What should you name your company? I get this question a lot. “I want to order business cards but first I need to come up with a name. What’s a good name for my company?”
There are some absolute things to consider before you make a final decision. In no particular order, those include:
1. Is the name available with your Secretary of State? You don’t want to spend a lot on marketing only to find out later that you can’t use the name because someone else registered it with the state first.
2. Is the web domain with your company name available? Check through domain registrar sites such as GoDaddy.com. It’s important to own the web domain for your company name as that’s how potential clients will first look you up to check you out. And, potential clients will check you out online so be sure you have a good web presence.
3. Should you say what you do in your name? Saying what you do can be a large part of your marketing campaign. We, for example, are real estate investors and our name is J&K Property Investors. Our company name gives people some idea of what we do. If you’re a bakery, you may want to use the word Bakery in your company name. Exxon, Nike, Apple and McDonalds, to name a few, don’t mention what they do in their business. If you don’t plan to spend as much as those companies for your marketing, naming what you do can help get your message across.
4. Pick a name that is easy to spell. You don’t want to be respelling your name over and over for clients.
5. Don’t use numbers because clients will not be sure whether to use the number or to spell it out. This can make the difference between being found online and not. Plus, you will get that question over and over which will quickly get annoying.
6. Shorter is always better to help people spell it correctly and enter it correctly when typing it out online.
7. Will you use your company name in your email address? If you plan to do this, short and easy to spell is better.
8. Don’t overthink it. Only you and your mother will remember your company name, anyway. People don’t really care what your business is called – they only care about what you can do for them.
How did you pick your company name? Are you happy with it? What tips can you share?
