In our wealth of experience around budding entrepreneurs, one of the major hindrances that weigh a lot of entrepreneurs down is picking a name for the business. We’ve seen several names which are not in tandem with the brand perception of the business owner.
Most business entrants have chosen names that ended up spelling doom for their business and we’re sure you don’t want to fall victim. You need to be clear about the name you want to choose because a good name could attract potential customers and investors while a poor name could also repel them.
Your name must be easy to pronounce, have a global undertone, unique and must bear an excellent brand perception. Using a name such as “sharp sharp boutique” or “the devil is a liar Nigeria Limited” are names that will drive traffic to your business but in the opposite direction.
How do you pick an excellent name for your business?
Research into the names of existing brand in your industry
This will save you a lot of stress and help your brains storming to be well directed and focused. This is the first step to picking a great name
Come up with a list of names
Write down a list of possible names, most especially the ones you come up with a list of names that you have thought of during your brain storming sessions.
Clip and Blend
Using the clipping and blending formula has always worked. For example, you could come up with about 7 different names. All you need to do is to sit down and begin to do a thorough analysis of them one after the other. Then you can pick a word from the first name, clip it with another word in the third and blend it with another in the seventh and so on. Do this several times to get different options – Trust us, it works like magic.
Choose the excellent one
There is a goal on your mind about that business of yours. Therefore, from the list you come up with, choose a short list of names that best align with your business goal and you are good to go.
Ask for people’s Opinion
Once you’ve come up with a list of possible names, seek for people’s opinion about your new name. Get their feed backs and see if there is still something that is missing and can be done better or adjusted.
With all these in place, you are set to go and register the business name at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). However, you must note that is very possible that someone else may have registered using that exact name. Hence, the importance of having a shortlist of names.
Follow these steps and you’re sure to come up with a great business name an remember, a good name sells your product or service faster.
