How to Choose a Successful Name
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smarty
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HOW TO
NAMEBUSINESS
FOR YOUR
CHOOSE A
SUCCESSFUL
All rights reserved. Smartylogo.com 2011
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How to Choose a Successful Name for Your Business
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OWTO
CHOOSEA
SUCCESSFU
NAMEFORYOUR
BUSINESSIngredientsforaSuccessfulCompan
yName
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smarty
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Editeb by Smartylogo.
How to choose a successful
name for your business.Ionel Paun
2011
www.smartylogo.com
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IntroductionMemorable and Resonant Names
The Elements
Importance of Name
BrandingProduct Differentiation
Good Name = High Sales
How to Name Your BusinessTips and Tricks
Types of Names Semi-Descriptive
Abstract
Names of People or Locations
Initials
Conclusion
1.2.
3.
4.
5.6.
7.
8.9.
10.
11.
Contents
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Chapter
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Introduction
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smarty
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Naming your business may seem like a trivial
affair to you. Even the Bard would concur with
you on this. It doesnt matter what an entity oritem is called. That wouldnt have any effect on
its features and characteristics.
Yet, there has been much debated and dis-
cussed about the importance of the name ofa business. In fact, it is said that naming your
business is one of the most important aspectsin starting off as an entrepreneur.
In this age of brand names, your businessname gives your business a separate and dis-
tinct identity. It is a representation of the image
of your business which you wish to put across
to your customers.
Hence, the name you choose for your business
can go a long way in determining whether it is
successful or not. In this book, we will look at
various aspects of naming a business and talk
about how you can choose a successful namefor your business.
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Chapter
Memorable
Resonant
Names&
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There is an intrinsic quality in names which
makes them appealing or repulsive. Having amemorable and resonant name ensures that it
is catchy and people will be attracted towards it.
Nowadays, people pay attention to nameswhich are different and stand out from thecrowd. Think for yourself would you be attracted
to a business with an old-fashioned name like
Brown & Sons Product Ownership Services
or would you choose All My Stuff Inc!. Though
the former seems more reliable because it is afamily business, the latter is relevant and to the
point, showing exactly what the business does.
This does not mean that you just think of some-
thing wacky and name your business. You needto exercise a degree of awareness when choos-
ing a name so that you dont put off your target
audience before they have become your cus-
tomers.
A memorable and resonant name will go a long
way in catching peoples attention. This is im-
portant for businesses which dont have a huge
marketing budget.
So, what exactly makes a name memorable andresonant?
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Chapter
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TheElements
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No, we are not going to talk about Earth, Fire,Wind and Water. Rather, we will look at three
identifiable elements which make a business
name memorable and resonant.
Identication
Your business needs to have a name which can
be easily identifiable as a separate entity from
your competitors. Standing out from the crowdis very important, but in a positive way. This
means that a business name should be suchthat your business does not get confused with
your rivals.
If all the firms in an industry name their busi-
nesses according to their locations, they wont
be able to achieve much identification. Apart
from identification, congruency is also impor-tant. Your business name has to be in line withthe type of products you are offering. Congruen-
cy is extremely important for establishing your
own brand identity.
Choosing an identifiable business name would
lend your business credibility and a worthy im-age in the eyes of your customers. This is the
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smarty
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first step on your way to success. Make surethat you dont choose a name which is common
or traditional.
Uniqueness
To establish a brand identity, you need to planit from square one. The product you offer wont
be unique or something that people have never
seen or heard of. You would have some form of
competition. When it comes to branding, thereare certain stereotypes which are often fol-
lowed.
Business owners commonly belong to male
gender and dont like to choose names whichare feminine in nature. In truth, such a name
would give you a niche in the market and make
your business identifiable.
Through the name of your business, you canestablish yourself as different from the rest.
Apart from the name, your tag line should be
relevant and not make tall promises or boast.
Choosing a unique name ensures that you dontget mixed up with your business rivals and you
dont face trademark issues. Perhaps the most
important part of choosing a name for your busi-
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ness is making sure that you choose a uniquename that hasnt already been taken. And more
importantly, it must be copyrighted.
Audience
Finally, your target audience should be the de-terminant of what name your give to your busi-
ness. If you are targeting the middle age group,
dont choose a name that is youthful or more
geared towards a teenage audience.Businesses which are able to read the target
audiences expectations are able to choose
the perfect name. Then it doesnt matter if itsounds corny to an outsider because you have
achieved your objective.
The name Geek Squad appeals to a whole dif-
ferent generation. Your Computer Experts is a
more traditional name but is germane to all gen-
erations. Therefore, you need to choose a namewhich is in keeping with your target audience.
