how to choose a successful name

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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

68

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Chapter

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logo6 How to Choose a Successful Name for Your Business

Introduction


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smarty

logo 7How to Choose a Successful Name for Your Business

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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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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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

Chapter

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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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How to Choose a Successful Name for Your Business


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SUCCESSFU

NAMEFORYOUR

BUSINESSIngredientsforaSuccessfulCompa

nyName

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