One of the most important aspects of your business is your name. It is one of first things you customers come into contact with and it can have a big effect on how they approach you further. Creating this name can seem simple, but in reality it can be a hard process to find something that fits just right for you. Sometimes knowing what not to do can be one of the best ways to approach this task. Below are some tips on what we feel you should avoid when creating a the name for your business.
Using Location
Many businesses choose to use their city, state or region as part of their company name. While this may actually help in the beginning, it often becomes a hindrance as a company grows. Naming yourself a certain location could give a potential customer the idea that you only work in that certain area. While this may or may not be true, it’s never good to restrict yourself from various opportunities as a business.
Plain Words
With competitors around every corner, it’s necessary to make sure you define yourself as different. General and plain names can be descriptive, but hardly ever memorable. It’s more important than ever to carve out your niche by displaying your uniqueness. Nothing does that better than a well-conceived and creative name.
Being Obscure
It’s great for a name to have a special meaning or significance–it’s sets up a story that can be used to tell the company message. But if the reference is too obscure or too hard to spell and pronounce, you may never have the opportunity to speak to that customer because they’ll simply pass you by as irrelevant. Remember to keep your name unique but not something that seems to foreign for a customer. It’s all about finding a middle ground between these two.
Cliché
Once past the literal, descriptive word choices, your thought process will most likely turn to metaphors. These can be great if they’re not overly used to the point of being cliché. There are various overworked ideas in each industry that have been beaten to death when it comes to names. Rather then borrow from the already cliché names look for combinations of positive words and metaphors, and you’ll be much better served.
Refusing to Change Name
Many business owners know they have a problem with their name and just hope it will somehow magically resolve itself. Don’t settle with mediocre and instead reach for extraordinary. If you feel like your business’s name is holding you back, take the initiative to change your name knowing that it can create a better identity for your business.
Hopefully with these tips you can create a strong a reliable name for your business or help make the change to a better one. If you would like any help in creating or adjusting your business identity, feel free to contact us.
GTECH Designs is a Baltimore-based web marketing firm that is committed to helping impact-makers spend more time doing good. For more information, contact us at 410-775-4100, email us at [email protected], or get in touch with us via Facebook or Twitter.