Choosing a name for a small business is an intellectual and creative process. Your company’s trademark is this name. It will be able to distinguish your company from the competitors in a unique way. Consumers should be able to infer from the name of your company what it does.
When naming a company, it’s easy for novice errors to occur, such as not doing a name search before coming up with a moniker that’s so long the owner can’t spell it.
Are you prepared to give your new company a catchy name that will contribute to its long-term success? What you should know about naming a small business is provided here.
Keep company names simple.
Many companies believe that choosing the most distinctive name possible is the best method to name a business. This strategy has shown to be effective for some organizations, such as Google. The quest for an unusual name for a firm is frequently confusing. Business owners may put too much emphasis on an unusual typo or make the name excessively long.
The best advise is to keep your company’s name basic. This name should be simple to spell and say. You can be creative when coming up with a business name, but it doesn’t mean you have to pick anything obscure.
Still stumped on where to begin with your company’s name? The conventional guideline is that businesses choose a name that is five to ten letters long. The word or phrase should contain at least one consonant.
Say the company’s name aloud.
Once you’ve decided on a business name for your organization, take a moment to say it out. After you say the name, ask yourself these questions.
- What do you think? Do you feel ready to learn more, or do you think you’ll laugh because it’s too amusing?
- Is there any alliteration present? This is not a prerequisite for naming a company. However, it has been successful in naming brands such as lululemon and TED Talks.
- Does your company’s name accurately reflect your brand and its offerings?
Remember that your company’s name will be used in a number of media. The name should make sense to your intended audience. If you need to test the sound of your company name on a larger audience, have a friend repeat it aloud. Get them comments on how it sounds and whether they can guess what your company does just by hearing the name.
Perform a Name Lookup
You are preparing to submit an application for trademark protection in order to safeguard your company’s name (i.e., its trademark). This will guarantee that no one infringes upon the mark and grant you, the business owner, exclusive rights to it.
However, you must perform a name search prior to starting the trademark application process. The USPTO’s trademark database or a third-party service can be used to conduct this search.
You can determine whether a mark is unique and available for trademark by doing a name search. If not precisely the same marks you were brainstorming, you might discover that there are marks that are awaiting registration. If so, keep coming up with fresh concepts for your company name.
On the other hand, your trademark is formally available for registration for your company if there are no pending or registered applications for it. To obtain the name for your own use, submit an application for trademark registration, pay a nominal filing fee, and register the mark federally. After that, you can start utilizing the name in connection with all of your products and services, stressing its uniqueness in the marketplace.
