The brand name is the most important asset of any company. However, we need to avoid some deadly Mistakes While Choosing Business Name. This is super important as this will decide a lot of parts of what your customer feels while listening to your brand name. The name of your brand is decisive in customers identifying, remembering, distinguishing, and comparing your brand. Failing to come up with an effective name for your brand will prove to be fatal. Therefore, the task of naming your brand is of prime importance.
Coming up with a suitable name for your brand is not an easy task. There are several factors to keep in mind and many mistakes to avoid while choosing a name that will work for your brand. But you need not worry as it is not an impossible task either. In this article, we will discuss the disastrous mistakes to steer clear of while selecting a name for your brand.
1. Picking a name that limits the growth of your brand
While choosing a brand name, try not to include words that limit your brand. For example, including a geographic location in the name of your brand would be problematic if your brand gets popular and you want to expand it over a wider geographic area. Similarly, if you use certain services in your brand name, you would have a hard time marketing your brand when you expand the range of services provided by your brand.
Changing the name of your brand in later stages is a daunting task. By changing your brand name, you will make it difficult for customers to recognize your brand. As such, your business will take a heavy blow. Therefore, try to come up with a name that does not hinder your brand’s growth at the very beginning. The name that you choose should be wide-ranging and provide you with the scope for future upgrades.
2. Choosing a generic name
While choosing a name that restricts growth is not a good idea, choosing a name that is too general is a bad idea too. If you come up with a name that does not describe your brand or fails to produce an idea about what services your brand provides, you will not be able to convey the message of what your brand stands for. A generic name will be confusing for prospects. They will not be able to identify the products of your brand.
Hence, you should strive to come up with a name that is representative of the products or services of your brand. But at the same time, make sure that it is not hyper-specific to a particular service/product, limiting the scope for future expansions.
3. Using queer spellings
It is a common temptation among businessmen to intentionally use misspellings in their brand names to make their brand stand out. They may also feel that by using misspellings they can make their brand name unique and draw the attention of customers. But the intentional use of misspellings in your brand name is a huge mistake.
Queer spellings for common words will make it difficult for prospects to find your business on the internet. We live in an age where most brands gain popularity and reach out to customers through the internet. If someone wants to find out about your brand, he or she will search for it on the internet. If he/she knows the name of your brand, he/she will type in the brand name with the correct spelling of the words included in that name. But since you decided to use a different spelling in your brand name, the prospect may never find your brand.
Therefore, always use correct spellings for the words that you include in your brand name. This will ensure that your brand is easily discoverable on the web and is easy to share.
4. Using a long and complicated name
While fancy words may attract you for their uniqueness and scarcity in their use, they are a big no-no for your brand name. Complicated words are scarcely used for a reason- they are difficult to remember. So, if you consider including fancy and complicated words in your brand name, customers will most probably forget about your brand.
The same happens with long names. Brand names that are on the longer side are often forgotten by customers. Also, longer words will not look good on your business card or your website. Another problem with long and complicated words is that they are often misspelt or mispronounced. As a result, a brand with a long and complicated name is less likely to be found on the internet and is less likely to be shared.
Hence, choose a name that is short and simple. This way, customers will remember your brand for a longer time and share it in their circles.
5. Not testing the name
When you think that you have come up with a pretty interesting name for your brand test the name in online searches. Check if the name is available or is already taken by some other brand. Also, make sure that when you search the name in search engines, you are not shown results that are unrelated to your business.
It is also a good idea to get the name tested by your family and friends. Share the brand name that you have thought of with them and ask for their feedback. This process of constructive objectivity will provide you with valuable insight into the name that you might have overlooked.
Hence, always get the name tested before you use it for your brand. Not testing a brand name will land you into problems such as less online visibility and confusion among customers due to another brand that has used a similar name.
6. Not ruminating over domain name availability
Having a brand name that does not match the domain name of its website is a huge issue. It will make it impossible for prospective clients to find your business online. They will also be confused by the dissimilarity between the two names- the brand name and the domain name. As a result, you will find it hellish to drive new leads.
You may not be considering setting up a website for your brand right away, but it is always a good decision to register a domain name for your brand for later use. Find a domain name that matches your brand name. If you can’t find the domain name exactly the same as your brand name, try to add another word to it that represents your brand. But make sure that you do not stretch it too long as long domain names are as useless as long brand names. If you do not want to add another word to your domain name, try using different TLD options. Again, the TLD should represent your brand and not be something random. You will probably find a domain name that matches your brand name.
In a worst-case scenario, if you are unable to find a domain name that matches your brand name, reconsider the name that you chose. Try finding a new name for your brand and check if you have a domain name available for it. Most domain name registrars will also show you a list of domain names similar to what you searched for in case the domain name that is exactly the same as your brand name is already taken.
Once you find a matching domain name, register it immediately. Domain names sell very quickly and are difficult to find. If you do not register a domain name for your brand website as quickly as possible, you will be heartbroken to find that exact same domain name being sold for a much higher amount than what you first found it for. Therefore, it is advisable to find suitable domain names for your brand and keep them registered.
7. Not being unique
In the pursuit of naming a brand such that it represents the brand, can be easily discovered online and can be shared effortlessly, one might tend to overlook the fact that uniqueness is the most important aspect for standing out from your competitors.
A unique brand name will convey the idea of how your brand is different and why customers should use your services or products. You are not required to come up with a name that has your own name in it. But be creative and find out a way to present the uniqueness of your brand through its name. Recognize the factors that make your brand stand out and mull over them to create an interesting name.
💡TIP: Try to take help from Squadehelp’s Brandable Name Database tool as your assistant to choose your brand name.
Conclusion
When it comes to finding a suitable name for your brand, several roadblocks come in your way. There are some mistakes that restrict you from choosing the right name for your brand. Some of these mistakes are major ones and must be avoided at all costs.
In this article, we talked about 7 such major mistakes that get in the way of businessmen and entrepreneurs while naming their brands. These mistakes are very common and troubling. One should carefully sidestep these mistakes in the process of naming their brand.
I hope this article educated you about these deadly mistakes and provided you with ways to avoid them. Best of luck with finding the best name for your brand!
Informative and a quite crisp and to the point article it is. Great writeup.