Name selection is often considered the most important part of any successful business, which is strange due to this being the first step taken by many entrepreneurs. Choosing the right name can be a stressful task, causing you to second guess yourself and leaving you in a vicious, creative cycle. Lion Sourced have published this article to aid future business owners through this difficult process.
1. Brainstorm Keywords
Brainstorm as many keywords related to your business possible. You can do this off the top of your head, by making use of synonyms or even by utilizing an online keyword suggestion tool. Try and make sure all the words have a strong association with the product/service you are offering – For example, if you are selling watches, the word ‘Clock’ would be much more suitable than the word ‘Face’ as the second has more connotations.
2. Match Them Up
Now you have a list of keywords, you need something to accompany them. Repeat the listing process with matching words, such as ‘zone’, ‘world’, ‘place’ e.t.c. Typically when you are doing this, couples will jump out of the page and you can begin taking notes of your favourites.
Remember – you don’t ALWAYS need a matching word. There are other innovative methods to generate the perfect name. For example, try spelling your keywords phonetically (So Watcher becomes Whatcher, Watcha e.t.c), experiment with different letter combinations (Watcherio, Waatch) or by removing letters from the original (Wtcher, Watchr).
3. Research Your Suggestion List
It’s time to take care of the boring bit, the research. Before proceeding to the final step, use a website such as companies house to ensure that each name has not already been registered and/or trademarked by a different organisation.
4. Check Availability Of The Final Names
There are 2 main areas you should be checking before setting your heart on a company name. First off, you want to check domain availability to ensure that there is a .co.uk, .com or any other type of domain that you can purchase. You also want to check through social media and grab a handle that seamlessly matches the selected name. The website namecheckr is incredibly useful and can search across all the aforementioned platforms in just one query.
It is also important to mention that just because your business name doesn’t have an available social media handle, shouldn’t completely prevent you from using that idea. Try playing around with different usernames – For example, if your business is called ‘Watch Club’ but instagram.com/watchclub already exists, try alternatives such as ‘ShopWatchClub’ or ‘WatchClubWorld’. As long as your brand is in there somewhere, customers should have no trouble finding your accounts.
If this article hasn’t helped you decide on the perfect name for your business, it might be worth reaching out to a branding company or an expert freelancer – These services are usually top quality and will erase all the doubt around your selection.
