How to Create Killer Company or Brand Names

Just as important as naming a child who will be pretty much stuck with the name you bestow upon them for the rest of their lives, what you come up with for your new company or product may very well determine the success of your venture.

First off, some don’ts:

-DON’T use acronyms. Acronyms are impersonal and unoriginal.

-DON’T use a name that is too generic like “Strategic Development Initiatives Group”

-DON’T pick a name that is too similar to an existing product or company

-DON’T pick a name that is likely to be misspelled

-DON’T settle on a name without first Googling it or running at least a preliminary check with your Secretary of State

Now, what you should do:

-DO pick a name that evokes a strong reaction, either a mental image of brilliant color, action, smell or something contradictory

-DO use the availability of the URL web address as your main determining factor of name selection

-DO go against the grain. If your competitors use dry acronyms, use explosive words. If your competitors use technical jargon names, use something with no relations to jargon.

-DO try and pick as short a name as possible. The best names are powerful and to the point.

-DO run full checks on the legal availability of your name before incorporating it, registering it as a DBA or trademarking it

Good luck and happy brainstorming!