When I started my business, my husband and I decided to name our
company after something that resembled our clientele: exotic, bold, and
beautiful. That's why--among other sentimental reasons--we decided to
name it The Orchid Boutique. Looking back, this was probably a mistake.
We've had a harder climb when it comes to branding because the name is
not immediately associated with our product--luxury swimwear and
accessories for women. I'm reminded of this every time someone asks me
if we sell flowers.
Here's what I've learned about naming your business:
You have two options: Name it something relevant or something extremely catchy
Most smart entrepreneurs go with the straightforward option and name
the business something relevant to their industry or goal.
"Charity:water" is a great example. It doesn't get more straightforward
than that. Often times this will give you the easiest and more fireproof
way to brand your business: Just utter its name.
Often times, however, companies with bigger budgets will make up a
cool-sounding non-word that's extremely catchy. "Squidoo" and
"Piperlime" are examples of that. I personally like this option better.
It's more of an uphill climb to brand your company, but worth it when
you get there.
Follow the KISS rule: Keep it short and simple
I cannot
even begin to describe the issues we've had by having such a long name
(and hence URL) attached to our company. It's hard to pronounce, and
it's hard to remember. Don't make our same mistake. Stay short, stay
simple, stay close to your idea. Ten letters or less is ideal. You want
people to be able to retain the name and concept after just a glance.
Choose a font that can be easily translated into a big, eye-catching sign
Assuming the risk of being generic or boring with your logo, you may
want to think closely about the repercussions of choosing a font that
may be hard to incorporate into a big LED sign--a sign that one day will
be at the forefront of your expanding locations. Our original logo had a
cursive and thin font, and we had great difficulty trying to find
around for a sign company that wouldn't butcher the aesthetic feel of
it. We finally decided it would be in our best interest to change the
font to one that could be reproduced more easily, lending itself to LED
lighting (or any other type of lit sign) in the future.
If you are--like most of us--a typical business owner with no outside
funding, most potential consumers won't know about your company until
they've had exposure to it. You want them to know what you're about as
soon as they read your name. Take it from someone who learned the hard
way.
http://www.inc.com/mayra-jimenez/choosing-a-great-name-for-your-company.html
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