Choosing a Business Name

One of the biggest decisions you can make when forming a new company or website is the name.  This more so then ever can play a vital part in the success or failure of a business. It never did play this big a part but with todays social media and advertising industry being so fierce, a name can be the difference between you and all your competitors. It’s the first impression you can make with your potential customers so you need to get it right.

Here at Dorset Tech we know a bit about branding and growing businesses so we have put together some tips and a guide that includes things to consider when choosing a new name for your business or website.  Long gone are the days when you just called yourself Smith and Son, now you have to think about a whole new world including online markets when deciding on your new name.

 Spelling:

Try resist the temptation to be clever with spelling by replacing words for numbers or using words that sound like if they are spelt correctly, such as ruums instead of rooms.  This could cause confusion with any potential customers.  It can work in certain situations but these are few and far between.

Easy For Branding:

Try pick something that will be future proof if you want to start branding yourself on things like hoodies, pens and t-shirts etc. A long name with multiple words will be hard to fit on items and will also be harder to remember. Branding always works best human growth hormone hgh side effects with short names or even one word names.

Radio Advert Friendly:

This goes back to trying to be too clever. If you choose a name with a mis-spelling or with numbers instead of words then this may make it hard for radio listeners to remember it so when they go to type in your business name or website address they get it wrong. You may at some point want to run a radio campaign and having an easy to remember name will go a long way to helping you see returns from your radio advert campaign. Anything complicated and people won’t even bother trying to remember or will but will quickly forget or type it in wrong.

Make It Memorable:

This is a hard one as you need to keep it simple yet make it easy to remember, especially if you want to have branding as well. Something like Peters Window Cleaning Services West Yorkshire is way too long and will be quickly forgotten even though it’s perfect. Plus it would be a nightmare for a website domain name. Short and snappy is best so avoid trying to describe your entire business in your name.

Don’t Copy:

We’ve all seen the copied takeaways named after national chains. Whilst it servers a purpose always try be unique and never copy. You could be at risk of not being taken seriously if you copy.  Besides the fact it will make it harder to brand too, plus you may find yourself with a lawsuit if you have copied a name. Be original and build your own identity from day one and that includes your name.

Availability:

Once you have a list of potential names always check to see if there are any competitors with the same one. This isn’t as important if you are a local service such as a sandwich shop but if you intend to provide your products or services nationwide then not being mistaken for another company is vital. This also reduces the risk of a rival company receiving traffic from your advertising campaigns as the names are similar.

Make The Right Impression:

Avoid using rude words or slang or street talk. This could alienate some of your potential customer base.  Bevs Baps is all well and good for a local sandwich company but if you want to be taken seriously online and nationwide you might need to pick something a little less suggestive.  Avoid using your own name as well unless you are a photographer or someone in the arts profession.  Anything suggestive will quickly turn customers away and probably make it harder for you to advertise online and on the radio and TV, not to mention print like magazines.

Don’t Be Too Clever:

Avoid using words that when together sound different or make up a new meaning. Obviously some element of being clever is good to be catchy but if you take it to the extreme it will put people off.  It could also confuse people as to what product or service you actually provide.

Check Trademarks:

Once you have a list of name then it’s important to check if somebody else has already go this and more importantly check it’s not been trademarked. This is essential   if you start to grow and build as a business as you may be restricted in the future if the name has already bene trademarked.

Check Domain Name:

If you are a UK company then check the co.uk and .com versions are available.  If your domain is different to your business name this could cause confusion and make it hard to market on some occasions. If you don’t have the .com then somebody could easily make use of the traffic from your advertising as many people will type in the .com version instead of .co.uk if they can’t remember which extension it is. Bets be safe and register both versions to make yourself future proof, as well as the newer .uk options as well.