Your ultimate goal is to end this step with 10 names on your shortlist.

#3 Validate

Don’t we all wish that our top choice was not only the perfect business name but also available? Unfortunately, this is not usually the case. So, before settling on a name, be sure to put it through a few crucial tests. These tests include: 

• Gather Feedback: Your initial goal was to find a name that inspired and stuck with customers. Seeing if your customers are happy with the name will help ensure success in your industry. So take a bit of time and ask as many people as possible for feedback. 
• Domain Search: Startups need websites, so check if a suitable domain name is available within your budget. Don’t be afraid to remove vowels, use different spelling, or add other words such as “the” to your domain.
• Trademark Check: Most people wish they could skip this step. However, it’s crucial to ensure that none of the words in your business name carry a trademark. This can save you money and stress from legal issues down the road. 

The Bottom Line

Brand names are game changers that can impact your business’s success and boost sales. A powerful business name attracts customers, creates a buzz, and prevents your social media marketing campaigns from falling flat. 

The most important thing is that, as a founder, you put in enough time and energy to land the perfect business name. With our straightforward process explained above, you’ll be on your way to finding the perfect brand name in no time!