5 Questions to Help Business Owners Zero in On a Great Brand Name
March 10th, 2011 | 
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My last post gave you an insight in to 10 tactics to create brand names that rock. Come to think of it there is no limit to the innovation and creativity that goes in to coining a great brand name. In the end it’s all about finding what works for “you”. That’s right…you…the business owner; your brand name should be about you and how you want your venture/product/service to come across as…
What Is Your Vision For Your Brand?
Vision? Why bring up something that sounds so philosophical? I mean, aren’t we talking business here?
Yes, we are talking business; in life every endeavor, no matter how big or small, personal or commercial should begin with a vision. You must have a dream for your brand. Do you want your brand to be a local, national or global brand?
Defining this in the beginning will help you choose your brand name wisely. For instance a name like “Café Coffee Day” will fit in to the local, national as well as global mould.
What Do You Want Your Brand to Exemplify?
A brand may signify different things to different people. It may be a trademark, a slogan, a logo, a symbol, a packaging design, company staff demeanor and dress code or a feeling that can only be experienced by using a certain product or service. Alternatively a brand may signify any one or many of all these things to an individual.
You need to think about these facets of a brand before you zero in one. A name like Artescape for resort that marries holidaying in Goa with trying your hand at art exemplifies as artistic escape, which is what its owners wanted for their brand.
How Does Your Brand Name Score on The Recall Value Scale?
Recall value is very important. Is your brand name easy to remember? If people have to work too hard to remember your brand name then it’s really not worth the effort. Think about how long/short the name you have in mind is. If it is too long then can you reduce it to an acronym?
For instance “Any Surprise Any Place”, a brand name that can be condensed to “ASAP” which in turn is a clever adaptation of the more commonly used acronym for “as soon as possible”, not only is it easy to remember but also has a fun element to it.
What about SEO?
This is one pointer that you should consider, search engines pick up certain names more easily simply because a brand name has keyword/s included in it. This is probably why a name like WittyGift will be picked up by search engines almost instantly when someone looks for “gifts”, “gift ideas” or “customized gifts”.
If you want people to find you with ease then think of a brand name that’s suited to SEO.
Does It Set You Apart?
A brand name for a venture/product/service pretty much does what a name does for a person. It helps to set you apart from your competitors. Opting for name is an exercise in differentiation, realizing this will help you direct your search for a name towards this end.
“The Green Stove” is a venture that caters to the niche truly vegan market that steers clear of dairy products like milk, cream, yogurt and cheese. The name says it all… “Green fare off the stove”.
Hopefully posing these questions to yourself will help you focus and refine your search for a perfect brand name; more so if you are a custom made business owner. I hope to share some custom made brand names that truly fit the bill in one of my upcoming posts. Till then happy coining!
Image courtesy: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=851
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Two other things to consider when branding your company or a business venture:
1) Be sure the name says what you do; in addition to the considerations listed above. Especially for small businesses and service businesses – cute or catchy might not be enough.
2) What’s the competition for your name? Do a search for the company name and for your main keywords. Is the competition fierce?
2b) Can you buy the .com URL/domain name? You might not need this, and can do a variation, but keep it memorable.
2b) Do a search of the Government Trademark database – to be sure it is not trademarked.
2c) Check your brand-name for a related “Handle” or username on the primary social networks that your clients use.
I got inspired by this post to expand my comments into a post on my site – I’ve put a track back here.
Cathy Larkin, @CathyWebSavvyPR
Thanks Cathy, very valid points!
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