In reality, names can be incredibly difficult to generate. In rare cases, the perfect name is obvious. But most of the time, it requires a little research work and a lot of creative thinking.
What’s in a name?
We share six secrets to naming success.
1. Define your USP
Before you start the creative process, you need some strategic direction. What is your product (or brand’s) unique selling proposition? What is the one quality that sets your offering apart from all the other similar solutions on the market? Your USP could be related to value, innovation, accessibility or ethical sourcing, for example. Once you have your USP, you can start working on name ideas that are inspired by or related to this all-important quality.
2. Do your research
The next step is to put together a list of products, brands and/or domain names in your competitive landscape. This way, you can avoid generating a name that is too similar to something else on the market. If this happens, you’ll not only come across as unoriginal, but your solution or site could be easily confused with another company’s. This means your good marketing efforts could go to waste!
3. Jot down the obvious
A blank page can be scary. To avoid all this white space, write down the first words that come to mind. Once you have these, you can find synonyms that sound better, or mix parts of two words together to create new words.
4. Use your tools
Once you have a few words or phrases you like, don’t be afraid to use a thesaurus to find synonyms or a free name generator tool (easy to find online) to provide some inspiration. This probably won’t provide the outcome you’re looking for, but it may spark new thoughts.
5. Longlist and then shortlist
Once you have a few pages of potential names, make a longlist by discarding the ones that definitely won’t work. From here, involve some colleagues or friends who know your brand and product, and ask them to help you to shortlist the best options. During this process, compare your name options to other product or brand names in your stable, to ensure compatibility.
6. Check the originality
The last thing you want is to design a corporate identity around your new name, only to find a few weeks down the line that the name is already being used by another company. One easy way to find out is to do a few internet searches to see if the name comes up in the results and already belongs to another business. You can also check your local trademark
Register and get your website development agency to check your domain name for you and secure it (or a relevant variation), if possible.