There are thousands of brilliant ideas and business concepts out there in the world. Many even have the technical, creative, human and financial resources to take it forward. But the point where they get stuck is while naming it. Trust us, naming a business is as difficult as naming your baby. The name must reflect the personality, set the tone of the business and should be something that customers can relate to. A great brand name will allow expansion in any scope like geographical, financial, cultural, economic, etc. It should also adhere to your core values. The name you give your business is usually the name you want to stick with into the future.  

You have spent countless hours thinking of a good name, brainstormed with friends, family and colleagues, set up a contest for innovative names and whatnot. There comes a point where you have exhausted every option, but aren’t satisfied with the results. And to top it, there’s a deadline before which you have to decide on a name for the brand. Learn step by step instructions on picking a name and what kind of name to go for from the best Digital marketing company in Chennai. 

How to come up with a brand name?
Focus on your brand’s purpose

It is important to know who you are before naming the brand. The brand must have a distinct identity, which should be reflected in the name. You don’t want to end up with a generic name, that’s linked to the location or work that you do. Such names restrict the expansion of the brand. 

Think about how your products or services will create a difference in the industry or in the lives of the end consumers. Can you imagine naming your online grocery delivery service, Grocery Plus, but then that would leave you restricted to groceries. If you want to expand, you need a complete brand revamp. Figure out where you want to be and what it means to your consumers and pick an appropriate name. A good exercise at this step is to pick one word that would best describe the brand. Have many people take this exercise, and you would understand what your brand means to the outside world. 

Determine the brand criteria

Once you know what the purpose of the brand is, the next step is to figure out how to achieve it. The second step entails envisioning the efforts that you take to build the brand. Build the formula that you know would bring you success. You want an easily relatable name that conveys exactly what you do. There must be no ambiguity that might put off potential customers. But if you are introducing a new product or service that’s very niche, then you might want to think of a unique name that people will forever associate with that product. For example the term Jacuzzi, despite being one of several brands that manufacture hot tubs, has replaced the word hot tub. They built their brand around the name so well that people forgot the original name of the product. 

Formulate a naming strategy

Now you have identified the criteria for naming your brand, you can start with the actual naming process. There are quite a number of effective strategies that can help you come up with a strong name. You can choose to name the brand in the following categories.  

  • Positive connotation names
  • Coined names
  • Metaphorical names
  • Descriptive evocative names
  • Descriptive benefit
  • Descriptive mashup
  • Key attribute brand names
  • Strategic positioning names
  • Disruptive brand names
  • Rhyming brand names
  • Play on words brand names
  • Alliterative brand names
Pick a tagline that complements the name

The tagline is an important part of your branding. It must support and set the context for the brand name, especially when using disruptive names. A good tagline reinforces your purpose or core values to the customers. A classic example is Nike’s Just do it! It reinforces the idea that wearing Nike’s enables you to be active and pushes you to do things you would normally hesitate to try. But this tagline was given after the brand established itself as an international best seller. When starting out, it is better to have a descriptive tagline that effectively tells the customer what to expect from your brand. For example Apple was Apple Computers Inc. Once they established themselves as an electronics brand, they dropped the Computers Inc.

Narrow down the name choices

By now you have a sizable list of potential names. You can begin by crossing off the least appealing ones. Run the list by your team over and over again, cutting down the list each time. Check the last few remaining names to see if they match with your brand criteria. Read the names out loud to see what kind of first impression they give you and your peers. You could even get on social media to ask target customers what they feel is a good name for your business. Let the final few names soak in for a few days before making a decision. Don’t let people nitpick over the names because of personal prejudices.

After getting the list down to the last 5 or so, check for domain availability. Having a website is a must for every business. You can check for the availability with domain service providers. If a name you like is available then register the domain before someone else does. 

The next step is checking if the names are available on social media. Social Media marketing is the fastest and most inexpensive way to make your brand name familiar to your potential customers. 

If you are a niche business, then you can choose to trademark your chosen name. Another important point is to check for linguistic screening. What you thought of as a coined term, may be a derogatory term in another language.

Pick the winning brand name

 Now that the final list is ready, and you have checked for trademark, domain, social media and undergone language screening, you can proceed to make the final choice. Pick the name that makes you stand out from the competition the most. Practise introducing yourself in context with your brand name, to help you get used to it. Get a logo designed to go with the name. Choose a colour palette that reflects the brand personality. These small efforts will help you get used to your brand name and get into the comfort zone. 

Brand naming cannot be done hurriedly. This entire process can take anywhere from weeks to months, including the design and creatives. Set aside a sufficient budget for the same, with a separate budget for marketing. You could also think about hiring professional services from Digital Marketing firms in Chennai. Open Designs is one such firm that besides being a full service digital marketing agency, has a dedicated department for brand consulting. Get their expert help at Open Designs.