Do you have a great project in mind but are stumbling over the choice of name? Rest assured, many entrepreneurs are confronted with this situation. If some manage to find the name of their project right away, most of them struggle, sometimes spend days, weeks, whole months looking for the name that will best match the project, its nature, its character, its positioning, its values … The name of a company has a strategic role. There are surely projects which failed because of a badly chosen name – but by definition we don’t know it or we don’t remember it anymore. The choice of the name of a company, in any case, should not be hasty. It must be reflected, meditated.
The purpose of this comprehensive guide is to assist you in this research work. We will present the fundamentals for successfully choosing a project name, examples and tools to help you find an effective name.
Table of Contents
The 6 ingredients of a successful business name
# 1 Originality
For example, Louis Vuitton is the name of a South Korean fried chicken restaurant, which was ordered in 2016 to pay compensation of 14.5 million won (just over 10,000 euros) to Louis Vuitton for misuse of the image of the prestigious French luxury brand. The name of this restaurant was the product of a play on words, “tongdak” meaning “chicken” in Korean. The restaurant owner also had the crazy idea of using a logo very similar to that of Louis Vuitton. This anecdote has the merit of revealing one thing: not choosing an original name can have very serious financial and image consequences.
The restaurant in question was, of course, forced to change its name. Copying the name of an already existing brand or being strongly inspired by it will be considered not only as an objectionable maneuver but also and above all as a sign of a cruel lack of imagination and originality. It will impact your business and its image, even if the name of the company you are copying is not in the same industry as yours. Be original.
# 2 The specificity
Of course, you may have the ambition to dominate the world one day and be naturally attracted to a name incorporating generic terms like “global” or “enterprise”. But do not forget that your target customers first seek specialized companies, competent in their niche. She can be frightened by this kind of very abstract and generalist keywords. Tell yourself that you can always change the name of your company when it has grown and become international. There are dozens of examples that change names to conquer new markets. Think for example of the freelance platform Hopwork, which became Malt at the end of 2017. The more you are positioned in a specific, niche market, the more you have to look for a name that evokes this specificity. Your company name should reflect your positioning.
# 3 The absence of geographical indications
If we advise you to choose a specific name that sticks to the specificity of your activity, we do not recommend that you include details of your geographic location: city name, region name, country name … Even if your business targets a precise geographic area and operates on a local market, integrating the name of your city for example in the name of your company may pose a problem in the future, when you want to expand your geographic market. It can also limit your ability to differentiate yourself from competitors who operate in the same market as you and who mention the same geographic area as you in their name.
#4 Visual appearance
In your thinking, don’t stop at just questions of meaning or sound. Also take into consideration the graphic aspect of the name, the shape of the letters that make up the name of your company, the way the name is positioned in space, etc. You have to anticipate how the company name will appear in your logo, in your advertisements, in your communication media, etc. Beyond the meaning, there is the aesthetic aspect which must be taken into account.
# 5 Energy
A company name ideas transmit a certain vibration, communicates a certain energy, through its sound, semantic and visual qualities. You have to find a company name that communicates energy, a name that can, for example, enter people’s minds after sound work. Think of IKEA for example and the commercials of this brand, with the famous I – KE – A. You must be attentive to the sensitive properties of the name, which determine its ability to transmit energy and to be written in people’s memories.
# 6 Simplicity
You may be looking for a name that fully reflects your personality. The risk is to fall into sophistication and complexity. Your business name needs to be easy to spell, pronounce, and remember. Think of the names of the companies that everyone has in mind, the biggest. Apple, Microsoft, Uber, IKEA, etc. What all of these names have in common is that they are easy to remember and short. Ask yourself a question that “Is my target customer going to be able to remember my Brand name at the first time?” ” If not, chances are you haven’t found your business name yet. Choosing a complex and impossible to remember name puts you at risk of losing customers
