How To Name A Business?

What is the most important thing in creating any business? What is the first thing you encounter when you are looking for services? The name of the brand or business, of course!

Why do you need a name for your company?

It is the success and reflection of the essence of a business name that can become the key to your success. Just imagine that you want sushi but do not know where to order it and then the name “Sushi on Sushi” comes to your mind. Your order and do not even realize that it was just a good name. It is easy for you to remember, and you used the service of this brand.

That is, the name plays a key role in the promotion of goods/services and the demand for the company among consumers. It increases interest, demand, and sales, so it should be crucial for you to choose the perfect one for your future project.

How to come up with a company name?

To come up with a name for a company, you’ll have to research your audience, look at your competitors and consider the legal intricacies.

A good name:

reflects the essence of the company: its product or service;
understandable to the audience;
stands out among competitors;
easy to write and read.

A company with an original name is easier to find a suitable domain and register the trademark in Rospatent.

How to prepare for naming?

Study the audience. To understand how to name a firm, scroll through the head of everything you know about potential customers. Who these people are, how old they are, where they live and work. This will determine the tone of communication – emphatically respectful, neutral, or friendly. It is important to speak to your audience in the same language.

Choose an appropriate style of the name – neutral (Lenta Hypermarket), friendly (Che how much Bar), or informative (Accounting. Taxes. Arbitrage). It is important to speak the same language as your audience.

Look at your competitors. The owner of an online store just needs to search the Internet for the names of firms in their field to catch the trend and not repeat themselves. Before starting an offline business, it makes sense to read the signs of your neighbors, so it does not turn out like the picture.

How to organize the process?

If you are not a professional, come up with a name for the company better with the team. Ideally, with future employees, but you can invite friends or relatives.

Let each write on post-it notes associations that come to mind when mentioning a product or service. It’s like a game, but for the company’s benefit. Words, phrases, and sentences, even the craziest ones, will do. You’ll figure it out later. The idea behind the name can come from anything.

Discuss which associations best reveal the essence of the company, its products, or its services. They will form the basis of the top associations that you will work with next. The purpose of the brainstorming is not to name the company, but to gather material for the next step.

If you don’t have time to brainstorm, association generators can help. This is a great way to find an original name for your future company without much time or expense.

Tricks to come up with a unique name

With some simple linguistic manipulation, the associations will be transformed into ready-made names. Here are some popular naming tricks.

Bringing out the service or product

The client will immediately see what the company does and what to go there for.

Examples: travel agency “Sletat.ru”, cheese restaurant “Suluguni”, coffee shop Love you so Matcha (drinks based on Japanese matcha tea).

Assemble the abbreviation

You can get a ready-made name if you take the first letters of the full name of the company or “mash” the initial syllables. An original way of naming was invented by Maxim Ilyakhov, the author of the book “Write, Shorten”. He suggests calling the company, which is engaged in professional support of the filmmaking process, POSPI.

Examples: IKEA, CIAN (Central Real Estate Agency).

“Slamming” the phrase

Marketers combine whole sentences into one word. It can be a company slogan, a description of its services or values, or just a line from a song.

Examples: the sushi delivery service “Nadomura”, the company “Vamokno”, the cafe “Vosaduli”.

Translate into French/German

The image associated with a company’s service or product is translated into another language. The symbolism goes into an identity or on a logo.

Examples: TRUST Bank, L’Etoile stores, Big Bro barbershop, World Class fitness clubs.

Use rhythm or rhyme

What sound is associated with an object? What if you drop it? What if you repeat it twice? Rhyming syllables or phrases are always better remembered.

Examples: the Flip-Flop brand (beach shoes), Kit-Kat chocolate, Taobao online store, Yolki-Palki canteens, Cio-Cio hairdressers.

Giving a company the last name

Usually, it’s the last name of the founder or partner. Owners of shoe brands, clothing, and accessory manufacturers love the technique. The most famous examples are Ford, McDonald’, Tommy Hilfiger.

Examples: Dentistry “Professor Nikolayenko Clinic”, studio “Dmitry Magin & Kristi”, clothing “Kalyaev”, confectionery “Volkonsky”, “bakeries Volchek”.

Inventing a Settlement

The technique is built on the creation of quasi-toponyms – the names of non-existent countries, cities, and villages.

Examples: “Dreamland” park, “Vkusnoteevo” yogurts, “Smileville” children’s center, “Kuchenland” cookware stores.

Think of a vivid image

The technique is built on associations, so it is often used in the catering and beauty industry.

Examples: waxing salon “Your Silk”, tanning studio “Sun of Sahara”, sports club “Bogatyr”, dumpling shop “Syvy Elephant”, karaoke “Club of wealthy moles”, sauna “Sahara”, confectionery “Lady Merenga”.

Add a number, symbol, or sign

A simple way to make a business name unique.

Examples: pizzeria “Pizzaman. Eat me!”, the hotel “GOLD 1905”, stationery “Knizhkin&Ruchkin”, pizzeria “More!”, travel agencies “1001 tour”, nail studio “4 hands”.

Show a sense of humor

It’s important not to go overboard and remember that everyone has a different sense of humor. A bank or developer with a name like that is unlikely to be credible.

Examples: the pawnshop “Easy Money”, the creative agency “Hungry boys”, the bar “Peppermint Carp”, the children’s health camp “Satisfied Spinoff”.

Conclusion

A company name is something that evokes some specific association in the user, so sometimes it can be even more important than creating a logo. After all, upon hearing the name, a person can imagine the service that the company offers and will pay attention to it.

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