Giving your company a captivating name is one of the most pivotal decisions you can make for your company as a business owner. Your brand name establishes the tone for your brand and determines if the first impression potential buyers have of your company is good or bad.
As an entrepreneur, you must understand how vital it is that your brand name emotionally connects with your target audience and how failure to properly brand your business will majorly affect your success.
So, to assist you, we at Squadhelp have compiled a guideline for developing a memorable brand name that corresponds with your business positioning and instantly connects with your core customers.
Six Steps to Creating the Ideal Brand Name for Your Business
1) Recognize Your Brand’s Positioning
Before starting your naming journey, you must consider how your name will improve and affect your brand positioning. Begin by writing down the objectives of your branding strategy, your target demographic, and what you want your name to say to them.
Once you’ve thoroughly understood your venture and its brand message, you’ll be better positioned to select words or phrases that connect with your brand’s message.
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2) Consider Using Visual, Metaphorical, or Emotionally Charged Words
When naming, metaphorical, emotionally charged, or words with powerful visual imagery should be your closest allies.
Why? Because metaphors are excellent for straightforwardly presenting deep, exciting concepts, and words with solid visual imagery can aid in forming a strong mental picture in the minds of your target audience.
And we all know that emotions influence almost every decision we make. So, while naming, try to use emotionally charged words to convey your brand’s tone. Consider integrating metaphors, visual images, and emotions to develop a compelling brand name.
An excellent example is how the brand name Apple conveys simplicity while Amazon conveys vastness. These names work because they’re a great blend of metaphors, visual imagery, and emotions.
3) Create a Long List of Potential Names
Start brainstorming once you’ve examined how your brand positioning will affect your name and how you’ll use metaphors, visual imagery, and emotionally charged words.
Embrace your entrepreneurial imagination and come up with as many ideas as possible. Using a thesaurus or dictionary to hunt for words that express your brand’s message is an easy way to do this.
You can also use brainstorming techniques like word association and mind mapping. Crowdsourcing is another great approach to developing great name ideas. And sites like Squadhelp can help you find expert assistance for all your naming needs.
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4) Take Note of Existing Brand Names
Before selectiing your chosen name, ensure you research and examine the leading brands in your niche. Doing this will help you understand why their names work and how you can achieve the same results.
Here are 10 big brands and a simple breakdown of what their names communicate.
- Apple: Simple, modern, and trustworthy.
- Amazon: Vastness, ease of use, and speed
- Nike: Speed, power, and excellence.
- Microsoft: Dependability, security, and efficiency.
- Samsung: Quality, innovation, and trust.
- Coca-Cola: Happiness, refreshment, and entertainment
- McDonald’s: Inexpensive and convenient
- Starbucks: Luxury and comfort
- Walmart: Low costs and excellent value
- Disney: Wonder, magic, and imagination.
It’s worth noting that these companies created their brands around these names simply by giving them extra meaning that corresponds to their brand strategy.
5) Don’t Forget Audience Testing
Make sure to test the names you found with a sample of your intended audience. This will allow you to determine whether the name is appealing to your intended audience.
However, while doing audience testing, it is critical to be cautious about the questions you ask. Instead of asking which name they prefer, ask which names catch their attention and drive action and which names best connect with your brand objectives.
6) Conduct Trademark Research to Validate Your Name Ideas
After you’ve compiled a list of prospective names and tested them with your target audience, validate them using trademark research. Validating your brand name ensures that no other brand is already using your potential brand name.
If the name is already registered, you must pick another name or risk receiving a cease and desist notice.
Trademarking comes with its unique problems, but enlisting the assistance of an expert trademark lawyer will help you scale the process and secure your desired name.
Naming: The Most Critical Choice
Naming your brand is a vital choice, and it’s critical to conduct an extensive study of your brand, gather a list of potential business names, and get them audience-tested and validated with trademark registration.
We’re confident that by following these suggestions at every step of your journey, you’ll be able to design a distinctive brand name that connects with your target audience.
Grant Polachek is the head of branding at Squadhelp, a 3X Inc. 5000 business that produces concise, memorable, and one-of-a-kind brand names for Fortune 500 corporations and emerging brands.
We investigated over a million names as a leading naming agency and developed the definitive list of creative business and domain names.