How to Avoid a Business Naming Disaster
by Marcia Yudkin
Published on this site: November 22nd, 2005 - See
more articles from this month
An entrepreneur of my acquaintance, in a rush to get his new
company up and running, launched his new online publishing
venture with a press release and great industry fanfare. Not
three days later, he received the kind of letter business
owners dread: a cease-and-desist request from the lawyer for
a company that said the name of the new venture infringed
on their trademark. Ouch!
My colleague held emergency brainstorming sessions with his
cronies, registered a new domain, announced the name change,
only to receive a barrage of criticism from British and Australian
colleagues that for them, the new name had negative and even somewhat obscene connotations. He changed
the company name and corresponding URL again. Quadruple ouch!
The moral of the story: Names matter. In your inventor’s
zeal for getting the technical stuff right, don’t leave
a blank for the company name and then pick one at the last
minute. Take the time to choose a business name that has these
characteristics:
- Suggests the content or subject area of your business
- Has pizzazz
- Makes a positive impression on your target market
- Can be easily spelled and pronounced
- If the company will mainly do business online, corresponds
to an available domain
- Is legally available for use
Tips for Brainstorming Names
A comprehensive, free guide to brainstorming a winning company
name can be found at www.yudkin.com/generate.htm. Another
series of steps to follow are these:
- Find 8-10 company names that you like – not necessarily
in your own industry.
- Analyze the type or formation of these names. For instance:
Google, Yahoo – short, sounds humorous
Dr. Pepper, Green Giant – based on a fictitious character
Done Yesterday, Call Caren! – describes a result or
says what to do
Speedy Muffler, One Stop Frame Shop – states the competitive
advantage
A Quiet Touch, Tranquility Day Spa – emphasizes a feeling
Queen of Clean, A Hire Authority – catchy, uses a meaningful
rhyme or pun
Riviera Diamonds, Niagara Well Services – evocative
geographical reference
- Use the patterns of the names you like to think up new
names that fit your line of work, target audience, competitive
strengths and personal preferences. Always brainstorm dozens
of possibilities, not just a few.
- Run your candidates through the criteria listed above.
Get feedback from trusted friends, clients and colleagues.
Select your top choice from those remaining.
Checking the Availability of Company Names
The surest way to avoid getting a cease-and-desist letter
is to hire an attorney to do a trademark search. Refer also
to these free online resources for business name availability
in various English-speaking countries:
United States:
http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=tess&state=6da0uq.1.1
Canada:
http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/cipo/trademarks/search/tmSearch.do
United Kingdom:
http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/
Australia:
http://www.abr.business.gov.au/
New Zealand:
http://www.companies.govt.nz/pls/web/dbssiten.main
Name your venture well!
Marcia Yudkin is the author of 6 Steps to Free
Publicity and ten other books hailed for outstanding creativity.
Find out more about her new discount naming firm, Named At
Last, which brainstorms company names, new product names,tag lines and more for entrepreneurs on a budget, at
http://www.NamedAtLast.com
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