Choose a Name for Your Business
One of the most important things your company needs is a name.
Your name will be the very first thing that almost all of your
customers or clients see from you -- long before they meet you,
they'll have responded to something (or someone) that told them
the name of your business.
So What?
So, if you're planning on running a professional operation,
don't call it 'A1 Supplies' just because you want to be listed
first in the phone book. You have to pick a name that says
something about you and your business, and that people in your
target market will be able to say without feeling stupid.
The Professional Name
If you're running a serious business targeted at other business
people, you'll probably want to keep the name sober, but
memorable. A good formula is your surname, followed by what you
do: 'Smithfield Tailoring', or 'Watson Engineering'. You might
also want to add the name of the town where you live: 'Watson
Engineering Anytown'. Little things can make a big difference:
'Watson & Associates Engineering' or 'Watson Engineering Co.'
both sound quite good, for example. Don't use your first name,
though -- it sounds terribly amateurish. Would you rather deal
with Ted's Office Supplies or the Johansson Office Supplies Co.?
Another approach is to leave out your name altogether, and
simply become 'Anytown Engineers' or 'The Anytown Engineering
Co.'. This makes you sound like the first choice locally,
especially if your main competitor has the name of another town
nearby in their name.
The Trendy Name
If you're going for a more young or technology-savvy market, you
might want a less formal name. Names of this form should be kept
to one word, and preferably written in lowercase, URL-style.
Another common trick is to make '.com' part of the name. Notice
the difference between 'Fun House' and 'funhouse.com' -- the Fun
House doesn't sound all that much fun, does it?
The Corporate Name
They sound quite bad, I reckon, but there's a still a place for
them -- mainly if you want to deal with the big companies that
this kind of name appeals to. Simply think of a word to describe
your business and translate it into Latin. Then add the word
"Consulting", if you want.
The Playful Name
You'll be surprised how many people will love your name if you
just decide to name it after an animal, and use that animal in
your logo too. If you don't have much of a marketing budget,
this is a good way to get a quick brand identity -- if you
choose the panda, for example, then people start associating you
with pandas, and you can have panda-pattern designs on your
stationery and decorate your office with bamboo. Don't
underestimate the power of this, seriously.
The Random Name
If all else fails, a great way to make up a name is to just
string together sounds that you like until you come up with a
made-up word. This can be a surprisingly good way to come up
with a name -- and it will be completely unique.
Make It Easy
Whatever you do, though, make sure your business' name is easy
to pronounce and spell. If your surname is hard to say, don't
use it. If people seem to have trouble spelling a made-up word,
come up with something easier. You'll lose out on an enormous
amount of word-of-mouth business if people have to write your
name down just to communicate it to each other.
The Shortened Name
One naming method that seems to be especially well-used by the
big hitters is to take two words that describe your business,
shorten them both, and make it one word. So you end up with
Fedex (Federal Express), or Microsoft (Microcomputer Software).
This is good for suggesting what you do without having an overly
lengthy name.
Check for Others
Once you've got some ideas, make sure you check that no-one else
is already using them. It will be expensive to get halfway
through starting up a company only to find that the name you
wanted is already taken. Also, you'll have trouble establishing
any kind of Internet prescence with an over-used name, if that
was part of your plan -- if your name is too common, you won't
stand a chance of getting yourname.com.
About the author:
Original Source: Articles
Galore.com
Information supplied and written by Lee Asher of Eclipse Domain
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