Running a strong marketing business requires a great deal of knowledge, creativity, influence, and reach. But you also need one more thing, and that’s a captivating brand name.

And, in our society, where customers are provided with many alternatives, having a great brand name means your business has almost won the battle of attracting customers’ attention.

Undoubtedly, crowning your business with an outstanding business name is the best way for your business to enter your customers’ minds quickly.

As an entrepreneur venturing into marketing, you should already understand the importance of a memorable brand name. Still, the big question remains, how to find the best business name ideas?

So without further ado, let’s unlock the secret that’d show you how to come up with a business name.

1. Give Your Business a Distinct Vision

The first stage in developing a solid brand identity for your company is determining what goals your business should fulfill and how you would like people to interact with it.

You need to pay special attention to discovering what you want your company to be known for. Do you want to be renowned for your game-changing concepts, exciting goods, persistent devotion to innovation, or global reach and impact?

Finding the correct name will be difficult unless you have a clear idea of what you want your business to achieve. And that’s because naming a concrete idea is far easier than naming a fuzzy one.

One brand that displays this perfectly is Nike. Back when Nike was still called Blue Ribbon Sports, Phil Knight began rebranding the company, but for his efforts in rebranding to make the most impact, he needed to change his company’s name.

He sampled great names like ‘Dimension Six’ but finally chose Nike–a suggestion from an employee–because Nike, the Greecian goddess of victory, aligned with strength, top-performance, and success, all qualities that Phil wanted his company to communicate.

After you’ve identified your company’s ultimate goals, you’ll need to critically evaluate them and choose a handful that best reflects your startup. These concepts will serve as the basis of your corporate identity.

2. Create a Brand Tone That is Powerful and Exciting

Keep in mind that the strength of your business’s name is only as strong as the tone it conveys. Your tone reveals the true spirit of your firm. If done well, it will engage a significant number of clients; if done incorrectly, it will push them away.

One way to ensure your tone sticks in your customer’s mind is to choose a name that’s super easy for people to recall and not complicated to memorize.

Building a distinct tone strongly related to your company’s principles is the most effective method to influence how potential consumers view your brand.

As a result, devote as much time as necessary to learning about your customers, as this will enable you to establish whether your company’s ideal tone should be:

  • Practical or pragmatic
  • Prestigious
  • Modern and innovative
  • Intriguing
  • Emotionally impacting

While looking for the appropriate tone for your firm, don’t forget to look at your rivals’ brand personalities and tones to see if you want to stick to the norms or start a fresh trend in your industry.

Customers instantly noticed brands like Apple since they didn’t conform to industry conventions at the time.

3. Define the Core Elements of Your Branding

It’s great to have a peculiar tone, but your quest for a solid brand name doesn’t end there; you’ll also need to figure out your company’s branding elements. What is the significance of this? For starters, these elements serve as a basis for coming up with captivating business name ideas.

With this in mind, grab a notebook and make detailed notes of your company’s:

  • Big ideas: What are the core themes that your brand is built on?
  • Values: Are there any strong audience values that your brand represents?
  • Story: Is there a compelling story behind your company that customers can connect with?
  • Industry specifics: What specific values in your industry do you uphold?
  • Benefits: What distinct advantages would your consumers enjoy?
  • Emotions: What emotional experiences do you want your clients to have when interacting with your business/products?
  • Value proposition: Why should customers choose your brand?

4. Construct a Project Statement and Start Brainstorming

Gather all of the information you’ve acquired so far about your brand and use it to produce a detailed project statement that describes the type of name you need for your business.

To get you started, here’s a quick illustration of a project statement:

  • “My marketing company needs an exciting name that communicates speed, intelligence, confidence, and experience. The name should be interesting as well as reflect prestige and accomplishment. Customers should experience a sense of assurance and trust when they see it.”

Your project statement will give you a good sense of the attributes you’re looking for in a company name. After creating your project statement, the next step is to start brainstorming.
Start searching through dictionaries, thesauruses, rhyme books, and even online materials for words that align with the needs of your business.

While brainstorming, don’t ignore assistance from family, friends, or colleagues. One of the most remarkable ways to quickly create a memorable name is to organize a naming team, go through your company’s project statement with them, and use their assistance to identify distinctive and unique business name ideas that’ll stand out from competitors.

Secure Your Chosen Name With the USPTO

Make sure to register your selected name with the USPTO once you’ve examined and verified that your target audience loves it. Trademarking your company’s name will stop other firms from using the same name as yours.

Now that you have a clear idea of what you need to do to come up with a memorable name, we suggest you devote time to giving your business a comprehensive vision, building a captivating tone, and understanding the core elements that make up your business.

We’re certain that following our guidelines would make finding the perfect name easy and stress-free.

About the author

Grant Polachek is the head of branding for Squadhelp.com, 3X Inc 5000 startup and disruptive naming agency. Squadhelp has reviewed more than 1 million names and curated a collection of the best available names on the web today. We are also the world’s leading crowdsource naming platform, supporting clients such as Nestle, Dell, Nuskin, and AutoNation.