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Choosing a name for your company

10Nov2009

Coming up with a great company name can be extremely difficult whether you are setting out to build a new business online or otherwise. However with the rise of online business comes new challenges. Naming a new venture can sometimes be the most difficult part of the process. If you have a great name already, score one for your company, if you are venturing into starting a new company, online or otherwise, you have your work cut out for you.

In many cases, a name can make or break your company. Choose an appropriate and intelligent name for your company and you have just passed the first hurdle. Choose an inappropriate name, and you run the risk of failure and /or at the least, alienating potential clients and customers. Naming is not to be taken lightly.

So what goes into creating a great company name? If your budget allows, you should start with research as always. So what do we mean by research? You should consider all the following when choosing your company name:

  • Your Industry
  • Your Competition
  • Creative Research
  • Culture and Audience
  • Your Company
  • Domain Names
  • Market Research

Your Industry

We will typically have to spend some time researching your particular industry; a good company name starts from an understanding of the industry in question. For example, a name that works well for a professional services firm might not work at all for a company that produces kids toys. By conducting research at the industry level we have a place from which to start in creating a name that is appropriate to your industry.

Your Competition

It is wise to keep with industry standards in naming your company, so seeing what others are doing in your industry is important. It is also important to not duplicate what others have done. This might involve a trademark and copyright search and while we are not a legal firm, seeking professional legal help to avoid naming conflicts is highly recommended. Knowing your competition by name will not only allow you to avoid a potentially costly mistake, but also an embarrassing one. It will also help you better choose your own name. Your target audience might be expecting a certain type of name, and that may or may not be a reason for choosing one name over the other. Getting to know your competition by name will, at the least, allow you to choose your company name intelligently. For example, when naming your company, you decide to take a bold step and part ways with tradition, you are at least aware of that fact and not informed of it unexpectedly.

Creative research

Often the naming of your company will incorporate metaphors, specific or even esoteric knowledge bluntly or subtly into the mix to create not only an appropriate company name, but an intelligent one as well. A name that shows you actually put some thought into it will go a long way towards boosting your image as a professional company and put you out in the front of the crowed.

Culture and Audience

When choosing a name for your company, you should take into account the culture of those clients you are trying to reach. By culture we are referring to not just Nationality concerning an international audience, albeit that is important also, but also more specifically, the culture of those that fit the profile of your typical customer or client. Finding out what words, phrases, icons and metaphors are appropriate for a particular subculture, or even offensive as to avoid using them, is a vital step towards creating a professional, appropriate company name.

Your Company

For us to effectively come up with a name that is appropriate to your organizations’ mission, we need to know as much as possible about your business. Clues from research obtained about your organization can provide important cues to naming your organization.

Domain Names

Not so much an issue in the past but now something of major importance when naming your company today is making sure that there is a domain name available that is appropriate for your chosen company name.

This factor in itself is solely responsible for the trend we've seen in naming new companies whereby company are named using nonsense words… Verizon, Cingular Wireless, to name a few offhand. The problem is so serious that is has had the effect of creating a trend whereby companies that had established names and operated successfully with them for years in their respective industries, have opted for this derived naming scheme instead, Accenture formerly known as Anderson Consulting is just one such example.

So we can see that sometimes the process operates in reverse, that is to come up with a good domain name that is available and then form the company identity around it, which is what we so often see today, Google, Twitter are just a few examples of this.

Market Research

Company names should be subject to some level of market research, a controlled, scientific study that measures the names effectiveness, and desired effect is the best course of action; asking your spouse or mother-in-law is perhaps the worst (unless of course your mother-in-law or spouse is a marketing professional). Of course a controlled scientific study is not always an option. At the least, an informal study whereby you consult with those around you is better than nothing, of course that is if those you consult with are far enough from you personally that they will give you an honest assessment.

Once you have chosen a name, and hopefully secured your domain name. The next step is to begin to create your graphic identity around that name.