Expert Tips on How to Come Up With The Perfect Name for Your Business

Creating a new store, whether brick-and-mortar or online, is a big venture where the smallest detail can make all the difference. Once you have your business plan in place, your stock lined up and know your place in the market, there is one other difficult job to do: your new business needs a name. This new moniker is going to stick with the company for a long time and it will be the first thing that customers see, so it needs to be perfect. The following tips can help.

1) Always focus on the purpose of the businesses

The name of the store needs to reflect the goods and services being sold. You may want to put a family name in there for a friendly approach, but you also need to draw unfamiliar consumers in. A descriptive name in the shop-front immediately informs passers-by about what’s inside. However, a name that is too descriptive can work against companies if they diversify later on.

2) Be careful with wordplay

It is almost second nature for new companies to brainstorm as many puns as possible that relate to the goods or services. This only works if the suggestion is clever, fun and original. The last thing that you want is a client rolling their eyes at a cheap joke or confusing your store with a similarly named outlet across town. At the same time, it really isn’t worth playing on names of big brands. You will only come off looking like a cheap alternative.

3) Make sure that consumers can both remember it and say it

A unique name is essential if you want to stand out, but it is possible to go too far. There needs to be a balance between a name that describes the experience of the store and one that is different from the rest of the competition. Too obvious and you are forgotten; too obscure and customers wont connect with it. Short, simple names are easy to say and alliteration helps customers remember them. Avoid the urge to throw in foreign words to add some class or mystique if your usual customers cant translate them.

4) Give it a test run before you commit to it

There are some names that will sound perfect at first, but become more annoying the more you hear them. Come up with some placeholders and use them around the office or with family and friends to see how they go down. A focus group can also provide feedback from a target demographic. If you and your prospective clients like the name after a few weeks and it meets the brief, it is probably the right one. Don’t be afraid to try out lots of ideas and keep brainstorming. One bad idea might spark a creative one.