What’s in a brand name?
Choosing the right name for your business or a new product or service is one of the most important business decisions you are likely to make. According to one recent survey on brand awareness, 53{cae46e7993c4999f200af9814ce4e65a37fd1ff57f0d8a6946b53fc261028869} of consumers reported that the popularity of a brand name definitely affected their decisions when making purchases.
However, today’s marketplace is crowded and increasingly global. To give you some idea of the scale, every year in the United States, 6 million new companies and more than 100,000 new retail products are launched.
This makes it harder to come up with an original brand name, which is why you may want to seek some professional advice. In the meantime, here are some pointers to get you started.
Businesses usually don’t have a lot of time to inform customers about their name, so marketing-savvy firms create names that are easy to learn and remember. A key point is that the name should be sufficiently different to attract attention. Would your firm’s name attract your attention if you saw it for the first time?
Here are five top tips for creating a memorable brand name. Make it:
- Suggestive by using a name that evokes a positive brand experience. When Jeff Bezos decided to call his new online retailer Amazon, he knew that the name was synonymous with enormous.
- Meaningful – a variation of the old standby of “it does what it says on the tin” so that your customers immediately “get” what your brand’s about. Examples are easyJet and Kryptonite bike locks.
- Visually evocative, because this is a great memory aid. Think about what the names Land Rover and Range Rover conjure up.
- Original – It is important to stand out from the pack and differentiate your offering in a crowded marketplace. Quirky brand names like Ben & Jerry’s (ice cream) do this well. They are also personal and…
- Emotional – You need to make an emotional connection. Perfumes – think Obsession – often go down this route, for instance.
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