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Naming your business is the first step
in developing your small business. The business name decision you
will make will shape how your customers will perceive your business
now and in the future. This is a very important decision and your
business name will have a long-term impact on your business. The
name of your small business is part of your branding and marketing
strategy and it will probably stay the same for years so your
business name deserves a serious consideration.
The name should be simple, easy
to remember and easy to pronounce. There are different approaches to
choosing a business name. For example, you can choose a name that
immediately communicates what is your business about. In this case
when customers see your name they know what you do and what you can
offer. Example for this is “Farmers Insurance” - you know what they
do even if you are not familiar with the company. On the other hand
you can decide to go with a name that has nothing to do with your
business category – unique and creative name that will be different
from any other business. Example for this is “Nike” – if you are not
familiar with the company you do not have any idea what they do.
However in these examples the name Nike is unique and easy to
remember. If your small business will try to generate sales leads
out of the yellow pages you need to come up with a name that will
communicate what is your business about. The down side of taking
very narrow approach when choosing your business name is that you
may face issues when you try to grow your business in the future
beyond what you do now. If you want to create unique brand then you
can go with a unique and creative name. Another approach is using
your own name. Some people decide to do business under their names –
examples are Dell and Martha Stewart.
There are also legal business
name issues. The name of your business should be unique in the state
you are doing business in. So you need to check whether there is
another business in your state already using the name. Even if you
can legally use certain name for your business a good starting point
with your business name creation is to Google your ideas and check
if there is another business already using the name even if they are
not in your state.
If possible try to purchase a
website domain with your business name. Today every business is an
online business. In most cases your customers will expect you to
have a business website where they can learn more about your company
so they may try to type your business name in their browser. The
perfect case scenario would be if you can have a domain name which
is the same as your business name.
Keep in mind that choosing a name for your
business is one of the most important marketing decisions you will
ever make. There are no rules in naming your business – go with what
you think is a good name for your small business. Some “experts”
will tell you that the name should be easy to spell but on the other
side misspelling a name can be very effective marketing tactic. A
good approach is to test how your name will look like on a sign,
letterhead and with your logo – don’t limit yourself with only short
names – there is nothing wrong if your business name is long or if
your name has more than one word. Once again, there are no rules -
trust yourself and have fun creating your business name – it’s your
business. |
