8 types of names to avoid

Your company name is one of the first impressions new customers have of your company. It’s your first chance to excite and intrigue them as well as communicate the core value of the product or service you are selling. And based on how quickly people judge brands over the long term, your company name is an important step in building lasting customer loyalty.

The best company names are clear, memorable, and give your company room to grow. They also stand out from your competition and resonate with you – it’s your business, after all.

And since naming a company depends so much on your unique ideas and sensitivities, we thought the most helpful way to name a company is to name eight common mistakes. Recognizing them and avoiding them can be a great way to use your creativity to find a name that you and your customers will love.

1. Generic names

One of the most basic tips for owners learning to name a business is to choose a name that reflects your company’s unique offering, mission, or background. If you choose a more general name, you are missing out on the chance to give your company a great identity.

Think of a marketing agency called Blue. If we hadn’t told you what they were doing, you couldn’t have known, could you? Their name does not describe their service or purpose – marketing – let alone what makes them unique.

A generic name like Blue also brings with it some search engine optimization (SEO) barriers. If you search for the term “blue” on google, you will get the definition of color or microphone brand.

Avoid making your company name too general by associating your name with what sets your company apart. Think about what interests your customers and what advantages and experiences only you can offer.

Try to relate your name to your products, services, value proposition, company values, or any other aspect of your business, and make that connection clear. Write down some words associated with these concepts and run them through a naming tool like NameSnack or Shopify’s name generator. They generate related words and check website domain availability while they’re at it.

2. Names that limit future growth

While you don’t want to get too general with your name, you can also go the opposite direction and make it too specific to a product or location. This naming approach limits your ability to scale your business in the future without changing your name.

Consider a bookstore called New York Books. What if the owners wanted to start selling board games and figurines, or opened a new location outside of New York? Unless they have built a strong brand beforehand, they could consider changing their name to attract gamers and collectors to their new location as well.

When naming your company, take some time to dream big. Think about the paths your company could take in the future, including any products, services or locations. If a name prevents this growth, it may not fit in the long run.

As you ponder these possibilities, don’t fall into the scale anticipation fallacy – think that you need to consider every possible path to growth right from the start. Don’t feel pressured to predict all the routes you might take in the future. Try your best to see all the opportunities to scale as you see your business now, and allow your overall lack of knowledge room for future organic growth.

3. Names that are too difficult to spell, say, or read

A company name that is too difficult to spell, say, or read is also difficult to remember and share. Your small business will need as much customer loyalty and word of mouth as possible when it gets started. Returning customers have a 60-70% chance of buying again. So you should keep her coming back.

Let’s say there is a home security system called Stellthee. It’s supposed to sound like “secret,” but you might not have guessed it at first glance. The owners took it too far from the original word for you to easily understand.

The strategy for avoiding this mistake will depend on your audience and your industry. Some industries, like tech, don’t mind unconventional names like others, as you can see from this Marketing Brew highlight:

If you’re not sure how your audience will react to a name spelled outside the box, just ask. An audience research tool is the best way to understand the audience’s reception of these types of decisions. Pick out a few names and test them out with your audience before finalizing one.

4. Misleading names

A misleading name leads the wrong audience to your company. Customers will be confused about what exactly your business is doing and what benefits you can offer them.

What if an art studio were called Apron? Artists use aprons while they work, but the average person associates them with cooking – not art. The studio would have budding chefs asking for their services if they want to attract artists.

When your focus is on figuring out how to name your business, it can be difficult to predict what others will associate with that name. Use a tool like Related Words to see what the most obvious related concepts are for your future name. It will give you a better idea of ​​what the general public will think when they read it.

Modern marketing takes into account the entire digital experience, including social media. Social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram are powerful and free tools to get noticed about your business. But they also have character restrictions on their usernames.

If you can’t put your company name in one of their social media handles, you’ll need to create a shorter username that doesn’t match your real name. Therefore, potential customers cannot search directly for your company name to find your profile. With so many companies using Twitter and Instagram, your business could be drowned in search results.

A name like Elizabeth’s Vintage Goods Emporium is difficult to place in a social media trade and difficult to abbreviate well. You could try “elizabethsvtggoodsemporium,” but it’s hard to read. Plus, even this shortened name is still too long for Twitter.

When naming your business, consider Twitter and Instagram character restrictions. Twitter allows up to 15 characters in a handle, while Instagram gives you space for 30. Even if your audience isn’t currently using Twitter, it will make it easier for you to remember your name and make it available for a future account.

6. Names with double meanings

Be careful not to choose a name with a second meaning that you do not know. This rule applies especially if it is not translated well for an international audience or could be interpreted as suggestive or offensive. In the end, you will leave a completely different impression than you would like.

Here is a real-life example: The name of Coca-Cola originally failed in China. The characters sounded like “Coca-Cola” but meant gibberish like “mare flattened with wax”. Not the most refreshing name to hear.

As you pick out potential business names, check them out in the dictionary, thesaurus, and most importantly, the Urban Dictionary. Tons of seemingly innocuous words have profane or offensive double meanings that you want to understand before using them.

Are you planning an international start? Conduct a name survey of customers in this country. Even better, hire a cultural advisor to pick up and explain obscure double interpretations.

7. Names that conflict with branding

According to Demand Metric Research, consistent branding can improve your brand visibility three to four times. When your company name and the rest of your branding are inconsistent, you make it difficult for customers to remember and share your company.

Imagine a company that sells luxury dress shoes with similar branding to Indochino – sophisticated yet accessible. They find out it’s called Silly Shoes. Doesn’t feel so posh now, does it? Worse still, potential buyers will not immediately understand whether they are finding elegant dress shoes or shoes for children.

At the same time as your company name, create clear branding guidelines and ensure that the tone you set in these guidelines applies to your name. If you prefer to set your name before your branding, at least understand the general tone you’re trying to use.

8. Names too similar to competitors

Make sure your company name doesn’t sound too much like a competitor’s name or have too similar a concept. At best, it becomes more difficult to stand out from them. In the worst case scenario, you risk being labeled a “rip off” and ruining your reputation.

What if someone named their American family restaurant Chile’s? It would be easy for someone to mistake it for chillies and you can’t help but wonder if it’s an intentional copy. A restaurant called Poblano’s would get a similar reception, even if it doesn’t sound similar, because it uses the chilli concept.

Before deciding on a company name, do a full competitive analysis. This process identifies your competitors, their performance in your industry and their core brand concepts. Use this information to keep your name original among your competitors.

Also, it doesn’t hurt to check out existing trademarks to make sure you aren’t hurting yourself when naming your business.

Expand your company’s identity with a homepage

Now that you’ve tackled your company name and branding, consider working on more tangible elements of your business identity like a website. Buffer Start Page makes it easy for you to get your business started with free, easy-to-create landing pages. They also come with our social media tools so that you can set up your social media presence with your web presence.

If you need more help spreading your brand, check out our social media marketing tool that will save you time and get results.