According to various studies, we’re exposed to between 4000 and 10,000 ads a day. And what does every one of those ads include?
Well, unless it’s a really crappy ad, it’ll probably include a brand name. In other words, we see a lot of brand names. Everyone is. And that means standing out among that massive crowd is tough!
But I’ve got good news – I’m a naming expert. And with over 30,000 naming projects under our belt at Squadhelp, we can help you find an incredible name for your new business – and the theme you choose for your new site.
1. Know Your Brand
Naming might sound like the first step, but it isn’t. In fact, if you’re trying to start with a brand name, you’re doing things backward.
To find a great name, you need to understand your brand first. In fact, the same goes for choosing a theme for a website, so this is a doubly applicable lesson. This means building core values into every part of your branding strategy. Including naming!
Are you trusted and traditional? Modern and fun? Sustainable and ethical? If you can’t answer this question, you need to go back a few steps and get to know who you are as a business.
2. Start Chucking Ideas About
This is the fun bit.
Put brand values on the whiteboard, and work with your team, business partner, or a few friends together. You can play games – how about getting some scrabble tiles involved? Or you can keep things serious and try out various words from industry slang, crack out a thesaurus, or experiment with visual names. You can also use a brand naming service here, even just for ideas.
At this point, there are no bad ideas. Even if you end up with 56 name options, that’s fine. The next step will sort it out.
That’s shortlisting your names!
You’re matching names up with that brand identity you know so well, including your tone.
Keeping a few wild cards in the shortlist before the next step is fine; testing might surprise you.
3. Test
Along with a synthesis between your brand values and tone (your vibe), one vital thing to think about when naming your business, as mentioned in the intro, is brand name recall.
You can make sure both recall and tone are on point by testing your name.
That doesn’t have to mean paying for audience testing—though, do that if you can afford it!
You can also run it by colleagues, friends, and strangers at the bar.
In fact, one memorability test is the ‘crowded bar’ test. If you tell someone your amazing new brand name in a noisy place, do they remember it the next day?
If they do, the name might just be the one! If it passes all the other tests, of course. These include:
- Stepping back – you will want to ask questions about the name, like, how this name makes you feel, what you associate with this name, and what sort of business you think this name represents. Remember to ask open questions, not closed ones!
- Can you get the domain? I mean, you’re here looking at themes, so I’m guessing an online presence is something you’re looking for. So, domain. You probably want a clean MyAmazingName.com. But that might be impossible or expensive. You might get lucky with a .co, adding something like ‘them’ to your brand name, or going with .fashion or .pizza. Yeah, you can do that now!
- Get that Trademark! Running a trademark check is easy, and it can save you a lot of trouble later.
Conclusion
Naming is tough. I won’t deny that. But using these three steps, you should be able to reach a conclusion, or at least a shortlist, pretty easily. A bad name can ruin your business, but a name that isn’t perfect but is good can work really well as long as your branding, product, and delivery work together to deliver a good customer experience.
Grant Polachek is the head of branding for Squadhelp.com, 3X Inc 5000 startup and disruptive naming agency. Squadhelp has reviewed more than 1 million names and curated a collection of the best available names on the web today. We are also the world’s leading crowdsource naming platform, supporting clients from early-stage startups to Fortune 500 companies.
