One of the biggest challenges for entrepreneurs is to find a name for a new business. Many get overwhelmed by the task and cannot pen the business plan till they finalize an appropriate business name. Deciding on a suitable business name can be tough because it is the mental trigger that helps customers recognize your business and think positively about it. A strong business name helps entrepreneurs cut through the clutter, differentiate their business from the competition, boost brand recall, and help reinforce product offerings. The business name serves as the foundation for all branding activities.
Structuring of Business Names
There are quite a few ways of structuring the names of businesses. Some of the more common categories include:
Descriptive names: These names are inspired by the kind of goods and services the business offers its customers. Business names like Joe’s Burgers or Modern Carpets, for example, work best for reaching out to audiences who need to know what you are offering. The effort, time, and money need to advertise the business are relatively less; however, the catch is that it can be more difficult to trademark them since they use common words. Using a name generator for businesses can help you to discover word combinations you can consider for your business name.
Suggestive names: These names are like descriptive names, but instead of being explicit about the goods and services the business offers, they merely give a hint. For example, Fitbit possibly tells people that the business has a connection with the fitness industry but does not make it clear what the association is. You can be more creative in naming your business with a suggestive name. According to Forbes, meaningful names are better for SEO.
Fanciful and arbitrary names: These names do not seem to have any connection to what the business does. Prime examples are businesses like Apple, Virgin, Kodak, etc. While being easier to trademark, marketing these names needs more effort and investment because you need to make the audience aware of what the business does.
Names based on other languages: Many businesses adopt names derived from words in languages other than English to create a different tone, cut through the clutter, and appeal to people who understand the word or are enamored with how it sounds. These names work best when the target audience understands the foreign language words.
Acronyms and initials: for a new venture, acronyms and initials are not the best options as you need to explain what they stand for to the target audience. However, for well-established businesses with long names, they can be handy. Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company which now calls itself 3M, is a good example. IBM is another.
Conclusion
While it is important to understand some of the more commonly-used structures for business names, you should focus on a distinctive name that sparks the imagination of the target audience. It should fit well with what the company does and be short. Moreover, it should sound good and be available to trademark. Other considerations include being able to remain relevant as the business expands, not offending customers of different cultures, and being memorable.
