It’s all in the name. Naming services are an important part of the overall branding process. For companies looking for naming services, it is important to find one that knows what goes into the perfect name. Read through this article to find how companies choose the right name for their brand, product, or services.
Updated July 18, 2022
Your company or startup can quickly become unforgettable with a business name to remember.
The right brand name improves your company’s chances of increasing its customer base and showcasing your values. It is a key element of your brand identity.
Using the right naming services falls under your overall brand strategy. It’s a tough challenge for businesses first starting or for companies looking for a refresh after years of experience in a field.
Along with your company naming services, brands must have a process for selecting names for their unique products and services. In the end, all naming processes have the main set of criteria.
Hire a brand naming agency to support your name development journey.
How to Choose the Perfect Name With Company Naming Services
- Set clear objectives
- Focus on your core identity
- Build user personas
- Start brainstorming
- Refine and test your picks
1. Set Clear Objectives
Creativity doesn’t happen overnight, but it’s important to start with set objectives before the overall naming services begin.
As part of brand naming processes, businesses should develop a branding checklist, brief or outline that dives into what they hope to achieve with naming services.
For example, Fuze Branding gives their clients worksheets like this brand summary for naming projects.
Clients can use worksheets like the one above to answer questions about their competition, main goal, values, and more. All of these questions should answer the basic building blocks for your naming journey.
Once clear objectives are set in this main stage, businesses can use a naming agency to start breaking down and articulating their core identity.
2. Focus on Your Core Identity
To find the right name for your company or product, it’s important to lay out what you’re trying to achieve. What makes your company or product unique? How can you highlight your messaging?
Along with other aspects of brand architecture and visual identities like logo design and graphic design, your naming strategy must focus on the backbone of your business goals.
The most successful companies chose names that accurately reflect their brand values and mission.
What are your company’s brand values and mission statement? It is important to answer these key questions:
- What is your business type? Nonprofit? Startup?
- Why was your business formed?
- What does your company do? Are you a technology company? A dog groomer? In the healthcare field?
- How does your business complete its mission?
- What is your marketing strategy in your field?
These questions should be easily answered for a well-structured business, and they can also relate to product branding or personal branding.
These aspects should encapsulate your company’s identity, making it an essential part of the naming services process.
Need help with branding services? Explore our directory of the top branding agencies.
3. Build Buyer Personas
If you’re unclear why you’re branding your company or product, then your business will have a tougher time choosing the perfect name.
Before the ideas phases begin, you should step into your customers' shoes. If you have no idea who you’re customers are yet, it is time to figure that out.
Explore social media, complete market research, and promote your tagline to see how your target audience can be more involved in the brand naming process.
Your company’s name needs to speak to your target audience. Choose a name that will resonate with them for years to come.
Additional reading, ‘How Businesses Benefit from Buyer Personas.’
4. Start Brainstorming
It is time for your ideas to come alive in this phase of a naming services project.
You should know by now what your brand stands for and how you want to convey your business to potential customers.
With all of these in the back of your mind, it is time to go wild with the brainstorming and discovery phase.
You can start by writing down adjectives and descriptors that describe your brand and products or describe what your consumers want and make options that go off that.
Another option is creating a chart or word bank that can function as a funnel for all ideas.
You can also make this process fun by making it a team activity.
The brainstorming stage is where all raw ideas should be gathered. Once those are put together, your organization can start narrowing down your top ideas.
5. Refine and Test Your Picks
By the end of the brainstorming and discovery phase, your team should have a lengthy list of different ideas.
How do you narrow that down? Evaluate them based on different criteria.
Most importantly, check Google and other online resources to ensure that the name hasn’t been chosen by another group.
Break down your top options into candidates, and begin evaluating them based on different categories.
Once those names pass your initial evaluation phase, you can test the top choices based on five characteristics:
- Distinctive: Does your name stand out?
- Sound: How does it sound when the name is spoken aloud?
- Stickiness: Can you easily remember the name?
- Expression: Does it fit your company’s personality?
- Appearance: How does it look on a product? Does it look as good as it sounds?
The perfect name will excel in all of these categories, making your company’s final choice even easier.
Looking to trademark your brand name? Check out Clutch’s list of top trademark law firms.
Invest in Naming Services to Find the Perfect Fit
Finding the right name and naming services takes time and patience. If your company invests the right resources into each stage of the process, the selection of the right name will come naturally.
Naming services can be tough to find, but selecting a provider that can help your business along the way is the first step. Once everything logistical is resolved, the creative content process can finally begin.
By your company investing the right time and resources into your new name or product name, it can set the foundation for your business to stand out amongst all of your competitors.
Invest in a brand naming service or naming firm to select the best name for your business.
Additional Reading: