Getting the Name of Your Business Right

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Being an entrepreneur is one of the best decisions you can consider. Not only will you get a career on your own terms and really pursue your passions, you also have the chance to give other people jobs and income opportunities. But with this decision to have your own business comes smaller matters that you have to think about – what’s the name of your business is one of them. So, before you get your open sign installed and your shop space renovated, here are some pieces of advice on how to get your name for your business correct:

The name should fit the business' daily operations, present a clear message and appealing to its customers.

Don’t go with a name that sounds too intellectual or ambiguous. It should reflect on what your business is all about even in just one mention. Avoid adapting a name that when you say it, would make the other person say, “What was that?” The business name should reflect your operations in one go and does not confuse anyone who says it. Speaking of confusion, you should stay away from names or words that have double meanings. You might confuse your customers and strangers who get wind of your name. For example, if you decide on putting “Hair Raisers” on your LED sign as your business name, your beauty salon business might be mistaken for a video store that only has horror movies or a shop of wigs.

Decide whether the name should reflect the business literally (e.g. Anne's Baked Goods) or if you can benefit from a more sophisticated name.

This factor really depends on what your business will be. There are some businesses that by nature, cater only to a certain class. Therefore, you should look into names that this market segment would appreciate. A name that has a certain level of sophistication would be to your business’ advantage, Otherwise, if your business has a mass market, then stay away from foreign-sounding titles. You might alienate people who will find your name hard to pronounce, or worse, incomprehensible.

After making a shortlist, allow a day or two before deciding on the final name. Don’t rush into deciding this integral component of your business.

Let the final ideas sink in and marinate first before switching on your open sign and typing them into your LED sign. Let others have a listen to your final name and check out what they think of it.

Getting the Word Right for Your Business

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Having an open sign is a great way to announce to the whole world that you are ready to have customers for your business. But then, how will they know in the first place that you have a business if you don’t get the word out. Telling friends and family is a solid step, but then, unless you have an overly extended family of hundreds or you live in a small town where everybody knows each other, you wouldn’t really get that many customers. This is where advertising kicks in. With the right advertising media and practices, you would be able to widen your possible clientèle for your business.

But before switching on that electronic open sign, let us give you some tips on how you can avoid wrong ways of advertising your business. Remember that advertising gone wrong can cost you a lot of money, effort, and time.

• Wrong: Great production ads without good copy.

Copy is still king, no matter how visual human beings appear to be. You can have an ad in which there is an image so captivating that it holds the attention of the viewer, but at the same time, you cannot rest on it alone. How will the viewer understand the image and how it should push your business forward if there isn’t any text accompanying the picture? The image of an ad is important, as consumers are primarily visual in nature and therefore, should be the first thing that would capture the audience’s attention. Once their attention is tethered, then they need reinforcements for you to pull them in – that’s what text is for. Once the image holds their interests, it’s time for great text to kick in and convince them even more.

• Wrong: Confusing results and response.

People might like your ad, but do they go out of their way to buy your product because of the ad? You need to learn to differentiate the two. An old adage goes, “Bad publicity is still publicity.” However, a bad ad does not really benefit a business. A bad ad may trigger a response from the audience, but would that response be to the benefit of what you’re advertising, which is your business?

• Wrong: Letting ads look and sound like ads.

People these days are more sophisticated to be fooled by fads. In this day and age where advertising comes in many forms, you need to take advantage of that to go as creative as possible. Your audience is likely very jaded already, and ads that hammer concepts and has an air of promoting products “in your face” will not work anymore.