The fundamental difference between a branded product and any local product is when you choose a product just because the name of the brand has a credibility in market or the people you know. I would quote some common examples so it makes more sense; if we get a local cola and the other option we have is of Coke or Pepsi, we won’t mind paying some extra bucks for Pepsi or Coke because we can identify with the brand and won’t trust something we are not familiar with.
Forget about the makeup junkies and beauty bloggers, even my mom, who is in her fifties and once in year buys a makeup product; won’t buy anything from local drugstore if she has doubts that the product can affect her skin, for that she would pay double to get the satisfaction of using a reliable and renowned brand in the market – even though depending on the sensitivity levels of our skins, it may or may not react to an expensive branded product which has an authentic and medicated ingredients as compared to a substandard product.
We also need to accept and comprehend the fact that naming a brand and naming a pet are not similar tasks. Your business brand name is something you want masses and market to identify with and to recognize when it is displayed or mentioned which is why it requires a well thought out and strategic research behind finalizing the name for your brand.
If you ever come across logos or brand’s names you will notice that they either hold a meaning, small story, inspiration, motto or something that is directly or indirectly associated with the brand. Same goes for popular logo designs; they choose their fonts, colors, themes on the basis of something significant, even a single dot is not placed in the logo without having meaning or reason.
Therefore, choosing a nice business brand name and its logo are pretty crucial when it comes to leaving an impact on the public’s mind. Those who already know the significance of choosing a name for brands, find this process quite stressful. Nobody wants to repeat an already existing name nor does the law allows it – that’s very basic. However, there comes a crucial list to adhere while selecting or for just shortlisting a couple of names for the brand.
The name should not only embody the characteristics of the brand but it should also depict the distinguishing characteristics that set the brand apart from all other brands in the market. According to Alexandra Watkins, who is the chief innovation officer of Eat My Words, a San Francisco-based naming company, bigger corporations at times end up with low-quality names but they have dissimilar situations such as they do not want to offend anyone and also want everyone to understand it well, even after investing a good amount of money.
In this write-up, I will be sharing a guide on how to select a brand name which is search-friendly, easy to remember and recognizable trademark worthy name.
How-to Name the Brand by Utilizing Linguistic Tricks:-
- Easy spellings so anyone can type it, remember it, recognize it and endorse it later.
- According to the theme, keep the niche of the business in mind, either its food, makeup, PR company, magazine, blog, clothing brand, gym or whatever – the name should be relevant.
- No overused, common or cutesy – USP (Unique Selling Point) factor begins with brand’s name so make sure it brings something new to the table.
- The name should not sound corny or sticky.
- Short and precise – There is no point of choosing a name which has hard time spelling and takes more time pronouncing or even reading.
- Go for sentences, which are easy to remember and write. Examples: Spoon me, The Kitchen Sink, Watkins exclaims. When “people are paying you to advertise your brand that’s the ultimate in a good name.”
How-to Decide Your Domain Name:-
While pondering over the website’s domain, make sure it is:
- – Memorable domain.
- – Traffic oriented.
- – Memorable misspellings like Digg and Flickr.
- – Combination of words: Pinterest, Snapchat etc.
- – Decide whether you are looking for generic search or unique ones.
- – All the six letter domains are already bought legally or by squatters hence short domains won’t work. Think about more than six letters word.
- – Play with phrases such as lightmyfire.com, paymybill.com
- – Use foreign words for your brand name such as Acer is a Latin name which means acute or sharp.
- – Do not blindly follow trends, be sensible. Way too much emphasis is being placed on putting keywords in your domain name,” says Davis. Another way of approaching SEO, is to buy keyword landing pages and direct them back to your brand’s main page.
How-to Rebrand Your Business with Name:-
- At times, companies change the name of their businesses for the sake of rebranding or in case of major business screw-up or scandal. Or maybe the previous was not good enough and lacked the oomph factor. “People think that their names have a lot more equity in them than they do, so don’t be afraid to rebrand yourself,” says Watkins.
- The most common mistake by small business owners which is widely practiced everywhere in the world is naming their brand after their own name. This does not necessarily mean that there is anything wrong with the name but in a longer run, it is easier to sell the company if it is not tied to your name.
- Also, do not pigeonhole yourself with your name, that means if you start with a burger stall and plan to expand it to a restaurant in future, the name should not restrict it by naming it after burger.
Why Should You File For a Trademark?
Michael Atkins, who is a Seattle-based trademark lawyer, says that operating a business in the US, England or Canada does not require to file for acquiring rights instead you can utilize your trademark in connection with goods or services and you automatically get the rights. Again, all the tricks and methods come down to the future of the brand’s name – how you are going to take it forward. For example, if you are a local business and you plan to take it further to national level, in that case, it is better to file for a trademark before taking any action.
How-to Protect Your Business Name by Taking Legal Action
There is nothing more shocking than finding out that someone is misusing your brand’s name and earning well just because of your trademark. This can be even more damaging if someone abuses your brand’s rights, misuse the powers that come along and goodwill in the market and you end up paying for it. But every problem comes with a solution and even before that, we can take precautions to avoid any of such situations and this brings everything to our control even before anything takes place.
Just a few simple steps, if you face such situation, you should better contact a lawyer and having him write a cease and desist letter to the infringing company. However, it is highly recommended to research, verify triple times and confirm before doing this just to make sure you are not the second person using this name. For the reason that, in case you are the one who copied them, you are on your way to change your own brand’s name. The good news is that such scenarios are usually settled out of the court with mutual consent, even if you encounter such situation.
The Bottom line is:
You might be thinking that this information would be more relevant for big businesses but here is a thing, factually speaking, the majority of the small businesses commit this mistake because they lack the due and extensive research while choosing the name of their business. They usually select something whatever their friends and family circles think ‘sounds good’. However, when it comes to big business or any small business that eventually expanded into something massive had an impressive brand’s name. Your business’ name is the first impression and first sound anyone would have of your brand – the same is applicable to the logo design. The meaning also has to be well-thought and linked with the brand. Also, it should not be a random combination of words with trivial meanings. The next best step after finally deciding the brand name is to get it registered for the next 10 years.
Ever since I got Cox Omaha right after moving here. I had been thinking to start my own clothing line and I wanted to keep this business online initially. And once I get hang of it, I always wanted to have my flagship stores opened here and there. Online business will help me test the waters, do the right kind of branding and this is how, and I will learn business management. But it has been almost a decade since I began planning it. I was amazed to know how significant the research for finding the right name for your brand is. This is the reason I made a guide so it can help the aspiring business owners.