How do you choose a distinctive trade name for your business?

The distinctive trade name is one of the elements of a strong commercial identity, and expresses briefly the story of the company and the services or products it offers, and it is the most widespread and widely traded element of the commercial identity.

Labeling is important in all areas of life, so choosing a distinctive trade name for your company or business is one of the most important steps to establish your brand, and it is not an easy task.

When do you need to choose a distinctive trade name?

The stage of choosing a trade name is similar to the stage of parents choosing the name of their new baby. It usually takes time, discussions, effort and several considerations into account. If parents do not choose a distinctive and socially acceptable name for their child, he will face many difficulties throughout his development, such as bullying and harassment. Choosing a trade name is not limited to starting a project or establishing a new company only. You may need to choose a distinctive trade name at different stages, including:

You start a new business or company, and you need a brand name, a logo, a website, and a complete brand identity.

You started a new product or product line and need a name and logo for it within your brand.

Your company has grown, and the current brand name is no longer suitable for the new company's position.

You need to change your brand name, because it is similar to other brands.

The current trade name has negative connotations within your industry.

The current brand name causes confusion among customers about the nature of the service or product you are offering.

The merger of your company with other companies or brands, you need a new trade name that brings together the merged companies.

Despite the many previous reasons that push you to search for a new trade name, they fall under two basic types: to choose a distinctive trade name for a new project, or to change the current trade name, regardless of the reasons for the change.

Either way, if you are working on a brand building project, you should start by developing your brand strategy first, so that the brand name aligns with the vision, mission, values ​​and other elements associated with the corporate and brand strategy.

The importance of choosing a distinctive business name

Most owners of small and medium businesses do not realize the importance of choosing a trade name, and they may spend thousands of dollars on choosing the domain name for their website, while choosing the trade name for their company does not give the same attention and amount of spending.

However, choosing a trade name is the most important element of the commercial identity of your project or company, because it is the most permanent and continuous element, in addition to being the brand’s interface, and the first way to introduce it, you do not choose a new trade name every month or every year, and it is not easy to change it, In addition, the process of changing the trade name in a short period of time is not desirable.

Choosing names in general is a very important process, and a carefully chosen name has many benefits, and in the world of business in particular, choosing a distinctive brand name contributes to the ease of remembering your brand by customers, and they will often like it, and therefore buy from it or prefer receiving its services, and dealing, especially if combined The name has a distinguished past customer experience, and therefore high recommendations and ratings.

The foregoing does not mean that bad names must necessarily result in failed projects. The name is an essential pillar for the success of the project, but it is not the only pillar; Therefore, it must be taken care of and chosen carefully, and the success of your project with the name through the crossing does not mean that you will continue with the same name, as choosing a distinctive brand name may benefit you in a wider spread and more sales for your project.

A distinctive brand name is not a condition for success, but it is a necessary condition for expansion and spread, do not hesitate to change the name of your business if it is inappropriate and has a negative impression, and a bad brand name can harm marketing efforts, especially if the name is difficult to pronounce or remember, so Choosing a distinctive brand name requires a disciplined creative approach and strategy.

Distinguished Brand Effect

Commercial naming is a difficult process with long stages, as you need to review hundreds of names in the same field of your business, until you reach a distinctive trade name that is not exploited by competitors and is available in the legal records.

As soon as the brand name spreads and appears, its meaning will begin to change according to the customers’ experience with the brand. Choosing the name is very important, but it is not the only element and influence in the image of your brand. The distinguished name must be followed by a distinctive experience in dealing with customers. The distinguished name cannot improve Bad customer experience, while bad customer experience can kill a great brand name.

In the event that your brand had a bad experience with customers, which necessarily affected the reputation of the brand, then changing the brand name will not be the best solution unless you change and improve the nature of the experience and the customer journey with your brand.

According to many studies, choosing a short and simple trade name has guaranteed positive results, especially since it has a better performance in the stock market, but it is not a general rule, there is no one way of naming or one type of trade name.

On the other hand, there are experts who prefer descriptive brand names, which explain what your company offers, and their justification that this type of name saves the marketing budget; You don't need to spend a lot of resources explaining what the company has to offer.

There are different types of trade names - we will learn about them later - it is not possible to reduce the types of trade names to these two types or to prefer one approach over another, and according to the nature of the company and what it offers and its position in the market and among competitors, you can determine the most appropriate approach to naming.

