If you are just starting out or, indeed, if you are thinking of re-branding your business, you will know how difficult, and even sometimes daunting, it can be to choose a brand name.
Your brand name is important not only to have something cool on your business cards, but it also needs to communicate something to your customers who want to identify and easily remember you.
So how do you find a name that works and is catchy? How do you know if it available?
If you have the necessary budget you can just hire an expert and that’s it, job done. However if, for any reason, you rather do it you yourself, then keep reading, I might be able to help.
What is a good brand name?
Various studies have been conducted on the subject and, although there’s not set formula for it, there are some characteristics that make a brand name more effective and easier for people to remember.
For example:
It should be meaningful. It should communicate your brand essence and convey a positive emotional connection
It should be accessible. Make it easy for people to say it, spell it, or search for it
It should be distinctive. Think of something unique that stands out from your competitors
You should be able to communicate it through design, for example in your logo
It shouldn’t be too niched down. Choose a name that can grow and pivot with your business. If you choose “Mary’s Knitted Hats” as your name, if you want to change direction with your business and make scarves instead, your brand name wouldn’t be applicable anymore
You should be able to trademark it and get a domain
There are some auto-name-generators online that try to help you with finding a name (for example Bust a Name, Shopify or Wordoid but I’d advise you to still do your research and choose your brand name intentionally and with purpose.
So here is a step by step guide on choosing your brand name
Step 1, Purpose, Why and Vision
Spend some time to really understand who you are, your why and your vision.
WHY are you doing what you do?
What is your VISION for the future? What do you want to create?
What is your PURPOSE? What are you here to do?
What VALUES do you have?
I have created a PDF version of this guide with dedicated spaces for you to write down the answers to all of these points. To download the 5 Steps To Finding Your Brand Name Guide click HERE.
Step 2, Identify What Makes You Unique
If you identify what makes you and your business unique it will be easier to find a brand name that makes you stand out.
One way to do this is to look at your competitors and establish their Purpose, Vision and Values; see how their brand looks and feels; check if they have a tagline or how they talk about their customers; what marketing and advertising strategies they have in place; what is similar/different from you.
By analyzing your competition you will get a better idea of how you can differentiate your branding and stand out from the crowd.
Step 3, Good Old Brainstorming
Put your mobile devises away, get some paper and pens and write down all the adjectives you can think of that describe your service or product.
Write down how you want your customers to feel when they use your service or product
You can use a thesaurus to come up with synonyms for a starting word. For example if you want to use the name cat in your brand name, type it into a thesaurus and you’ll see other results like feline, kitten, tom, ginger… you get the idea.
Think of different categories of brand names. For example, some brands use made up names, some use descriptive names (that describe what they make), some use the first name of the owner or an acronym, can you identify other categories?
Try and come up with a name for each category and if you can, try to come up with 10-15 different names.
One website that offers a huge amount of resources is Onym
And if you want to check if the name you’ve found is available you can go to Panabee
Step 4, Check That the Brand Names You Like are Available
Make sure the names you like most are not already trademarked. To do so, if you are in the States, go to the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s database of registered trademarks; if you are in the EU you can search at Trademark European Union.com
I’m sure that if you’ve come up with at least 15 names, some of them will still be available.
Step 5, It’s Time to Mockup
Once you’ve individuated the names that you like and that are available you can now have a bit of fun testing how they look like as a logo, business card or on your website or on products…
Once you’re happy with a brand name you can also start thinking about brand colors, but that’s an exercise for another time…
Are you struggling right now to find a brand name or have you managed to find the perfect name? Do you have more tips or advise?
Let me know in the comments below.
Don’t forget to download the 5 Steps To Finding Your Brand Name Guide by clicking HERE.