How to Choose a Great Company Name

A new store opened in town, it’s called “Makin’ Babies“, I am totally serious. No, it’s not a fertility clinic. It’s not a lingerie store. It’s a doll store. Yes, the owners didn’t think through this one very well, I’m afraid. Really, if you were going to Google “Makin Babies Utah” online, I doubt you’d ever find their store. Not to mention the hesitation of every potential employee to answer the phone or a mom looking for a gift…would the product be packaged with the company name?

The first thing you should do is at least run the name by an honest friend, right? I’d love to volunteer. I’m honest.

Here’s 10 steps for choosing a great company name (the following exercise is to be done by the company owners independently):

1. Write down every name that comes to your mind for at least 10 minutes, don’t limit yourself or judge any option, write until exhaustion so all of your ideas are down, take a break and then move on to #2. Don’t show this list to anyone yet.

2. Ignore the first list and with a new sheet of paper, write down every keyword (or phrase) that your company will focus on (for example, “publishing books”)

3. Move on to a new list of the demographics of your ideal client, write down everything you know about them

4. Look up everything on Google (if you haven’t already) about your competition and write down the key players names, also note their logo colors (for future reference)

5. Look back through your original list of names and see if anything stands out, if yes, compare it with list #2 and #3 and see if the name compliments your keywords and your clients’ interests/demographics, if you can narrow down the selection to 3-5 names

6. Ask yourself: when I introduce myself and say “I’m with…..” how do you feel? When you answer the phone, etc. is it easy to say/pronounce? Can it be spelled easily? Is it standard spelling? Does the name represent the mission of the company and future? Does it allow for growth/expansion or is it named after a single product? (not recommended!) Is it unique and different from the competition?

7. Think about branding potential…can your name describe your company longterm? Can it become a culture? Can you give yourself a fun title that strengthens/supports your brand? For example, Wendy Piersall signs her emails eMom

8. Check if the URL is available, and if so, buy it right away (. com, . net, forwards and backwards), unfortunately, there’s companies who buy available domain names if they are searched and not purchased right away.

9. Before committing to the name, also do an initial national trademark search

10. Sit on the name for a couple days and see how you feel about it, then take it to a few well-trusted, business savvy friends whose taste and style you admire and see what they think. Don’t tell them what you like or what you want, just say, I’m thinking about these 3 names, what’s your pick? Why? and LISTEN. Don’t say a word. Zip your lips. Then ask a few other people and then meet with your co-owner/partners and compare names and decide on something together that works! In the end, it’s all about how you feel about it. You’ll know when it’s right. Whenever I’ve gone down this path, I’ve felt confidence once the right name was chosen. That’s a great sign!

Today’s Magic Wand: A great resource for learning more about names/branding is the site, A Hundred Monkeys they are a professional firm that corporations pay to come up with product names and new companies…they’ve got some of the best magic wands for this industry!!

Kelly King Anderson (c) 2007

Your turn: How did you come up with your company name? What tips do you have to share??