These are the three key elements which make
a business name memorable and resonant. You
need to incorporate all of these elements when
you are selecting a name for your business.
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Chapter
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Importance
ofName
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This is the era of brand names. Nike, Adidasand McDonalds, just to name a few, are com-
monly known words around the globe. When
their owners were naming them, they wouldnt
have fathomed that the name alone would beworth billions of dollars. Get my point?
A name is important because it makes you
recognizable to the people you are trying to sell
your products to. Your business name lends
an identity to your business which is crucial to
survive in the face of cutthroat competition. Thedynamics of business competition have taken
a quantum shift over the past few decades.
Branding has become a prerequisite of being
successful. If people dont know you, they wontbuy your products.
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Chapter
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Branding
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Just think about it: your business lasts for many,many years. It grows and expands as you
have invested a lot of time and money into it. It
would have grown in value as well. The name
also holds intrinsic value for the business. Youcan get a valuation for your business name aswell. How much do you suppose is Star Wars
worth?
For a second, suppose Harley Davidson
changes its name to Johns Motorbikes, would
it have the same value? No! Would people beas attracted to it as they are now? No! This is
because Harley Davidson has been in operation
for so long and spent truckloads of money build-
ing up an image according to the brand name.Changing it would have a drastic negative effect
on the revenue and popularity of the business.
If you go and buy a franchise of a well known
business, lets say KFC or McDonalds, youwould pay more money than you would have to
start up a new fast food joint. This is because
those names guarantee a minimum amount of
money you would be able to make from being
their franchisee.
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Branding gives you a unique identity in the mar-ket. Even if you are offering the same product
that a hundred other businesses are, your brand
name will give you an edge over them. Further-
more, if you are able to expand your business
all over the world, your brand name alone wouldbe worth billions of dollars.
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ProductDifferentiati
on
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Go to the market to buy something and youwould see the same product being offered by
a number of different businesses. It does make
you wonder what differentiates these products.
For example, how is Pepsi different from Coca
Cola? The difference in taste is negligible butits the name that stands out for both of them.
There are some people who prefer Pepsi while
some prefer Coke.
What caused them to take sides? There arevarious other colas available in the market
but they are only differentiated by their brandnames. Else, you can drink anyone you want
and you would hardly feel any variation.
Remember that once people start liking your
brand, more likely than not chances are that
they will remain loyal to it. You have the Pepsi
vs. Coca Cola example to refer. Product differ-entiation can be done through choosing a namefor your business that reflects what you are try-
ing to sell.
This is why the importance of a business name
cannot be ignored. Yet, owners dont even want
to think 10 minutes about what they are going toname their business.
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Though it is true that capital, location, staff andother things are essential for the working of a
business, its the name that will help you start
out on the right note.
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Chapter
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GoodName=HighSales
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As has been mentioned before, a good busi-ness name can effectively market your busi-
ness. This is crucial for businesses which dont
have a huge budget for marketing and advertis-
ing. Not only will it help in marketing your busi-ness but it will trigger high sales. How?
Lets take an example here. A business which
has an effective name like Cheap Liquor de-
fines exactly what it does and what people can
expect from it. It sounds better and more ap-
pealing than other liquor stores. Imagine some-one naming a business after his pet poodle.
That is cute but wont be effective!
Some firms can get away with awkward sound-ing names because they have the money to
promote it. Take the example of Reebok or
Nike, names which dont make any sensewhen we talk about their products. Yet, they are
household names known all over the world.
However, 90% of the businesses dont have
too much money to spend on advertising and
promotion in order to generate recognition and
sales. This is where they can use the name oftheir business to help them get people to buy
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their products and boost sales revenue.
Another thing about well-known businessnames is that they have a feel-good factor to
them. People find them reliable and trustworthy.
You dont expect a Nike product to be substan-dard. Once your business is established, the
name will act as a symbol of what you offer tothe public. Remember that your business name
should reflect consumer benefit rather than
advertising what you are selling.
It is the effect your name has on people whichwill ultimately lead to high sales. Think of Mc-
Donalds and a restaurant pops into your head.
Similarly, your business aim should be to bring
an image into the peoples minds about your
business.
Still stumped? Follow the tips and tricks forchoosing a business name which are men-
tioned in the next section.
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HowtoNameYourBusine
ss
Chapter
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Now we come to the business end of things.
You might be tempted to ignore all the other
sections and just read through this. Be warned,the information contained in those sections is
a gold mine and will help you to improve your
business significantly.
Coming back to the issue of naming your busi-ness, there are common trends which owners
have followed for many years now. Though they
are used by entrepreneurs around the world,
you should avoid using them.
1. NameThe owner uses his own name or the family
name as his business name. This has been a
practice followed for centuries now. The brandname would be based on you rather than your
business. You will also face problems when you
want to sell off your business.
