Christening Your Business: What’s In A Name?

As lovers of the English language, we’re constantly stumbling over words that make an instant impression on us. It’s amazing how just a glance of some well-placed letters can make a prospective client sit and think, for just a few moments – by that point, a word has done its job.

Knowing how and when to use these linguistic treats is part of what we do. From our experience, the same goes for brand names, which are the crucial first hook to cast for business prospects. When a name has that much power, making the right decision is entirely crucial to your success, and we thought we’d share some wisdom on this front…

Finding the muse

Choosing a name that resonates with your business is one of the most difficult decisions to make, so it’s natural to deliberate and agonise over the words that will announce your venture. To make this a little easier, we suggest looking clearly at the core values of whatever it is you do. Once you’ve nailed them down, think: what words can I associate with this? What feelings do I want to inspire?

For example, a local business might be intensely proud of its roots; colloquialism, therefore, wouldn’t go amiss. Or you might be able to land on a word with a double-meaning, creating two positive associations at once. Whatever the specifics of your trade, it’s always good to be playful – puns, alliteration and onomatopoeia make names stick in the mind long after that business card has been pocketed.

Room to grow

Good company names never limit themselves to a single entity. Even if you’re a single man or woman on a quest to dominate the market, you should refrain from putting your actual name in there, as well as any associations that you could outgrow.

While the personal touch might be nice in the relative spring of your business years, it’ll shoot you in the foot when the time comes to expand, take on a workforce, and broaden your influence. The point is, you want the brand to speak for itself eventually, and that means going for something that implies a collective vision.

Check, and double check

Alas, it’s our duty to remind you that the brilliant, evocative, all-conquering name you’ve settled on might already be taken. There’s no merit in going through all of those mental acrobatics to find that your guise is already being worn by a confectionist in Southport.

If you’re planning to incorporate, you can reference Companies House to see whether your name is taken. You should also mine Google for similar brand names, and to see if the relevant domain is available. Consider how a registered domain address will appear online: ‘www.terrifictiling.com’ isn’t easy to read, or type for that matter.

So, hopefully we’ve pushed you some way towards getting the right name tag for your brand’s introduction. As a copywriting agency, we’re serious about helping business name ideas get on the right path; our creative copywriters love collaborating with our clients to brainstorm fresh and original company names. Want to put us to the test? Get in touch and see what we can do for you!