Tips for Creating

Business Naming Tips

The team at Best Name Ever wants you to get, well, the best business name ever or the best product name ever.  Heck we just want you to the best name for whatever it is you plan on doing with the name.

Of course we think that the names we have on our site, both on the Best Business Name Ever home page and the Best Innovative Business Names are some great names that grab attention but even if you don’t feel these names will fit we want to help you with some great tips.

Each section of tips is just a small summation of a blog that we did recently that dives into the subject further so if you’re interested in the tips, be sure to click on the link at the bottom of each section for a further analysis of the topic.

Enjoy and please let us know what you think at the bottom of the blog section.

What to look for in the Best Business Name:

First off, what is it that makes a great company name?  A great company name is one that strikes at the heart of your target market.  You need to figure out who your target market is, what they like and how to get them excited enough that they come to your business.

You need be happy with you name, it needs to be one that you’re proud to stand by and but most of all it needs to be one that presents your company to your target market the best way possible; even if they don’t know it yet.

Think of Google, remember the first time you heard the name?  How about Yahoo?  The first time you heard those names you were probably thought, what the heck?  You might have been intrigued enough to go online and look it up, then you realized what they were what they do and then, you felt, this is tomorrow this is the future and I’m in the know, that’s what a company name should do.

To read more about understanding the Best Name for My Business please see our blog on this subject.

The Best Business Names are Creative:

Now unless you’re a Pho shop or a hair salon, when we say creative we don’t mean puns or a play on words.  We also don’t suggest funny spelling or multiple pronunciations.  You can take two words or partial words and put them together into a new word, as long as that new word can be communicated easily and spelled with no difficulty.

Remember your business name needs to easily communicated, be it read on the side of building, a TV add or remembered from communication between people, it needs to be relatively simple.

A short while ago there was a huge 2.0 name craze where people were leaving out letters and creating business with funky spellings and everyone was jumping on board.  One big one was twittr, remember that?  Here we are a year or two later and do you know what that company is called now? Twitter!   They brought back the “e” and they’re back to a normal spelling.

To learn more about creating the best creative business names we have a blog on the subject, so check it out.

How to Get Creative for the Best Creative Business Name:

It sounds easier said than done right?!  You might be thinking that you’re an expert in your field, be it technology, knitting, manufacturing, whatever, but you know that you’re not a very creative person, what do you do?  Or maybe you are a creative person but you’re just having writers block, and now you’re wondering how you can develop a creative business name, when you’re stuck?

First off, don’t panic, relax and take it easy.  Naming your company can be difficult and may take some time but it’s very important for you to stay focused and remember there are a few things you can do to spark you creative thoughts.

Now, do whatever it is you do to relax that doesn’t require you full concentration.  For example, take a walk, take a shower, go for a swim, play pool, play chess, stimulate your mind but don’t get wrapped up in what you’re doing.  Don’t watch TV or even read a book, unless it’s about company naming or this blog of course, these things may distract you but not help your creativity.

Often we find that simply moving to a new location may help you get creative.  If you’re used to working at your desk, move to another room, if you work at home, move outside, sit at the kitchen table, or work at the park, you get our point, stirring things up, will stir up the brain.

Moving and changing location may be the best and easiest way to spur creativity.  To learn more about spurring creativity for a creative business name please check out the blog we have on the matter.

Look at your Business Plan for the Best Business Names:

As we mentioned above the best business names are ones that are laser focused on your target market.  Who is your target market and who are you internal and external stakeholders in your company?  Who are your suppliers, how old is your target market and who are your main competitors?

All of these questions should be answered in your business plan and that is the best first place to look for inspiration for naming your company.

To hear more about using your business plan as inspiration for the best business name, we have more information on it, in one of our blogs.

Make Sure Your Business Name Ideas Are Available in The .Com:

Now we’re sure you can find some great domain names for your business in some crazy domain name extensions but that is almost never a good idea.  Unless you’re college and going of an .edu or you’re a charity and want to go with an .org, every business should be a .com business.

If you are not the .com you’re just sending people to the wrong site, and that site may be your competitor.  Don’t send people to your competitor; buy the matching .com domain for your business.

That said, there are a few different ways for you to check if your business name ideas are available in the .com.  The first is to just type it into your browser and see what comes up, second type it into a search engine, whichever is your favorite and again see what comes up.  If it’s taken, you’ll see something on the site, if there’s nothing, you’re not home free but it looks good.

Check with a domain register.  There are quite a few domain registers out there so pick your favorite.  The top domain registers are GoDaddy, 1&1 and HostGator.

To learn more about how to check if your business name ideas are available in the .com domain, we have more info in a great blog our staff had prepared, check it out.

Make Sure You Can Legally Use Your Business Name Ideas:

Just because you’ve come up with some amazing business name and they’re available in the .com that does not mean that you will necessarily be able to use it.

What do I mean by that?  I mean that just because you thought of a great business name does not mean that someone hasn’t already thought of it and trademarked already.  Don’t panic just yet, just because someone has trademarked the same or similar business or product name then you, does not necessarily mean that you can’t use the name as well.

The way the US Patent and Trademark office works, is that industries are divided by Classifications of Goods and Services and if a similar business name is under another “Classification” and they will not be “Confusingly Similar” to the public you can use your name.  Let me state that it is always best to consult a Trademark Attorney but there is tons of free information on the US Patent & Trademark Office Site which will help you through this.

To learn more about screening your business names for trademark infringement, our naming team has developed a great blog on the subject, have a look.

Test Your Business Name Ideas to Make Sure They Resonate With Your Target Market:

You’ve got all these great and creative business and product name ideas, and you can procure the exact match .com domain name and they’re not confusingly similar to any other business or product in your industry, now how are you supposed to narrow your choices down?   Test them!

Testing your business name ideas and product name ideas may just be the best way to find out how your perspective clients feel about your name.  Often people can get so wrapped up in the naming process that they can’t see how outside people would see their name; not seeing the forest in count of the trees, as the saying goes.

The best way around this would be to get a marketing company.  Don’t worry if it’s not in the budget, you have plenty of people around you!

Ask people, friends, family or whoever, the closer they are to your target market the better.  If you don’t know anyone in that market, ask people in a similar industry, ask your perspective suppliers and heck, ask your own mother.  You never know where a great idea is going to come from and it’s great to have a second eye on things.

To learn more about testing your business name ideas we have more info in a great blog, follow the link and don’t be afraid to leave questions and comments.

Picking The Best Business Name Ever From Your Ideas:

You’ve done all your research, you’ve narrowed the names down, you’ve done it all and now you still have a few names that you just love, and you just can’t decide; what do you do?

The last tip, and perhaps this will make the difference, consider what your business or product name is going to look like to your target market.  We mean, think of what it’s going to look like on a billboard, business card, website, logo and any other touch points of your brand.

If that doesn’t help then at the end of the day, it all comes down to that gut feeling.  Trust your instincts and go with it.

To learn more about making the final decision on the best name ever for your business we have a great blog written by our naming team, just follow the link.  Be sure to leave a question or a comment and we’ll be happy to answer you!

We hope this article has helped and we hope that you let us know what you think about it and the corresponding blogs by posting comments and questions.  Also please let us know if you have any tips for developing great business names and even if you have examples of product names that you think are the best, we’d be really happy to discuss them!