By Pascal Oparada
What’s-in-a-name is an expression most often used to trivialise the importance of name but naming your business can be a Herculean task. How do you come up with a name that can strike instant chord with your target market?
While people can adjust with your brand name overtime, it is important that you choose a name that would be easy, sweet and mostly universal to mention.
In Nigeria, a lot of people like to use their names or a combination of names for their brands. There is nothing wrong with that as long as it resonates with your target market.
While some brand names like Oluwalogbon Motors and Ezeife and Sons may sound great to Yoruba and Igbo speaking audience, it definitely does not strike a chord with non-speakers because they may see it as tongue twisting.
READ ALSO:Neglect of vocational trades cause of unemployment– Taiwo Ige, woman spray painter
Think out of the box
As widely spoken as the English language is, it is greatly limited. When searching for a brand name, go beyond your local language or even the revered English language.
Search for alternative names in other languages like Spanish, Latin, Italian or even French. The idea is not to sound international, but to be accepted internationally.
You may get the name in English but test it against a Spanish name. For instance, herb in English is Votana in Spanish. Use Google Translate to check and choose your name. The idea is to come up with a great brand name that appeals to your customers or target market.
The Toyota brand is founded by Toyoda Sakichi in Japan. They had to modify the name for their international market. A name like Anthony is the name as Anthonio in Spanish and Gabriel is the same as Gabriella or Gabrielle in Spanish even though one is feminine.
Hire a consultant
While you may come up with a great brand name all by yourself, there are qualified, competent people and firms that can help choose your brand name for you.
While it’s no guarantee that a firm or consultant will develop a better name, they may do it more quickly and objectively.
There are a number of factors to consider, including:
· The stakes: if you’re investing a lot of money into launching a new product to a major market with established competition, the stakes are high.
· Your confidence in your team’s creative firepower or objectivity.
· The amount of time and energy you have to devote to the project.
· Whether you can afford to bring in an outside resource.
Develop a strategy
· Determine what your name needs to accomplish.
· Decide how it will work with existing product or service names (if applicable).
· Determine what kind of name to develop – descriptive, invented, founder’s name, etc.
· Develop objective criteria to evaluate the names you generate.
READ ALSO:January transfer window: Man. United budgets N33.7bn for fresh legs
Test your name
Make sure it:
· Sounds good over the phone (for example, when a sales rep calls a prospect) Have a friend or a family member make a mock call and say your name over the phone to the person as though you are answering a customer.
· Won’t be constantly mispronounced or misspelled, which defeats the purpose of a name
· Isn’t confusing
· Conveys your desired brand personality
· Has a URL that works with it
Protect your name
A good name they say is pricier than gold. You may have come up with what you think is an awesome name. But have you checked if another person has the same name?
It’s important to protect your name to the appropriate degree. If you choose a name that infringes on another company’s copyright, you could receive a cease-and-desist letter and have to go to court and/or change your name after months or even years of use.
By protecting your name, you also gain the ability to prevent future competitors from using it.
Let your brand name stand you out.