How to come up with a name for your business or product – and start building a brand.
There’s a lot in a name but it’s all contained in these two aspects:
- The first is the actual name, an arrangement of letters that either works for business or against it in terms of memorability, visual appeal, meaning and function (semantics).
- The second is the reputation or perception attached to it which is referred to as the brand. This is built over time.
Our tendency, when starting something new, is to jump ahead to, “What are we gonna call it?” We then bash out some suggestions.
But, before the name itself, you need to define what you want people to believe about the business. In words.
Write it out, in no more than 2 or 3 sentences. This can take some time and is an invaluable exercise. In fact, this process is called Brand Positioning, and it’s crucial.
When you force yourself to put into words what you want people to think about the business, it helps you know better what the business is yourself. It provides you with greater clarity and focus.
If you try to be something for everyone because you fear losing out on sales, you’ll never be able to offer anything truly valuable. Narrow your focus and define what unique value your business offers and why people should believe in it.
Let’s say you want to start an online IT shop. What makes it different? And from a customer’s perspective, why should they care about it? And, who specifically should care about it? Be specific and don’t use general and cliché words like quality, unique or that one everyone seems to have stuck in their heads… excellence. Why is it quality? What is so excellent?
You might just end up with something like, “The gamified, gamer-go-to, next-day-delivery online IT store with the friendliest customer service delivered by game-loving-employees.” Notice that nothing was said about the ‘latest tech’ or ‘lowest prices’, another shop can own that positioning and you don’t need to compete purely on that front anymore. You can see how this would allow you to hone in and create a unique and exciting business.
It’s important to keep in mind when forming a Brand Positioning, that it is something only you see. So don’t mistake it for a slogan (the slogan, as with all other brand assets, is derived from the statement). Don’t be afraid to put really daringly descriptive, whiz-bang, picture-painting vocab in there.
This will not only help you develop a relevant name, but everything from the website to the look of the delivery van will be in line with this. Once the brand is positioned, the ideas start to flow.
Assuming you’ve now defined the Brand Positioning, let’s get to the name…
Tips:
- Don’t cloud the issue with irrelevant or disconnected ideas because you as a person feel you owe it to your childhood hamster (R.I.P.) to name your new engineering firm after her. Unless of course, it works as part of some truly magical story as the inspiration for the business.
- Don’t just do a general brainstorm, apply some lateral thinking.
There are different avenues to take, and Brand Positioning will help you know which one.
Person- or Place-Based Names
Do you want the feel of heritage, tradition, and history, or even accountability and reputation? Consider using an actual name or combination of names. This is pretty much standard practice for the likes of auditors and lawyers, but can well apply to anything, and in today’s tech-driven world using people’s names can say a lot.
- Dave Thompson Engineering
- Wilson and Mkhize Wealth Management
- Van Rooyen & Co.
Places names can be used to push the idea of geographic ownership (the best in town). If using a place name, be aware of the history and connotation attached.
- Uppington Saddlery
- Old England Barber Shop
- Konsberg Data Management
Solution + USP Fusion
USP = Unique Selling Point
For a brand pushing the idea of convenience, and you want to speedily unpack what you do and why it’s different before anyone even reads a slogan, this avenue can be worth exploring.
- RoamingPolony – A Mobile Butchery
- SunGym – Open-Air Workout Parks
- QuickParty – For Last-Minute Events
Tweakery
Strictly speaking, these are called ‘Portmanteaus’ – a word blending the sounds and combining the meanings of two others, for example, brunch.
Use a base word that conveys benefit, function, or story. Then, adding to, removing part of, or altering part of the word that has meaning to form a new word that still makes sense in meaning but is unique.
- Movemento Logistics
- Shopology Retail Services
- Chordinate Music Events Management
Attribute Above All
Does the brand positioning require pushing the qualities or attributes to the fore? Using an existing noun or characteristic that people already have a perception of to convey the attribute or qualities instead of the function or solution. This can be an animal, natural phenomenon, or human trait. Because this is a widely used approach you may have to dig deep to arrive at something you can own as a brand. This could mean you need to combine the noun with another word to form something new.
- BraveOcean
- Hummingbird Tours
- The Sipping Starling Tea Garden
- Galaxy Media
- Willow Tree Online Tuition
As a variation of this, two nouns can be combined in the same way one would do so with people’s names.
- Squid & Oak Sea Food Spa
Descriptive + Noun = Fun
This is usually suitable for trendy or more playful brands. Oxymorons can help grab attention.
- Obvious Octopus Wines
- The Raging Canary Craft Beer Brewery
- Handsome Hackers Coding Co.
Story-Device Names
Using a word that triggers a story but doesn’t necessarily connect without an explanation, is a great way to immerse people in the brand. This needs to be thoughtfully done as this category can cause one to justify non-essential emotional attachments that actually link to the brand.
- One Last Doughnut | Bakery & Confectionery
Using a number in the name to function as a storytelling device also works.
- Level7 | Data Management
Acronyms
Abbreviated and Coded Rarely Or Never Yielding Meaning (Not really)
Avoid them as far as possible if you’re just looking for something to call it. There is no personality that is conveyed by acronyms and they can be an easy cop-out. Acronyms are often derived naturally from long cumbersome names which are used frequently. That said, if used strategically, and it’s linked to the industry or solution offered and purposefully used, it can be powerful.
- ministry.of.NFT
- VMX Films
Once you arrive at some name options or one you feel works, here are a few checks before going with it:
- Consider the usage. Where it will be displayed, and how well it will convert to a website URL?
- Say it. Is it easy to say? How many syllables? More than 3 starts counting against you, at least for the core name, not including the qualifying words that follow i.e. Nike Sporting Goods – ‘Nike’ is the core name.
- Let others read it. Can they read and say it?
- Do a search. Check online how many companies have used it, and if it will pose a problem. There are so many businesses out there that you can’t always find a unique name, but at least it should not compete in the same space with another brand of the same name.
- Check for negative connotations. A name that when read or said reminds people of something sexual, racist, political, religious, or just plain silly will influence how the name is perceived and count against the brand.
- Beware of trends. While using symbols like a # can work in some cases, these are usually linked to a trend, and in 5 or 10 years time, the name is dated. Y2K Computers would be a perfect example. No matter how up-to-date their actual offering is, it feels like something outdated and increasingly corny.
- Strength of letters. Vs, Ns, Ms, and Xs are examples of strong letters. So be aware of how strong the name sounds and if that aligns with your positioning. A word starting with an O, P, or T can feel more hospitable than something starting with an X, Z, or V for example.