There are numerous aspects to be taken care of while deciding a name for a business.
Deciding a name for a business is even more difficult than deciding a name for a child. This is because there are no problems when more than one person has the same name. But more than one organization must never have the same name. For instance, there is only one company named ‘V-Guard’. Similarly, there is only one company named ‘Honda’. Hence it is really hard to fix a name for an organization. The name of a company is a part and parcel of it that works every 24 hours. For this reason, there are many factors to be considered while deciding a name for an establishment.
What are the attributes of a good brand name?
· Meaningful:
The name of a business organization should be one that indicates the characteristics of their product. For example, the first product of the company ‘V- Guard’ was a voltage stabilizer. Its function is protection of our home appliances. Here ‘protection’ is the value that gains importance in its name. Therefore, the name ‘V- Guard’ (altered form of ‘we guard’) conveys clearly the properties of the product.
· Recallable:
It is better to avoid words that are difficult to read or write while naming organizations. Brand names should be of the type easy to record, read and recollect. We have to take special care of this when we run a business in our locality. Many a times, we find it difficult even to read the names of several foreign companies. Example: ‘Huawei’. This is due to the foreign language origin of such names. We may not be aware of their pronunciations. So, it is good to choose names that are readable to people regionally.
· Focused on future:
Name a business focusing upon its future. Sometimes we may start a company with the manufacture of only a single product. The brand name chosen in the beginning may not suit the additional products manufactured by the company later on. One such situation in which the progress or developments of the company could not get along with its name must not arise in the future.
· Difference:
Uncommon brand names stick into one’s mind fast. Strange brand names are always eye-catching. Example: when the brand name, ‘GoDaddy’ is translated to Malayalam, one can find it interesting. ‘Drunken Monkey’ is another such name. People recollect such strange names quickly. Also people remember the name of the biscuit company in Mohanlal’s film, ‘Midhunam’, that is ‘Dakshayani Biscuit’. We still remember that name since we haven’t been accustomed to or heard a biscuit brand of the kind so far.
· Legal protection:
In order to protect our brand name, preventing others from using it, what we could do is to legally register it as a trademark. Also ensure domain registration along with it. In addition to this, if one’s brand name is similar to some other brand names, it will be a laborious task to show up first in Google search.
Different types of brand names:
· Individual’s name: Sometimes, an organization’s owner’s name may be given for the organization too. Example: McDonald’s, Ben and Jerry’s, Ford etc.
· Acronyms: These are names formed using the first letters of the words of a longer name. Example: NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), HP (Hewlett Packard) etc.
· Real word: Names of places, things etc are also used for naming a business. Example: Amazon, Tesla, Nike etc.
· Fabricated names: Developing a brand name by modifying a word. Example: Activa, Pinterest etc.
· Magic spell: Developing a brand name by changing some letters of a word. Example: Google. Also a brand name can be a combination of some words. Example: Netflix.