So Near, and Yet So Far….
- So did you finally come up with the perfect name for your new business- something unique and memorable that communicates the essence of your service or product- only to discover it had already been registered? This may feel like the ultimate frustration- but there is a bright side. All of that work you put into to figuring out your brand name will serve you well as you determine whether to start over or just tweak your brand name enough to make it legally your own.
Memorable, Descriptive, Original.
- Achieving one of these qualities can often seem to mean contradicting the other two- finding an effective brand name is a balancing act of creativity and the process of elimination. As you narrow down your choices, make sure to get lots of feedback– and there are three important points to remember:
Do some market research.
- Whether you can afford expensive research methods like conducting a consumer response experiment, or you just set up an informal focus group of your friends- be sure to actually listen and pay attention to the reaction to your proposed brand name. Customer validation of your brand name is invaluable!
Don’t be your own worst enemy.
- Let go of bad ideas- don’t let your ego’s attachment to a pet concept override the evidence that the major response to your logo or company name is unenthusiastic!
Don’t give up.
- If you get negative feedback to your brand-name proposal, keep working at it until you find the perfect name to bridge the gap between your product and your target market.
- Also: it is important to make sure the domain name is available – often, this is more difficult than getting your business name registered!
