Unique, Local, Fun, Short: Business Naming isn’t Easy

While “unique, local, fun, short” may look like my dating profile bio, these words are actually what you will be told your business name should be.

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, UNITED STATES, May 29, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- While “unique, local, fun, short” may look like my dating profile bio, these words are actually a couple of the things you will be told your business name must be to be successful. While they haven’t produced results in my dating life, they certainly are considerations which can ensure you find a perfect match for your business.

Unique Business Names
Obviously it is important that your name is unique for branding purposes and to avoid trademark violations but what do we really mean by unique? A random assortment of letters will likely be unique but won’t make a good name, right? So there must be more to it than simply not being used by someone else. Along with other factors, uniqueness will help a new business as it enables it to be recognized. This is crucial in a world where there is almost always a lot of competition for your services or products. Being unique will ensure that you are known and memorable although that may not happen for some time. If you decide on a name that is unusual or not related to your service or product, you must be prepared to create a reasonable sized branding campaign to get your name associated with them. We can of course point to big businesses with unusual names but this does not mean the name helped along the way. For a new business, it may be more important to have a meaningful name, rather than an unusual name.

Local Business Names
A local business name is one which contains a state, city, town or locality. Examples would be things like Las Vegas Flower Company, Ohio Floor Coverings LLC etc. This approach to naming generally is taken by small businesses who want to be known in their area. However, it can also be used when an area is known for quality or skills in specific things. For example, naming a condiment company “Texas BBQ Sauce” could be done by a national company as Texas is known all over the country for great barbecue food. Using this approach can effectively create a connection with a location which gives it the edge in people’s minds. Wouldn’t you feel more connected with a car company which was obviously local to you? A downside that is often mentioned with this approach may be that the company outgrows the name. A local name is not going to particularly appeal to customers on the other side of the country for instance. This should of course be considered but for many businesses, this negative aspect can be overcome either through having an excellent reputation or indeed, by planning a rebranding of the company should it get to a stage when it is “too big for its name”.

Fun Business Names
This is another element that is often suggested but not often implemented. A nice example is the Mexican restaurant Juan in a Million as it uses a known phrase with a humorous Mexican twist. Certainly there are limited applications for “fun” business names and it should also be advised that this approach may have some important-to-consider negative consequences. Consider the following:
- Will everyone understand the “fun” or humor?
- Is your business something people should associate with fun? (Law firms, funeral directors etc should probably not use “fun” in their names)
- Is the fun/humor “evergreen” — will it be as fun in a year or ten years?
- Can it be misunderstood easily? Perhaps your fun name means something else to some people like a euphemism or a certain trend or social media phrase.
While there is definitely some businesses and industries where a fun name can be a huge benefit, I strongly urge you to consider whether yours is one of them before committing to it.

Short Business Names
This advice tends to come from branding experts. Short names are easier to remember, can be branded easily and it even helps in both print and digital media as the font can be bigger with a short name than a long name. When considering a short business name you should also consider whether it is enough to get the message across. Of course you don’t need to have a lot of words in your business name but having more than one is generally not a bad thing either. Using two or three short words with alliteration can be just as memorable or even more so. This also adds a little fun to the name and makes it easy to say. Think Coca-Cola, Dunkin Donuts — easy to say, descriptive, fun and also — short.

Other Considerations for Business Naming
Take your time with naming your business. Of course you should set a deadline to encourage focus but it doesn’t need to happen in one afternoon! Get feedback on names from friends, family, business professionals and people who represent your target market. When asking for feedback, try to have a number of names for people to choose from or they may simply approve whatever name you give them because they want to be nice and encouraging. Having several names makes them think and also give reasons for preferring one name over the others.

If you want to get a wide range of names, using a business name generator can provide you with suggestions which also have the website domain available. By entering words related to your business, your location and industry, you can create hundreds of potential names to consider within seconds. It is also worth noting that sometimes a business name can come from the unlikeliest of sources so keep your ears open and pick up on words and phrases in your industry and elsewhere.

Eoin Finnegan
Eoin Finnegan
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