How to Pick the Right Brand Name
If you need to choose a great brand name for your product, service or business, start by considering the importance of the name in your branding efforts. Your name is an extension of your brand, and it can reinforce the value you provide or distance you from it. When you’re developing a name for a business, a product or a service, you have a number of options.
Most people already know intuitively what makes a good business name, so in the spirit of brevity. If you are over-thinking things and want some direction, check out this article for an awesome breakdown of what makes a good name.
Make Sure the Name is Web Friendly
In this age and time, if you want your business to flourish, it’s probably a must to bring it to the Internet. Therefore, you have to ensure if the brand name you’ll be coming up with is “web-friendly“. The brand name should be “web-friendly” in the sense that the name can be put on the web with Internet users having few issues finding and accessing it to gain information about the business. you should choose a brand name that people could easily remember rather than something complex and meaningless.
Be Simple
The easier it is for the brand name to be pronounced, the better it can be spread through word-of-mouth. Similarly, the fewer the number of words for the brand, the easier it is to be remembered. Sometimes words are not spelt out the way it sounds, and people may have difficulties searching for the company on the net. For example, although “Xerox” has become an effective brand name that became synonymous with “photocopy“, it probably had some pronunciation issues when it first existed.
Keep your Company’s Logo in Mind
Brand name and logo go hand-in-hand for the most part. If you want to have a strong branding for your business, make sure that people can identify the logo with the brand name. The brand “Apple“, for instance, has a pretty straightforward logo in the shape of an apple. This makes it simple for people to recall your business. Why? Instead of relying on solely the linguistic memory for the brand name, they are now also able to store the visual memory of the brand by associating it with the logo.
Your Brandname Should have the Essence of your Business
Just as your business should have a unique selling preposition to distinguish yourself from your competitors, your brand name should also manifest that which is distinct from the others. It can also be used to reflect the strength of your business or give a hint on what kind of services/products it actually provides. Other brand names may seemingly bear no relation to the business, but they emphasize on the “feeling” aspect of the name. No one probably have any idea what “Starbucks” is when they first heard it, but once people realize it’s a coffeehouse chain, it sticks in a strange way. The name evokes energy and spontaneity, just as a cup of coffee would do to you every morning.
The Bottom Line
Simplicity aside, brand names need to be memorable as well in order to create a buzz and generate an interest in what is it that your business provides. Making your brand name too descriptive and straightforward may kill the curiosity that is needed to sustain the interest. Before coming up with a few potential brand names, it would be a good idea to do some research on the ones that your competitors have come out with. Identify what are the similarities across the different brand names. Subsequently, when you generate some potential brand names for your company, resolve not to come up with something similar to them.
