How To Create a BRAND NAME For Your Business That LASTS

Key Takeaways

a great name is like rocket fuel for a brand a bad name is like a lead weight according to branding legend marty neumeyer the right name can be a brand's most valuable asset driving differentiation and speeding acceptance but the wrong name can cost millions in workarounds and lost income over the lifetime of a brand let's face it coming up with a great name can be pretty difficult and in a world where countless businesses are started each day the pool of names to draw from is getting smaller and smaller thankfully there are some proven techniques that can help you come up with a name that aligns your brand with your mission in this video you're going to learn how to create the best name for your business by following a simple step-by-step framework and learning naming tactics used by some of the biggest brands in the world understand your target market before naming your business it's vital that you understand the problems needs and desires of your target audience what types of language do they use what are their values start by creating a customer avatar while you might be tempted to open up a dictionary right away understanding your target market will make naming your company exponentially easier as it will give you a more focused approach to name generation and an ideal customer profile by which you can measure the effectiveness of your name ideas not only that but great names can be inspired by the niche you aim to serve decide on your type of name when it comes to naming a business there are several different types of naming conventions employed by scores of household brands i'm going to take you through them one by one so that you can understand what options you have available so you can make an educated choice about the direction that's right for your brand let's start with one of the easiest ways to name a brand naming it after a person some companies are named to embody the vision of their founder like ferrari and ford a pro of this is that it can help consumers feel a personal connection to the brand however one thing to be aware of with this strategy is that if the founder ever decides to leave the company the name will stay which can get complicated other companies like tesla have chosen to name themselves after an iconic person who embodies the company's beliefs and values sometimes when naming a company it can help to turn to other cultures and languages the name sony comes from the latin word sonus first sound the name nike was inspired by the ancient greek goddess of victory there are tons of beautiful and powerful words in other languages that could become phenomenal brand names however if you're gonna go this route make sure you do it respectfully then we have solution focus names these types of names describe your company's benefit right in the name helping separate you from competitors well some people may find these names on the dryer side a major pro is that you don't have to spend as much money on educating consumers on what your brand does five hour energy and slim fast are examples of product-based businesses using this strategy search and be found is a great example of a service-based business descriptive names are great because they let consumers know exactly what you do by simply hearing the name these types of names are simple efficient and effective measured results marketing and home hardware are examples of companies that use this naming convention then we have using a real word companies like drip and amazon have opted to use a single word these words are often used to tell a story through association for example the amazon is the largest rainforest on the planet by association amazon is the largest online retailer on the planet the word needs to allude to an image or a feeling that aligns with the brand's message and mission next we have combining two words into one the reality is countless businesses are started each year so finding one loan word that represents your business is getting increasingly difficult many companies have gotten around this by combining two words with the right combination of words these names can be easy to spell say and remember linkedin salesforce facebook and tripadvisor are all examples of companies that use this naming style another option is to combine part of a word with a full word group and coupon became groupon costco and herbalife are examples of other companies that also did this if you feel like your brand is bold enough that it needs a completely unique name then a great option can be creating your own word companies that have done this include kodak ikea bibo etsy and lexus some important things to consider when making up a word is there a real word that rhymes with your made-up word if so it's more likely the name will be adopted as it will seem more familiar to the human ear furthermore the name should definitely be spelled the way it sounds to avoid confusion when searching then we have word modification some companies opt to intentionally misspell words to display their originality they may add vowels remove vowels or even spell the word phonetically fiverr flickr google and dig are all examples of companies that have used this naming tactic one thing to be aware of with word modification is that the word needs to be short enough and have a simple enough variant that the name is easy to remember and spell then we have using an acronym some companies like hsbc aig cbs and at t use abbreviated names in the form of acronyms these names can have a rhythmic quality that makes them easy to remember and be shorthand for descriptive names cvs for example stands for consumer value stores however one thing to note is that many consumers will never have any idea of what they stand for and won't put in much effort to find out some businesses use a root word that embodies their mission or brand personality and add on a suffix one thing that's great about this strategy is that these types of names are often incredibly fun to say which makes them easy to recall shopify thrillist and bitly all use this tactic alliteration is a rhetorical device that repeats the same sound which is usually a consonant it has been used by writers and poets for centuries to direct an audience's attention and create a mood and rhythm plain and simple alliteration can really impact how a person experiences words brands like coca-cola dunkin donuts paypal and bed bath and beyond have all found success with this naming style decide what you want your name to say once you have a solid idea about the style of your name but before you go start searching for specific words you wanted a strong grasp on what it is you want your name to mean see brand names are more than just words rather they are vehicles by which you consciously or subconsciously communicate to consumers a good brand name will communicate who you are the best brand names communicate a big idea and elicit an emotional response the name nike inspires us to pursue greatness the name tesla embodies the relentless pursuit of innovation the name patagonia inspires visions of adventure and nature worth protecting you get the idea once you have an idea about the message you're trying to get across now it's time to start coming up with a list of potential names at the beginning it's important to reserve judgment and try and come up with as many names as possible now the reason for this is twofold the most original names are going to emerge when you allow your mind to run free but number two you will also likely need to come up with a lot of names to find one that is available here are some simple ways to find inspiration explore keywords related to your company's products and services skim through the dictionary use a thesaurus to unearth synonyms have a brainstorm session with your co-founders friends and family you can even try crowdsourcing the name coming up with a great name takes time and effort so don't get frustrated just get to work name availability once you have a list of names you'll need to make a short list of your favorites then you'll need to evaluate each name for its viability having a custom domain name for your store is mission critical once you have a list of options for your brand name find if your chosen domain name preferably a dot com is available the reason for this is that everyone is familiar with the dot com country code domains like dot io and dot co are becoming so popular that they're starting to take on characteristics of generic top level domains also domains like dot store are becoming increasingly popular next make sure you're legally allowed to use the business name you've come up with for business owners in the us you can check the united states patent and trademark office in canada you can check the canadian intellectual property office while you can search these websites yourself it can be pretty confusing so hiring a lawyer to conduct these searches for you will likely be your most effective option next check for social handle availability it's really important to check twitter facebook instagram and tick tock or any other social media sites you'll want to use for name availability ensuring that your handles are consistent is really important so that your customers have an easier time finding your brand on their favorite platforms lastly make sure the name doesn't have any bad connotation or mean anything negative in other countries you want to make sure your name is future proof so stay away from anything that could be seen as insensitive furthermore if you ever want to expand into new markets you don't want to have any embarrassing name fails hopefully this video has given you a better idea of how to name your brand the reality is naming your company is a big decision that can ultimately have an impact on your growth however like most things in business it's important to remember that a name can be subject to change don't let finding the perfect name stop you from making your entrepreneurial dreams a reality let us know in the comments what other videos you'd like to see and we'll make them happen also don't forget to like and subscribe so you don't miss out on more tips to grow your online business remember we're a channel for small business owners with big plans i've been your host tyler and i'll see you next time on learn with shopify