HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR COMPANY NAME?

A good business name has to portray the main reason for its existence, be easy to understand and be attractive to potential customers. You only get one chance to create your business name and if you get it right it will give you the best chance to make your marketing efforts more effective and create the right impression with your prospective customers.

Customers will make instant judgements on where they want to invest their money and successful companies do not just have good names, they develop a strong brand identity. In modern competitive markets, you must stand out from your competition and be taken seriously.

THE SIX THINGS YOU SHOULD CONSIDER WHEN CREATING YOUR BUSINESS NAME

1. Start with the vision for your business – be specific about what your business does and its unique selling point. In the world of short attention spans and quick scanning, your prospective customers need to understand you very quickly. Cheap & Quality Tyres – is very clear about what it does. However, if your vision is to expand beyond tyres then this business name would not suit you. Consider if you are serving local people. You could make a greater impact and appear more relevant to local customers by using your location in your business (brand) name. Make sure the name isn’t too generic, as blending into the background is not your ambition.
2. Make sure you like saying the name out loud! People need to be able to say and spell your business name as well as read it, and if it rolls off the tongue it becomes more memorable. Being memorable is essential in the marketing mix.
3. When choosing your business name also consider the type of logo you want to create, as visually attractive logos not only stand out from the crowd, but also reflect quality and what you stand for.
4. Consider the length of the business name – one to three words is perfect – and helps when space is at a premium (especially on social networks). Beware of using initials – does this maximise the opportunity of portraying your business unique selling point? Not if it’s a bunch of letters.
5. Once you have a name check that it’s available, or if the business already exists. Several sites do this, including Companies House, but you can use this simple site: http://www.start.biz/ and then check domain registries, such as GoDaddy or 123reg and secure your URL. If you wish to trademark your business (you must be very confident in your growth potential!) then I suggest you read this: https://www.gov.uk/how-to-register-a-trade-mark/register-a-trade-mark. If you find it’s already taken, but you want something similar, you can check your proposed business name on Google AdWords: https://www.google.co.uk and it will list similar names as suggestions.
6. Avoid the personal touch. It is tempting to incorporate your own name into your business’ moniker, however Dave’s Cabs or Hutchinson Landscape Gardening hardly screams originality. Avoid personalising your business as it’s unlikely that the name will sway any customers without an established brand attached to it. If you are hoping to grow your brand too it is important for your business to stand on its own feet independent of you.