2. GeographyOnly use location names if you are going to
operate your business strictly there. Otherwise,
use any other name.
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3. AbbreviationsYou might misinterpret this point. Dont use an
abbreviation as the name of your business. Now
you can argue that KFC is an abbreviation. KFC
was started as Kentucky Fried Chicken and theabbreviation became popular later on. Choosea name and then abbreviate it rather than the
other way round.
4. HyphensAvoid using hyphens in your business name
because it becomes difficult to remember it that
way. Johnson & Johnson looks much better
than Johnson-Johnson.
5. Sufx
Dont add Inc, enterprise or any other suffix to
your business name. This trend is obsolete and
you shouldnt use it in this day and age.
Now that we have looked at common business
naming trends you should avoid, you would be
wondering that how can you name your busi-
ness otherwise.
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Chapter
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TipsTricks&
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Here are surefire tips and tricks which you canfollow to create a business name that is sure to
work for you.
1. SpellingThe most basic but often ignored part of nam-
ing a business is spelling. Your business name
needs to be memorable and people have dif-
ficulty remembering anything spelled awkwardly.
Looking up such names in the phone bookor on the internet would be a chore. Bottom-
line: choose a different and unique name but itshould spell easy. A name like Saskatchewans
Best Meat Pies can be hard to find. Saskatch-
ewan is a city in Canada.
2. PositivityYour business name should reflect positivity
rather than having a negative connotation to it.Using positive sounding words in your business
name creates a favorable image in the minds of
your target audience. This is a great way to get
more sales through your business name. E.g.
Blood Red Ketchup would be a negative way todescribe your business. The audience you want
to attract would be apprehensive because yourbusiness name has a negative connotation.
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3. ImageOur mind has been tuned to make up images
when we hear anything. This applies to choos-
ing a name for your business as well. Your
business name should be such that it brings a
certain visual into the mind of the person read-ing it or listening to it. What will Crystalwellyn
bring to mind? Nothing! Why, because it doesnt
make any sense. It is name made up by com-
bining the names of two people, which is a com-
mon practice.
4. LengthThis is also related to making the name of your
business easy to remember for people. Shortnames are easier to remember than the longer
ones. Shorter names work well with advertising
tools such as ads and business cards. In this
modern age, making a presence on the internet
is also crucial. A short business name can beeasily converted into a domain name as well.
5. RepresentYour business name has to represent what you
are offering to the customer. Customer is theking and you should make sure that you impart
as much information through your businessname as possible. Dont go wacky and de-
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duct what you do from the business name. For
example, if you have a hair salon, include the
word salon or hair design in your title, otherwise
your target audience wont be able to find you.
6. LogoWhen you are thinking about your business
name, keep in mind that it will become the logo
of your business. Hence, choose a name thatwill look good as a symbol of representation.
These are killer tips and tricks which will help
you to choose a successful name for your busi-
ness.
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Types
ofNames
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The types of names owners give to their busi-nesses can be categorized under four catego-
ries, namely:
Semi-DescriptiveAs suggested by the title itself, a semi-descrip-
tive business name gives a hint to the people
about what the company does. This type of
name is ideally suited to small-sized busi-
nesses. Examples of such names are DunkinDonuts and Swatch.
AbstractAbstract business names are unrelated to thebusiness but through marketing and promo-
tion, people are made aware of them. Nike is
the foremost example of this. Abstract business
names are suited to businesses which have
enough money for huge advertising and market-ing campaigns.
Names of People or LocationsThese types of names add a personal touch tothe business. Family businesses which have
been running for generations are common ex-
amples of this. More often than not, people whodo something creative use their own name as
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the name of their business. Examples includeArmani, Versace, and Louis Vuitton.
InitialsInitials are the most difficult names to interpretfor the people because they dont give any
clue as to what kind of business is being done.
Though there are many businesses which have
been successful, using initials is a practice ad-
opted by a minute portion of the total business-
es around the world. Examples are IBM and LG.
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Conclusion
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In this book, we have looked at the variousaspects related to names of businesses. From
importance of the name for a business to types
of names, everything that you need to know
about business names has been covered. For
your benefit, a few tips and tricks to choose a
successful name for your business have beenincluded.
The aim of this book is to enlighten entrepre-
neurs about the importance that the name of a
business holds. It has been an overlooked partof starting off a business yet very important.
Remember, the name of your business candetermine whether it will be successful or not.
Naming a business is a huge part of setting up
your business and you should give it the impor-tance it deserves.
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OWTO
CHOOSEA
SUCCESSFU
NAMEFORYOUR
BUSINESSIngredientsforaSuccessfulCompa
nyName