Jean L. Serio

Can Choosing the Wrong Business or Domain Name Hurt Your Business: 7 Tips to Help You Choose the Right Name

Like the old Bon Jovi song "You Give Love a Bad Name", giving your business a lousy name can not only create problems, but keep you from having as successful and profitable a business as possible.

Why is it important to choose the right business name?

Over my nearly 30 years in business, I've seen hundreds of thousands of names. Some great, some good, some bad, some pathetic. Some entrepreneurs may have chosen biz names without giving a thought to whether it made sense or effectively represented their business. Others probably didn't care, and chose a name they liked; without considering how it would "play" in the real world. And still others simply didn't know how important choosing a good name was, and gave little time to it; grabbing the first name that came to mind.

Unfortunately, when your name fails to reflect who and what your business really is, you can be driving customers and business away. Plus, very importantly, losing profits. And you may not even know it.

Ask yourself these 4 Questions to help determine whether you've given your business a good:

1. Does it clearly and effectively describe your business. Why?
2. Does it resonate with customers? Will it engage them and encourage them to visit and/or buy from you?
3. Is it easily understood or does it confuse customers; and possibly drive them to competitors?
4. Can customers easily pronounce it?

5 Tips for Selecting a Good Business Name

1. Create a name which effectively describes your business.

One of the worst mistakes is choosing a name which doesn't adequately reflect who and what your business is. Or what it represents.

For example, you sell collectible Hot Wheels. And every name you want has been taken. So you name your biz You Collect. Ok. But what does that mean? Nothing to a Hot Wheels Collector. How about - Collect Hot Wheels; You Collect Hot Wheels, Hot Wheels for Collectors, (if they're available).

Go to a domain name seller like NameCheap.com and search their database of available names. Come up with a half dozen or more. But before you buy a name, try it out on friends and relatives. If they can't relate, you can't expect millions of online customers, or thousands who may walk by your biz door, to understand what it refers to.

2. It should resonate with prospective customers.

Entrepreneurs often get really creative and choose a name which doesn't resonate with customers. And people are turned off.

Choosing a name which only means something to you and your friends requires prospective customers to use their valuable time to guess, discover or otherwise determine what your business is or does. And most won't do it because they don't have time for it.

As far as you're able, choose names which properly reflect what your business is. People see your advertising and marketing materials and know - within reason - what your business does, or what it represents. Plus, with services, what to expect. This helps prospective customers feel as if they know you; let's them feel comfortable calling and making an appointment, visiting your site, for example. Also, having an effective name makes it easy for people to explain who your biz is to others and send you referrals.

3. It confuses customers.

When you choose a creative or cutting-edge name, there will always be people who just don't "get it". Not only will they be confused about who you are, but confuse your business with your competition and others. Plus, there's the possibility they'll bad-mouth your business simply because they don't "get it".

And please don't think your competition will be kind enough to continuously send those confused customers back to you. While some will, at first. The name confusion will finally become a problem which they have no desire to solve. They'll eventually turn customers looking for your business, into customers of their own. And you can't blame them.

Talk about name confusion - my first independent business, an antiques and gifts retail biz - had the names of two flowers plus the words antiques and gifts. Hundreds of times, each month, customers came in thinking I was selling those two flowers. The name confused them. They got angry; and walked away, buying nothing. And forget about phone conversations. People simply did not understand it was just our name - we weren't a flower farm. The name caused no end of problems, we lost tons of customers and sales, so I changed it. Not to mention all my advertising was wasted, since it eventually sent tons of customers down the road to an actual flower farm.

Now, names like Google and Yahoo are part of our daily vocabulary. But remember, it took years for those names to finally catch on. Fortunately both companies had the financial wherewithal to hang on until that happened. In today's competitive marketplace, it's important from the very start, with naming your business, to give it one which not only effectively stands for who you are, but a name that's memorable and customers are proud to be associated with.

4. Select a name customers can remember and pronounce and won't rename.

It's one thing if you're using your unique, given name as your business name; and it's difficult to pronounce. It's another when you determinedly come up with one you know people can't pronounce.

Nothing annoys customers more than trying to learn to pronounce a business name. Even when they're told, dozens of times, some just never get it right. This can create several problems. First, customers can confuse you with another business. Second, they might disrespect your business creating a shortened name which doesn't properly reflect your business. Third, they might link it with a name which can give your business a bad rep. Plus, it's a made-up name customers have no frame of reference for.

Regarding personal names, if yours is unique and difficult to pronounce, it's best to opt for a shortened, easy-to-remember version, or to develop a name which better fits your business.

For instance, when we were young my mother shopped at Gimplirewski's Meats. Naturally many called it Gimps Meats because few were able to pronounce it correctly. While the senior Gimplirewski ignored it, the son - who eventually took over - hated it and renamed it Westside Superior Meats. Which people shortened to Superior Meats. While the father's business did well, once the son changed the name to Westside Superior Meats, he quickly developed a much larger customer base. While they'd always sold superior meats, the name further established that fact.

Or, use your first name if it's easy to pronounce. Mary's Mouth-Watering Muffins, George's Best Honda Repair, for example. If customers shortened it to Mary's, or Mary's Muffins, nothing would be lost.

Deciding on a business name, it's important to take some time thinking about how it sounds, how easily customers can pronounce it. And what will happen when, and if, customers shorten it to remember it.

5. Select a name which helps create a niche for your business, separating it from the competition.

While it may seem sensible to trade off the business of your competition, by creating a similar business name, chances are it will backfire rather than help. If the company is well known enough, it's likely customers will go right to it, bypassing your biz. Or, if they take the bait and visit your site, once they realize you're not the biz they were looking for, they'll turn and leave; buying nothing. Angry you "put one over on them". Of course, you can hopefully try to turn them into buying customers. But remember, in many cases their loyalty lies with the original company.

Instead, it's best to carve out your own niche. And while your business may be similar, in several ways, to your direct competition - you can effectively set your business apart by marketing those things which set your business apart. So if you're in the paint business, and the biz a half mile away has much of the same paints, select those colors - or products - which they don't effectively market. And use them to help choose your business name. For example, Cottage Colors Paints, Garden House Paints.

In today's competitive marketplace it's important, and far more profitable, to create your own business niche. A niche which your name quickly points out to prospective customers.

Copyright 2008 - Jean L. Serio

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