You want your business to stand out in the crowd. That’s why your brand should be highly memorable, emotionally compelling, and different from the rest.
If you’re planning on launching a business in the New Year, keep in mind that your business name is the cornerstone of your brand. Most likely, before customers get to know you or your products, they’ll hear your business name. Yet, while a name is critical to defining the brand, companies often make mistakes when selecting their name.
The most common error is selecting a purely descriptive name or one that sounds like another business already established in the field. It’s tempting to go this route because it conveys what your business does and helps new customers understand what you’re all about.
However, the trademark office is cluttered with registrations. If you choose a purely descriptive name, chances are high that your proposed name won’t be available to use for your particular market or business type. In other words, if you choose only commonly used words in your name, you will have a hard time getting a trademark and you could accidentally be using another business’ name.
There’s nothing worse than receiving a cease and desist letter a few years after you launched your business because your name is infringing on someone else’s trademark. When this happens, you may need to change your name immediately, provide a list of customers, and even pay damages to the other company.
For example, many people are familiar with the wildly popular Words With Friends App. However, one of the first Scrabble-like games on Facebook was Scrabulous. When first launched, the game went viral, but then was removed by Facebook after Hasbro (the owner of the Scrabble trademark) complained about trademark infringement. That naming mistake paved the way for Words With Friends.
If you want to avoid a similar naming blunder, follow these steps to choose a great, “trademarkable” name for your business or products:
1. Use a Hybrid of a Descriptive and Made-Up Name
Most of the strongest brand names are words or phrases that didn’t exist before, such as Google. However, if you still prefer to have your name suggest what your company does, then choose a unique name that hints at what you do. Good examples are Netflix or Backupify. Made-up names are great in the long run as they are easily trademarkable.
2. Keep it Simple
Ideal names are short (two words or two syllables) and when customers hear the name, they know exactly how to spell it.
3. Avoid Initials
It’s hard for customers to forge an emotion connection with a name that’s just a random collection of letters or your own initials.
4. Make Sure the URL is Available
Even if you are building a brick and mortar business, your web presence is still critical. You don’t want to send people to another business’ website or have potential customers give up trying to find your site because your URL is too complicated.
5. Do Your Research
After you have created a strong and memorable name, it is your responsibility to ensure that the name is available and you are not infringing on another brand or company. First, you should perform a free business name search to make sure your proposed name is available in your state. Then, if it is available, you can take your search to the next level with a free trademark search to check if anyone has filed a trademark for your name.
Have you already named your business? What process did you follow? Do you have any advice or tips to give those starting out?
Brand Photo via Shutterstock
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