4. Legal structure

This topic of legal business structures and their effect on business name registration and protection was covered in a recent Women’s Enterprise Centre blog post.

5. URL availability

Before you fall in love with a name, make sure its URL is available. GoDaddy is an easy way to search for domain availability. Brevity and simplicity are important for URLs. For example, XYZ.com is better than XYZcorp.com or XYZconsulting.com.

6. Personal names

If you choose a person’s name for your business, consider how unique and memorable it is. With the current proliferation of personal names in brand names, from David’s Tea to Amy’s Kitchen, another personal name may sound generic and forgettable.

Including your own name in your company name can be an asset or a liability, depending on the type of business. If you plan to offer professional services, e.g. consulting or accounting, it may be an asset.

With a last name like mine, I am painfully aware of the need for your name to be easy to remember, spell and pronounce. There’s a reason why Gary Vaynerchuk, an American entrepreneur and best-selling author, goes by “Gary Vee.”

7. Trademarks

Trademark registration is a way to protect your company from the competition and add value to your business. Since trademark registration in Canada will protect you only in this country, consider trademark registrations in all countries where you plan to do business. Canadian Intellectual Property Office is a good place to start.

8. Expansion plans

Make sure your company name doesn’t restrict your future expansion. A few years ago, North Shore Credit Union had to change its name to BlueShore Financial to facilitate its expansion in Metro Vancouver. For international growth, avoid confusing US consumers with Canadian spelling or having inappropriate meanings in other languages.

No matter what name you choose, you’ll still need to work hard to build awareness among the target audience and successfully position your business in the marketplace.

The post What’s In a Name? 8 things to bear in mind when naming your business. Part 2: Practical matters. appeared first on WeBC.

Here are a few things to bear in mind when naming your new business.

1. Brand positioning

What do you want the name to communicate about your products or services? Is it entry-level or premium, mass market or exclusive? Depending on how you plan to position your products or services in the marketplace, your brand name should reinforce that positioning, e.g. the old-world craftsmanship of Häagen-Dazs, Best Buy’s promise of good value, or the premium quality implied by Godiva Chocolates.

2. Word meaning

What should your company’s name actually mean? Should the customers know right away what you offer, e.g. Nature’s Path Foods, or do you want them to remember a catchy name with no clear meaning like Lululemon?

There are dozens of ways to choose the right word or phrase. The name could reference action or results when using your product (Twitter), compare you to a traditional product (Canva, Pinterest), mock established businesses (Slack), merge two different words (Pinterest, Spotify), etc. etc.

But even the most eloquent or clever name won’t spare you the hard work of building brand awareness and getting your target audience to remember your company.

3. Logo design and social media

While a brand is much more than a logo, a logo-friendly name is very helpful. Bear in mind where and how your company name will appear. If you plan to use social media, fitting the company name into short social media handles is very helpful.

Brand positioning is a good place to start brainstorming your company’s name, but there are at least five other issues to consider. Read about them in Part 2: Practical matters.

The post What’s in a Name? 8 things to bear in mind when naming your business. Part 1: First things first. appeared first on WeBC.