One of the most important steps to starting your venture or expanding your company overseas is to settle on a name. Once you’ve established who your target audience is, the inspiration behind your company and what your primary products are, you will be ready to start the naming process. However, choosing the right name is a complicated process that can often require advance knowledge and extensive research. You may want to consult an expert or attempt the naming process yourself; in either case you should keep these 5 requirements in mind.
Think Customers. It’s easy to think that when you see or hear the right name, you’ll instantly recognize it. But that aha! moment might never come if you don’t know what you are looking for. It is important that you try to look at possible names through the eyes of your customers, and choose a name based on your customer and not yourself.
Phonetic Ease. The first encounter your customers may have with your company, product or service will most likely be visually or aurally. For your customers to instantly recognize your name, you will want to select one that is easy to read, to spell and to pronounce. Keeping the name simple will limit confusion when your customers go online to look you up and benefit you should your company, product or service gain word-of-mouth traction.
Research. The most important step of the strategic naming process is the hours of research that must be done. Gathering information about your target market and competitors is only part of the strategy. You will need to look up the etymology of words you are considering, discuss potential branding directions that support your name and acquire whatever further knowledge you’ll need to make a sound decision. Starbucks, for example, borrows its name from Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick” in an effort to evoke “the romance of the high seas and the seafaring tradition of the early coffee traders” [1]. Because this step to naming is the most important and time-consuming, we often recommend a consulting expert to help you with the process.
Testing. Conducting a survey or focus group can be beneficial during the naming process. Not only can it help you make better decisions in terms of naming but it can also allow you learn more about your customers and your target market. But the key to receiving the best feedback for potential names is to make sure you are asking the right questions to the right people.
Faith. Sometimes settling on a name requires a leap of faith. It can require you to trust your business consultant, your creative team or just simply yourself. The important thing to remember is that a name acquires value and an identity overtime, with consistent marketing and strategic branding efforts. Your name may not seem like it can hold up against your competitors’ right away, but considering that your competitors may have been around longer or spent more money on marketing than you have so far, its only fair that you should feel that way.
Choosing the right name is a complicated process that can often require advance knowledge and extensive research. If you are in need of assistance, ReachOut Business Solutions can offer you and your business our 20+ plus years of experience in assisting businesses from all over the world establish and significantly grow in the U.S.
[1] According to Business Insider
