First impressions wouldn’t matter so much if we could all get second chances to make the right first impression. But this is never the case, hence the need to ensure that people’s first contact with your business is a memorable one. This first contact is often your brand name. Here is why your brand name is important and four things no one tells you about.
Your Brand Name is Important
There is no doubt, your brand name is important. Knowing how important your brand name is, you want to be sure that it is impressive. Doing this requires a mix of tact, creativity and relevant research.
Your brand identity as typified by your brand name must be thoughtfully and thoroughly executed to represent your brand in the best light possible, make room for growth and possible expansion while remaining relevant over time.
There are a couple of brand naming mistakes to avoid, but below are four things no one would tell you about your brand name.
1. Your brand name is your story headline
A good product without the right packaging would not only fail to reach the right audience, but it would also undermine the quality of the product. Some business owners choose brand names that leave people guessing what their business is about.
Everyone is busy, too busy to worry about your brand. People’s attention span is shorter than ever, with so much information competing for their attention per time. Your brand must be able to stand you out from the crowd and spell out your brand essence at a glance.
Your brand is a story. You are inviting your target audience to come with you on this journey. Make it easier for them to follow by choosing a brand name, which is akin to the title of your story, that is clear, precise, and compelling
2. Your brand name ought to inspire a response
Human beings are emotional beings. We act in line with our feelings and rationalize them in our minds. This is our first reaction to things, it is based on feelings. Even buying decisions are based on feelings. People don’t always need carbonated drinks like coca-cola, it is not a necessary requirement for living. But the feeling the taste creates, especially when it is cold, keeps people going for it.
Your brand name must be able to elicit a response from people if your brand is going to go very far. It needs to be active and alive for people to want to take action. If people don’t feel like doing something, they would not do anything.
As humans, we hardly respond to something we don’t feel anything about. Your brand name must be interesting and captivating.
One way to achieve this is to pick a brand name that is consistent with everyday words people in your target audience use. That way when your brand name pops up, they already have an idea of what your brand is about and what actions they need to take. Like every good story, you want yours to provoke action from your audience.
3. Consider a spice of mystery
Sometimes the magic wand that gets people talking about your brand is a bit of mystery. Yes, people’s attention span has reduced but they can spend a second more to find out details about something that catches their fancy.
Think about a brand name like ReadWrite, a brand that is focused on building the next generation of tech media companies with a focus on providing relevant information in a way that favors readers’ productivity instead of page views and time on site. The brand name is a combination of everyday words used by people in their target audience, yet it puts forward a bit of mystery with two words that sound like opposites.
The key here is a skillful mix of relevant keywords as much as possible. But resist the temptation to tweak keywords so much that they become difficult to pronounce or remember. It may sound good when pronounced, but you don’t want people guessing what the right spelling of your brand name is. Imagine having to remember, ReadWryt, in place of our example above. Stay within easily relatable and readable confines.
4. Use a brand naming platform
There is nothing wrong with using a naming platform when struggling to pick the right name for your brand. A brand naming platform allows you to choose from an avalanche of options depending on the keywords you put into the system.
Different business naming services offer different naming methods. Some require keywords that represent your business and using those keywords; the platform generates name options and combinations that could work for your brand. This type of service is usually called a business name generator. For example, NameOyster uses artificial intelligence to generate names, and they are typically free of charge.
Other services require more details regarding your business and ask you to fill out a creative brief. This service would usually use real people’s creative minds instead of a machine. The beautiful thing about a naming service is the creativeness of the name ideas compared to a generator.
They usually offer unique and custom name ideas. For example, Brand New Name uses contests to have creative people compete to win a prize. Real people suggest hundreds of authentic and innovative ideas, and you choose the best ones and reward them. This method usually offers better quality names since people know they have to deliver based on your specific needs.
These services are also designed to suggest only available name options, taking away the stress of verifying availability, making it a sure way to find a unique and perfect name for your business.
5. Take advantage of available tools
There is hardly anything you want to do that the internet doesn’t have supporting tools for. All you need to do is arm yourself with the relevant keywords, plug them into an online tool, and pick from available options.
With Google Trends, you can search and view current and past trends. This would give you an idea of what people previously searched for in line with your proposed brand name. With this, you are better empowered in your choice of a brand name.
Google and search results have some other tools that provide a general view of word combinations that could work for just any brand.
In conclusion, your brand is a story, a story you are telling your customers and target audience. A good story is a mix of different elements, the title of the story – your brand name, being one of the most important elements. Get it right and boost your brand by taking advantage of the tips shared in this post.
