“But what do I call it?!? ” You have a great idea for a business, you know the industry, what you want to sell, how you will sell it, who you will sell to but, what do we call it?
One of the hardest things for some new business owners is “What do I call my business?”. You have the standard of Name + Business i.e. Joe’s Plumbing. Straight forward and to the point. Also, somewhat similar, you have the Geolocation + Business i.e. Front Range Gifts. You also have the abstract, what the hell is a Verizion anyway? People name their businesses all kinds of things, their favorite animals, favorite seasons, the pet they had as a child. But what is a good name? A name that will strike inspiration into the hearts of consumers?
What if I told you, it matters less than you think? A name is an identifier, a way to separate your business from the one down the street that sells the same thing. The way you build out the rest of your brand, the quality of your product or service, the way you treat customers, the other sensory pieces of your marketing will make a determination of how people ultimately feel about your business. Again, I come back to what the hell is a Verizion?
However, there are some things about your name that you should take into consideration.
- Does it make sense for the business? OK when writing down the list of ideas make sure that the name makes sense. We don’t want to create confusion in the potential customer. If you sell industrial gears but love your rose garden so you call your company Flower Supply it is probably going to limit your customers. Yes you can overcome that through marketing and word of mouth but it’s a barrier that needs to be considered. On the other side you don’t need to name it “Industrial Gear Supply and Service” necessarily. It could work, it says exactly what it is but it is a bit long and on to the next point.
- How long is the name? A long name leads to issues on multiple fronts. It makes it harder to fit onto print materials, embroidered shirts, business cards, logos. It makes it harder to remember when people want to tell other people about your business. You can always shorten a long name into a acronym i.e. United Parcel Service or National Football League.
- Who else calls their business this? You should look around and see what other businesses are named. You don’t want to get your heart really set on a name, order a sign, print business cards and get those nice embroidered shirts and then get a cease and desist from the Carl’s Widgets three towns over. Once you narrow your ideas down, do a deep google search and see if you can find any others. You can also hire a company that specializes in Trademarks to do the research for you. It all depends on the scope of your business and where you plan to serve. If you are strictly local and a company in another state has the same name, you are probably safe. You will need to be concerned about the next point though.
- What is available for the name for URL and Social Media? Your efforts are going to be made much easier if you do this leg work first. Once you settle on a few name ideas go and see what is available for your website URL and Social Media accounts. Don’t be discouraged if your exact name isn’t available. Try to think of something creative that will work and then make it consistent across every platform. Let’s look at Joe’s Plumbing again, you could do “GoJoe” or “JoePlumb” You will want to go setup pages with that social media handle even if you don’t plan on being very active on that platform. It is free and you don’t want to have someone posting under your handle without control over what they are saying.
- Consider your audience Who are you selling to? A name that resonates with your target audience will go a long way. It will also hurt you if it doesn’t make sense to them. If you are going to be an international business you should also take into account in what countries you may be doing business. You don’t want to choose a name that you later find out means turkey butt in a country that is one of your target markets. Unless you are selling turkey butts, then bonus!
- It doesn’t need to tell the whole story Too many business owners try to tell their whole story in their business name. You will have plenty of opportunities to tell your story. Your business name doesn’t need to be “Jim’s Backyard Landscaping Flower Supply and Grilling Sundries.” It’s too much. Sure it says exactly what Jim does but try putting it on a business card. Yikes.
The business name is an important identifier and it should be taken seriously. However, don’t let the perfect get in the way of the good. A lot of other factors are going to go into how you are perceived, how your clients come to you, how your products gain attention. Also, what the hell is a Verizion?
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