HOW TO CHOOSE A NAME FOR COMPANY?

It is already a big thing in life when one makes up a career choice and starts his way towards making a life-impacting decision, as a well-known author Jared Diamond has put it up as “Perhaps our greatest distinction as a species is our capacity, unique among animals, is to make counter-evolutionary choices.”As it is well-known-fact that nothing would have been possible in this world if nobody could have the courage to do it. Therefore, if you are a person who always had aspired to become his own boss or a person who is doing a 9 to 5 job, and nourishing a thought of doing this one day or already have started your journey of having your dream career, this article is an important one for you……

1.    HOW TO CHOOSE A NAME?

Generally, after making a decision to start your own business the next big decision is to what should be the name of your business? Interestingly, this is one of the most important aspects of a business but thought at least by the entrepreneurs. This brings us to the point. What should be the name of the business? Why is it even important?

For those unknown, the business name is the name that you registered with the Ministry of corporate affairs(MCA) to operate. You use this registered name for your bank accounts, tax forms and for all other legal purposes. for eg.brands Nike, Reebok, Tata Tea, etc. The importance of having a Business and name lies in the fact that there cannot be any business without its business name. It’s a name only which makes all the difference because a name is all that creates a business apart from all the features of its products in the market. For example in India some brand names have gained so much popularity that people have replaced them with the name of the commodity, for example, rather saying toothpaste, people like saying “COLGATE”, rather than asking for” water bottle” they say Bisleri”, & instead of asking for Noodles, they say “MAGGI”. Thus, one can understand the impact of having a sound name of the brand over the business.

 How an ideal business name could be created? How it should look like?  The following points should be considered while choosing a business name….

1.    IS IT WELL” BRANDED”? “IS IT UNIQUE”?

Choosing a good name is of great importance because it is the key that will define you and differentiate you from your competitors. Consumers appreciate a business name with the value they receive from it. There are brands that have established their name& fame over time and also logically it sounds good to name them aloud like Coco-cola, Dunkin Donuts, SarvanaBhawan, Lays, Café Coffee Day, etc.

2.    DOES THE NAME MATCHES YOUR BRAND?

A business name should be chosen in such a way as it is self-explanatory in purpose.”The efficiency of a name lies in the fact that it should be able to communicate the service it offers”.For example, the brand “Amul” in Hindi means something “precious” which is indicative of its simplicity& purity.

3.    “IS IT TOO SHORT” OR “IS IT TOO LONG”?:

A business name shouldn’t be either too generic or too specific in nature. It should be catchy, easy to remember& unique. For example, too general words like Malabari painting services are not only boring but also difficult to remember. Whereas, words like Kitaabghar or Photo bucket are interesting enough to remember& creative.

4.    USING A LOT OF KEYWORDS:

While choosing a business name one shouldn’t be too eager to stuff a lot of keywords. Using a somewhat modified version of related keywords works very well provided it is able to express what it is about. Being creative while choosing a business name, is a play sometimes on the word attention which is indicative of services itself.e.g.flickr(flicker),digger(er), Compaq(compact)

5.    COPYING COMPETITORS…IS IT GOOD?

During the process of getting a name for business, one should try to avoid to choose a name similar to an already established competitive business. It can have two adverse impacts. Firstly, it may confuse the potential consumers that your business is connected with other similar businesses. Secondly, it may mean appearing unoriginal and the sad news is both will have an adverse effect upon the business image.

6.    PERSONAL NAME VS BUSINESS NAME :

Using your own name doesn’t always mean necessarily that it will create a proper image or will be very much profitable always unless it is an established brand e.g. Piramal Healthcare. It has two reasons. Firstly your last name doesn’t communicate anything about your business and won’t show future growth probabilities to potential customers. Secondly, it will be a hassle to operate with if in future you want to either expand it or sell it over.

7.    IS YOUR BUSINESS NAME SCALEABLE?

One should always choose a name that helps to expand its future probabilities. For eg. If you are running a publication house& selling books, the name would be such that you could explore other probabilities like selling stationery items in the future.

8.    ARE THEIR ANY OTHER REQUIREMENTS?:

Other than these points mentioned above, these other things must be kept in mind:

1.    Before choosing a business name, one should have clarity in mind about what is the nature of the business, what is the structural requirement for the business, etc. It is always advisable to get full knowledge of rules regarding registration of business.

2.    You need to check alternatively that if your name is already registered or used by some other or not. The availability regarding the name of a business can be checked through the website of the ministry of corporate affairs by paying minimal charges.

3.    After checking all this, register your business name in the domain, because a domain name can impact your visibility and influences the marketing efforts of a business. If your desired business name is not available, don’t get disheartened and try to be creative and find a simple but relatable name for your business. For example, if your desired name is sleepy time& the business is about sleep apparels, you can use the register as sleepytimeonline.com.

Thus, for choosing a professional business name, the key is to have a simple, eye-catching name something relatable to the business through which are services being offered.

Still, if you find it difficult you can seek help with eStartIndia that provides assistance in this regard. After doing this you can move forward and register your business and you are good to go…..Good luck!

Author:

eStartIndia Team