Choosing a company name
A client approached me this week requesting my assistance with establishing a strong brand identity for their new business venture, they were at the very early stages of the process - they had a great idea for a new business but was struggling to find a name. In this blog, I will cover some considerations when creating a company name.
Trademark
The first step to choosing a company name is to look at the nature of the service you are providing and use that as a way to come up with conceptual themes. For example, if you are starting something in the financial sector, the themes you might think of could include simplicity or value for money. Once you have a long list of potential names now is the time to do a trademark search to make sure that no one else “owns” that name. If you don’t do this then you might find out that another company owns it after you have launched your product or service. This is disastrous, since the company that owns the name can get a court injunction that can stop you from trading. You can get advice about this from a trademark attorney who specialises in searching for trademarks against your chosen name. It can take months and entrepreneurs should factor this in when planning their business.
Web presence
It is likely that at some point you will want to establish a web presence such as a website. Obviously it goes without saying that you should be aiming to be on the first page of results produced by internet search engines such as Google, and to do this we have to look at something called SEO (Search Engine Optimisation).
Many people will already be aware of something called “meta tags” which are used behind the scenes to inform the search engines about your website.
It is actually very beneficial to use your company’s product or service as your web address, as search engines place a lot of importance on the domain name to establish what your site is about.
Using your own name
If you are considering using your own name for your business, the things to bear in mind here are that you are not only giving your name, but possibly your identity as well.
You have to be sure you don’t muddy your name because it will be the first thing customers see. It can also have implications if you want to sell your business in the future. You’ll need to make sure that there are caveats in place so that your name does not become associated with something you would not be happy with.
Remember, some of the most successful brands in recent memory have not included the name of the entrepreneur behind them, for example Richard Branson’s Virgin and Anita Roddick’s Body Shop.
Where to get inspiration
The cardinal rule is that the name should reflect the brand’s strategy. It is recommended that you don’t come up with your company name before you have your strategy, target market and business proposition clear in your mind. The quality of what you can offer will be more important than a name or fancy website. Although both those things are extremely important, your success comes from what it is that you can offer that’s new, not your brand. This has worked well for document management firm Xerox. They can also be easier to trademark. Once you have gone through all the steps noted above and have found a name that is not owned by someone else, you also need to do a rigorous linguistic and colloquialism check. This is especially important if you plan to move into foreign markets. There is a classic cautionary tale about the pitfalls of doing business in foreign markets that can be found in hundreds of books about marketing, is of General Motors launching the Chevrolet Nova in South America. Apparently they were unaware that Nova in Spanish means “it won’t go”.
Trademark
The first step to choosing a company name is to look at the nature of the service you are providing and use that as a way to come up with conceptual themes. For example, if you are starting something in the financial sector, the themes you might think of could include simplicity or value for money. Once you have a long list of potential names now is the time to do a trademark search to make sure that no one else “owns” that name. If you don’t do this then you might find out that another company owns it after you have launched your product or service. This is disastrous, since the company that owns the name can get a court injunction that can stop you from trading. You can get advice about this from a trademark attorney who specialises in searching for trademarks against your chosen name. It can take months and entrepreneurs should factor this in when planning their business.
Web presence
It is likely that at some point you will want to establish a web presence such as a website. Obviously it goes without saying that you should be aiming to be on the first page of results produced by internet search engines such as Google, and to do this we have to look at something called SEO (Search Engine Optimisation).
Many people will already be aware of something called “meta tags” which are used behind the scenes to inform the search engines about your website.
It is actually very beneficial to use your company’s product or service as your web address, as search engines place a lot of importance on the domain name to establish what your site is about.
Using your own name
If you are considering using your own name for your business, the things to bear in mind here are that you are not only giving your name, but possibly your identity as well.
You have to be sure you don’t muddy your name because it will be the first thing customers see. It can also have implications if you want to sell your business in the future. You’ll need to make sure that there are caveats in place so that your name does not become associated with something you would not be happy with.
Remember, some of the most successful brands in recent memory have not included the name of the entrepreneur behind them, for example Richard Branson’s Virgin and Anita Roddick’s Body Shop.
Where to get inspiration
The cardinal rule is that the name should reflect the brand’s strategy. It is recommended that you don’t come up with your company name before you have your strategy, target market and business proposition clear in your mind. The quality of what you can offer will be more important than a name or fancy website. Although both those things are extremely important, your success comes from what it is that you can offer that’s new, not your brand. This has worked well for document management firm Xerox. They can also be easier to trademark. Once you have gone through all the steps noted above and have found a name that is not owned by someone else, you also need to do a rigorous linguistic and colloquialism check. This is especially important if you plan to move into foreign markets. There is a classic cautionary tale about the pitfalls of doing business in foreign markets that can be found in hundreds of books about marketing, is of General Motors launching the Chevrolet Nova in South America. Apparently they were unaware that Nova in Spanish means “it won’t go”.
Labels: Education and Training


