Branding can be a critical component in the success of any business whether they are the leader in their field or completely new.
Many entrepreneurs are still confused by the concept of success. They believe that the success of their business is entirely dependent on how amazing their products or services are, how creative their software is, or how well they follow every business guru's advice to the letter.
This, however, is not the case because a company's success is mostly determined by the strength of its brand. This is why Tesla is growing while Nikola is deteriorating, and why Amazon has surpassed Walmart as the largest online store for all of our shopping needs.
Now, the first step in establishing a powerful brand that attracts customers is to give your company a memorable brand name. The right name provides your company with all of the tools and flexibility it requires to excel in its sector.
So, if you're ready to take your business to the next level, here's a brief guide on how to select a strong name that’ll make your company stand out.
Here's How to Choose the Finest Business Name
Even if you've spent years developing a game-changing idea that’ll disrupt your industry, your brand will not be able to reach true success unless it's backed up by a powerful brand name.
Choosing the right name may be tough, but don't worry; following these simple steps will guide you to the best brand name for your business.
Know Your Target Market and Industry
Knowledge paves the way to a great name. So, don’t just dwell on your imagination, get down to work, research and learn everything you can about your company, audience, and competitors.
Make sure you understand everything you can about your company's values, purpose, vision, and ambitions. Gathering this information will assist you in selecting a great tone and personality for your company.
Find the Best Brand Tone
The best approach to come up with a name that embodies your company's core principles is to ensure that it has the correct tone that generates a strong emotional reaction in your target audience.
Concentrate on your target market and discover what draws them to your company. Knowing the audience demographic your your brand is addressing can help you decide if your brand's tone should be:
● Modern and innovative
● Emotionally impactful
● Fun and playful
Discover Your Brand's Secondary Elements
Unless you give your brand life, it’ll simply exist as a notion in your head. And the most straightforward way to bring your brand to life is to discover its secondary elements. These elements communicate your brand’s character and personality, and they include your brand’s:
● Big idea
● Brand’s value
● Value proposition
Understanding these key elements will help you create a brand identity that correctly represents your company to its intended audience.
Brainstorm
Understanding your market, identifying the appropriate brand tone, and defining your brand's elements will all aid in the development of your brand's naming criteria. The naming criteria of your brand would provide you a clear picture of the ideal name for your company.
So, get creative and begin searching dictionaries and thesauruses for words that match your company's naming criteria. Concentrate on creating a list of short, appealing, innovative, memorable, or symbolic words that’ll help your business stand out.
But if naming your business sounds too challenging, you can always use a strong
business name generator. Name generators are the quickest way to finding a memorable brand name.
Test Your Brand’s Name
After you've produced a list of possible brand names that are compatible with your naming criteria, don't just choose a name at random because it sounds great. Instead, run your list by a subset of your desired audience.
After you've tested these names, pick the best one and check with the
USPTO (if in the US) to see whether another company has already trademarked it. Verifying your company's name with the USPTO protects it against future copyright battles.
Author: Grant Polachek is the Head of Branding at Inc 500 company Squadhelp.com, the worlds #1 naming platform, with 30,000+ customers from early-stage startups across the globe to the largest corporations including Nestle, Philips, Hilton, Pepsi, and AutoNation.
Grant Polachek