Naming Your Business
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Your business name is one of the most vital aspects of your business. The wrong name can literally cost you customers, while the right name can help you grow and succeed. There are many, many opinions on how best to name a business, and no one way is right for everyone. Here are some general suggestions to keep in mind.
1. You want a name that helps portray the nature of your product or service. For instance, if you make an elegant, high-end product you probably want to reflect that by having an elegant, high-end sounding business name. On the other hand, if you sell trendy items for teenagers you probably want a more casual, fun name for your business.
2. If you plan on always staying within a narrow niche you can incorporate that into your name. If, on the other hand, you hope to someday expand into other styles or types of jewelry you want to look at a more general name so that you aren’t tied into just one thing. For example, if you sell coffee filters and name your business "Bob's Coffee Filters", it makes it hard to expand your business to include other items like coffee makers or mugs if you decide to expand down the road. A name like "Bob's Coffee Supplies", on the other hand, would allow more for future expansion of your product line.
Another thing to keep in mind is to try not to use a geographical name for your business since it also narrows your expansion options. It’s hard to take a name like “Seattle's Favorite Plumber” and expand it beyond the city limits of Seattle.
3. Try to come up with something catchy that will stick in people’s heads. Often people won’t buy the first time they visit your website. They will, however remember what they saw on there and may want to return at a later date. If your name is catchy enough they will likely remember it and be able to find you again. If not, they may not be able to locate your website again and you may lose the sale. One way of making a name catchy is to use words that start with the same letter, like Tracy’s Trendy Trinkets, for instance. You can also use a catchy play on words, or try words that rhyme.
4. Another option is just to use your name as your business name. It's short and to the point, especially if you are making handcrafted items or art.
5. Some people advise coming up with a made up word or phrase for your business name (the name Google is a great example). Unless you have a large advertising budget I would advise against that option for your small business. The more your name can convey about what it is you do the less time and money you will have to spend to explain it to people. Unless you have a million dollar advertising budget to get your name out and get people to recognize it, it is typically better to go with something that indicates exactly what people can expect to buy from you when they enter your store.
6. Try to come up with a name that creates an image in your customers’ minds. For instance, if you sell jewelry, a name like “Glamour Jewels” will immediately imply to your customers that your jewelry will make them glamorous.
7. Brainstorm possible names using tools like dictionaries, a thesaurus, books and magazines. While you are brainstorming write down everything that comes to mind – you can always eliminate things from your list later if they don’t sound right. The main goal is to get a bunch of ideas down on paper and then narrow it to the best option at a later time.
8. Make sure your business name is easy to pronounce. It may sound silly (no pun intended), but if people can’t say your business name they won’t talk about you and you will miss out on a bunch of free advertising by word of mouth. The other thing to keep in mind (especially with an internet business) is that you need to be sure your name is easy to spell. Many people will type your name into search engines or type your website address directly into their browser. If they don’t know how to spell your name they won’t be able to find you. You’ll also want to avoid things like using “u” for you or using alternate spellings (e.g. graphix instead of graphics)
9. Typically you will register your domain name to match your business name. This may sound a bit strange, but you want to be sure that when all of the words of your business name are put together they don’t spell something different that could be misinterpreted by your customers. For example, let’s look at Experts Exchange, which is a well known website. Their domain name is expertsexchange.com, which can easily be read as “Expert Sex Change”. It’s just something you might want to take a glance at before settling on a final name to make sure you aren’t scaring away customers with your domain name J
Coming up with a name is no easy task. It is a vitally important part of your business and can affect your success almost as much as your product itself. I would urge you to take your time when naming your business and be sure it is good one before you commit to it. Once you have a name it is hard to change it if you decide you don’t like it down the road since your website, business cards, domain name, and reputation will already all be linked with the original name.
Once you have decided on a name, you will need to make sure that it is not trademarked. You can do this by searching the database of registered trademarks at the United States Patent & Trademark Office here http://www.uspto.gov/ . While you are there you may also considering registering a trademark to help protect your business name. It is not necessary, but it might be a good idea. You can find more information on the patent & trademark website listed above to see if it is something you want to consider.