How to find the best name for your business in 2023

Every business needs a perfect name, and that’s not just because it plays an irreplaceable role in a brand’s survival and improves its online visibility, but because it provides genuine value that transcends a business’s survival and impacts its growth and success.

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Why your business needs the perfect name

Ever considered why Stag Party became Playboy, why Goodfellow’s Dry Goods became Target, Burbn became Instagram, Marafuku Company became Nintendo, and Research in Motion became Blackberry?

Well, the reason for this is simple: these businesses were in search of the best name because a bad brand name limits a company's growth, just as any unpleasant name would make anyone’s life much more difficult than it has to be. While you can create a custom logo and have the most catchy business slogan, your company name should be simple enough so that customers will remember it.

So, if you want your business to win, then don’t overlook the need of getting a perfect brand name because it can directly influence your company's financial success by:

• Attracting dedicated customers
• Emotionally connecting your brand with its audience
• Attracting passionate and talented workers
• Boosting the customer referrals your business receives
• Increasing your sales
• lowering the cost of advertising

Now that you understand why the right name is critical to your business, don’t just rush into finding the best one for your brand because you’d need a clear understanding of the features every excellent name must possess.

What every perfect name must possess

One easy way to identify the perfect name is by understanding that it C.A.R.E.s.

And for a name to CARE, it needs to be:

Contextual

The perfect name for your business won’t just have context; it’ll also provide it. It’d act as the heart of your brand, supporting and setting the tone for different essential components of your business.

Also, make sure your name is compatible with the positioning of your brand. Putting your name in context by evaluating its prospective strength in the market via the lens of your company's brand, positioning, and objective will assist you in assessing its potential market influence.

So, if you want customers to perceive your company as a serious and trustworthy brand, then using a funny name is not the best option.

Appealing

The perfect name is appealing and would always stir customers’ interest in your company and prompt them to tell their friends, family, and coworkers about it.

However, don't be one of those entrepreneurs that try to make their company appear unusual and edgy by adopting names that are difficult to say, spell, and have minimal appeal with their target audience.

Remarkable

All perfect names are memorable and stick to the minds of customers who hear them, making it easier for these brands to be promoted. So, choose the best brand name for your company since it’ll help you grow and survive.

Evoke emotions from customers

The best name for your company is one that creates an impact by provoking a strong positive emotional response from your audience. So pick a name that draws a strong emotional response or sparks an idea that’s linked to your brand's mission.

Now that you know that the perfect name is the key to standing out in the online world of business, here’s how to go about getting the best one for your brand.

How to find the perfect name for your business

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Know the purpose of your business 

If you want to start a brand that delivers outstanding services to its clients, you must first understand your business and industry. One fast method to achieve this is by writing all your company's core values or principles and carefully selecting the most significant ones.

Learn the concepts that work and what doesn't because it’d help you identify what your company should strive for and what it has to do to win your customer’s hearts.

Remember that powerful brand concepts give birth to outstanding brand names, and that’s simply because naming a good concept is a lot easier than naming a terrible one.

Choose the best tone for your brand

No brand name is powerful if it cannot connect with its target audience emotionally. And this disconnect often happens when the tone of the name does not align with the intended audience. Remember that the tone you pick for your brand name directly impacts how your customers perceive it.

However, before choosing a tone for your brand, you must first determine who your customers are, their desires and requirements, the challenges they encounter, what your company offers, and why they should be interested in purchasing your items.

Also, investigate your competitors, branding, products, and services to learn what outstanding service they provide and how your company may outperform them in offering greater products and services. Knowing your consumers and competitors will make choosing the right tone for your company much easier.

Identify your brand's element

Don't only think about your tone; think about your branding elements. Focus on identifying your company's key principles, the feelings you want to stir in your audience, your values, goals, and the benefits your audience will enjoy from patronizing your brand.

Why? Because when you eventually start brainstorming names for your business, you will utilize parts of this information to build a list of words that match your brand. These elements will have a big effect on the name you choose for your business.

But, while brainstorming, don't get too caught up in attempting to come up with a word that encompasses all aspects of your company. Instead, focus on words that align with critical elements of your brand.

Prepare a project statement

Creating a project statement will help you choose the right name for your business. Project statements provide a clearer image of what your name should achieve.

Here's an example of a great project statement:

• I'm looking for a name for my IT Company that conveys brilliance, intelligence, and excellence. It should be a powerful and appealing name that connects with working moms.

Brainstorm

It's time to let your imagination go wild and generate words that fit your project statement. Recognize that brainstorming may consume a significant amount of time, focus, discipline, and energy.

To make it easier, assemble a team to help you find the best word for your business. Tell them about your brand, including its tone, target audience, rivals, and objectives.

Your team should not be afraid to choose short, contemporary, interesting, or even symbolic words during the brainstorming process. Customers prefer brand names with profound meanings, so coming up with a unique word that embodies your brand's identity might be the winning approach for your company.

When brainstorming brand names, it’s important to think creatively and consider a variety of options, including short, contemporary, interesting, and symbolic words. But if you’re struggling to come up with ideas, a company name generator can be a helpful tool to generate unique and relevant name options that align with your brand’s identity and values.

But, if you don't have a team to help you brainstorm, and coming up with a distinctive name sounds challenging, your best bet is to use a strong business name generator.

Watch out for these danger zones

While searching for the right name, keep an eye out for the following danger zones:

• Avoid using single English words because of trademark problems
• Avoid generic words like force, icon, unity, and power
• Avoid using overused metaphors
• Avoid geographical names

Also, avoid words that are:

• Difficult: If your company's name is difficult to spell or pronounce, it might hurt referrals since clients will have difficulty remembering and promoting your name.
• Obscure: If your company wishes to appeal to a vast crowd, using vague, personal symbols or metaphors may not be the ideal choice. 

Because, while a tiny part of your audience will enjoy cryptic and symbolic phrases that only they understand, a larger number of your consumers will not.

• Neutral: Although you don't want to select a very technical or complex name, you also don't want to use something that will bore customers. A bland name is more difficult to recall than one that is colorful and appealing.  
• Taken: Choosing a name that another firm has already trademarked not only contradicts your company's objective of being original but it may also lead to severe legal issues for your organization. So before you settle on a name, conduct a trademark search. The best place to start your trademark search is on your country's trademark database such as CIPO if you are in Canada or USTPO if you are in the US. It is also a good idea to look in global databases for potential first-to-use basis claims.Anchor text:  start your trademark search

Finally, check with the US Patent and Trademark Office to ensure that another brand hasn’t trademarked your name.

With this information at your disposal, it's time to put on your headphones, grab some cookies, a cup of coffee, and go off on a journey to identify the right brand name for your brand.

Good luck! 

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Grant Polachek is the Head of Branding at Inc 500 company Squadhelp.com, the worlds #1 naming platform, with 30,000+ customers from early-stage startups across the globe to the largest corporations including Nestle, Philips, Hilton, Pepsi, and AutoNation. Get inspired by exploring these winning business name ideas.