HOW TO CHOOSE A GREAT BRAND NAME

If you are a new entrepreneur, you might find this a little challenging. You’d naturally think there’s a lot you are not considering.

If you are a quibbler, some sort of a perfectionist, you are probably never going to be satisfied with the name you come up with.

Whilst choosing a brand name can be puzzling, this should help.

Some of the greatest brands like Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple seem to have perfect names and somehow, it appears to have contributed to their successes but that’s only in hindsight. The names seem like a success because the products were great.

Your brand name is definitely important but don’t get caught up in a search loop. It’s more important to get going, after all, Instagram’s former name was Burbn, Google’s was BackRub.

Doesn’t that sound weird? It actually is.

The very basis of choosing a great name will be to articulate the impression you want to create. How would you like to be perceived? If you’ve answered this, here’s a trick…

Get a note pad and write down/type in every name that comes to mind, as many as you can think of, no matter how ridiculous it sounds, you’ll find a connection.

Think free, Iterate as many times as possible. Take breaks, go to work, have fun but whenever you think of something, add it to the list. Your brain will make sense of them without any conscious effort.

When you have more than a few names, start crossing out the ones that are most unlikely to work until you come to a few.

Some tips to help you make a great choice would be…

Start with different. This might be puzzling because chances are, whatever you come up with is already in use but it’s not impossible. Your name has to stand out. If you follow the trick (writing down a lot of names), you’ll find something.

Next, it has to be easy to remember, memorable. Think of names like Starbucks, Apple, Uber, Andela, Facebook, Piggy Bank, now PiggyVest. Think of names like Paystack, Pepsi. Easy-peasy right?

If you are a business-to-consumer or commodity business brand, this matters more because your name intermingles with the public so avoid complicated or difficult to pronounce names.

The last one. Let it scream for attention. Your name should be inviting.

Recap

Make a list (as long as it gets),

Cross out names until you come to a few

Pick one on the grounds that it’s different, memorable, and attention-grabbing.

If you decide to pick an unlikely name, it’s totally fine but be sure to have the strategy, budget and talents to enforce the impression your business needs.

I’ll probably write about the exceptions tomorrow, I hope you read.