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The process of naming a brand can either set a business up for success or for failure. As a marketing professional, you understand that properly executing this process is crucial to startups. Typically, consumers see name brands before they see products. Imagine if you develop a poor brand name for a company with outstanding products. Due to their poor quality brand, their products may never be seen. With this in mind, read our guide to naming a brand successfully.
Develop A Brand Strategy
Firstly, develop a strategy in order to create a powerful brand name. Determine what kind of brand name would generate the most positive consumer response. Consider the company’s purpose and goals. Is the brand technology-related? Does the company sell clothing? Are all of the company’s products in the same category? Understand what exactly consumers will get from the brand you are naming. Create criteria your brand name ideas must follow. With a basic understanding of your company, you can build a brand naming strategy. Furthermore, the strategy will be tightly focused. In making this the first step to naming a brand, you set yourself up for success.
Generate Simple Ideas
With an overall brand strategy in place, you are ready to generate name ideas. When doing so, keep in mind that simple ideas are better. Short and concise names are easier to say, read, and remember. Therefore, they resonate more with customers. In order to come up with these simple ideas when naming a brand, get your team involved. Play word association games. Whether you are in a room full of various company departments shouting names or quietly writing them down, a long list should be generated. Another way to develop a list of simple names is to use an online thesaurus. Use the word length tool to narrow down your results to the simplest words. You will be left with long list of easy-to-read words that relate to the brand. Therefore, you will be one step closer to successfully naming a brand.
Refine Brand Name Ideas
Once you have a list of simple ideas, move onto refining that list. There are multiple ways for you and your team to narrow down your list. Firstly, put each brand name idea into a hypothetical scenario. Consider how business cards or creative banners will look with the name written on them. Imagine a website design with the brand name in the center. How will it look displayed on a building and/or sign? Secondly, type the name into a search engine. In doing so, you will be able to understand the other sites that will be associated with the brand name. By the end of this step, you should be left with a short list of the most effective brand name ideas.
Search Name Availability
After narrowing down your list of options, search the names to determine which ones are available. Specifically, United States Patent and Trademark Office’s database is a great place to go to. The database is full of registered trademarks. Search each name in the database for complete accuracy. Some of your ideas will come back positive, meaning you will have to eliminate them. When naming a brand, you want it to be unique so you can manage your internet reputation. Therefore, it may be a good idea to eliminate names that are very closely related to names that you found in the database. Narrow down your names through a reliable availability search to generate the best name.
Test Out Your Options
Lastly, test out the brand name options you have left. This step is the last you will have to take before naming a brand successfully. Name testing can be performed in more ways than one. The way you choose should depend on the specifics of the company. For instance, consider brand names for a technology-based company. These names should be tested through a tech user portal on the internet. Regardless of how you test out your options, the test should be done through your target audience. You should be able to understand which should be eliminated and which are worth keeping. Then, you will be able to move onto the last step of naming a brand: choosing just one.
As a marketing professional, you understand how critical naming a brand is to the success of a company. In order to create an effective name, begin by developing a strategy. Then, generate a list of simple ideas. After, refine that list. As your next step, search the availability of the names on your new, short list. Lastly, test out the options you have remaining. You now have an easy-to-follow guide to naming a brand successfully.