Distinguished Trade Name Specifications

The process of choosing a distinctive trade name is very difficult, and studies differed about the best way to follow it to reach a distinguished trade name, but there are several common features that must be available when choosing a trade name, which will facilitate the selection process a little, and on the other hand, there are caveats that you must avoid in this regard :

First: Characteristics of a Distinguished Trade Name

1. Easy to remember

A trade name that is difficult to remember causes severe damage to the brand, if you provide some paid ads and pump a large budget on them, and they are of high quality, but you have a trade name that is difficult to remember, most likely customers will not be able to reach you because of the difficulty of remembering the trade name, and therefore the difficulty of access to your website or pages on social platforms, which will negatively affect the intensity of your sales and purchase of your services.

It won't help to include the name of the street you live in or difficult-to-pronounce Greek words, even if they have meaning related to what you offer, but choose a name that is easy to remember and easy for customers to pronounce and interpret, and the most prominent brands that are easy to remember are Apple and Uber.

2. Unique name

It is important that your trade name is distinctive and different from others and cannot be forgotten, as there are thousands of restaurants, but there is a distinguished name among the most famous pizza restaurants in the world and there is no equal or similar, which is (Domino's Pizza). Regular names can work on a local scale, but it is difficult to succeed and spread globally.

3. Interesting

The brand name that makes people wonder about the services it provides and raises curiosity in them is one of the best names. When the customer searches for a brand name that is frequented around him, he will surely never forget it, and the likelihood of him buying the service or product offered by this brand will increase.

For example, there is a plot in the name that motivates customers to know the story behind this label, to search more for the brand, and perhaps share its story, thus increasing the reach and awareness of the brand.

4. Boolean name

Here, the name is meant to be related to the nature of your services or products, and not necessarily to be associated with a direct and identical word, but you can be more creative in creating a link between the name and the nature of your business.

5. Flexible name

You have to choose a brand name that is flexible and adapts to time, and is not linked to a specific period of time or a specific product, which is expected to decrease or disappear after a while, but choose a name that lasts long and is not linked to a specific event or product, so that you can develop, grow and expand with it and not It loses its luster or connection with the above.

6. Optical name

So that it expresses the essence of your brand, and you can imagine an image associated with the brand with its mention; In order to develop a positive emotional connection with customers, in addition to the ease of visual representation, through designs, logos, symbols and colors within the visual brand identity.

Second: What to avoid when choosing a trade name

1. Tell your whole story

A brand can't do the whole marketing management role, tell the whole story behind starting your own business, don't put too much weight on the brand name, simply say what you offer without telling a long and boring story.

2. Choose a literal name

An abbreviated name is much better than a long and boring name that is not easy to remember, even if the word that makes up the name has no meaning in the dictionary, but it is much better than writing a descriptive and direct sentence for what it provides, and if all trade names become descriptive literally and directly, the trade names will be similar It confuses customers.

3. Name with a specific template

The trade name specified in a specific product type or category represents a major obstacle in your business, as it limits the ambition and the pursuit of development and upgrading your business, but it will put you in a narrow mold that cannot be expanded, even if the template is related to your business, but its negatives are more than it has A benefit for introducing customers to your commercial services and products.

4. A name that steals the spotlight

A boring brand name hurts your brand, but choosing a brand that is too flashy can be even worse, as it will distract customers from the core products and services you offer, and cause customers to be confused and create a negative mental image that is unrelated to your brand.

5. Long time to choose

It is difficult to choose a distinctive brand name, but worse, it may cause you to slow down to choose a new trade name or change an old one that is inappropriate, you should start choosing and deciding quickly without spending more time thinking about how difficult it is.

Types of brand names

There are many classifications of brand names, and studies and theories differ about the best way to obtain a distinctive brand name. Some studies indicate that a simple one-word name is best, such as: Apple, Uber, and Uber.

Other studies, such as that conducted by the University of Alberta in 2010, find that consumers have a more positive reaction to brands with frequently regulated names, such as Coca-Cola, Kit Kat and Jelly Belly. Here are the main types of brand names:

First: the names of the founders

This type of brand name spread in the nineteenth and twentieth century, as it refers to the heritage and tradition, and is widely spread, such as: Heinz, McDonald's, Ralph Lauren, Ben & Jerry's. If you wish to use a trade name of this type, it is important that it is easy to spell and pronounce.

One of the advantages of this type is that you do not need a lot of time to create a new name for your brand, and the association of your name with your business, of any kind, makes it easier for people to remember you and your project. However, one of its shortcomings is the difficulty of selling the trademark when needed, or the inappropriateness of the name in cases of merger with other companies.

There are two types of names associated with the founder, which are:

traditional type

It uses the founder's family name or combines the last names in the partners' names, and is common in luxury and prestigious brands, such as: Gucci, Burberry, and Chanel.

modern type

It uses the first name of the founder or the first names of the partners, and expresses ease and ease in dealing and appears more friendly than the first type, such as: Ben & Jerry's. This type contributes to the modernization and humanization of the company and business.

Second: metaphorical (alias) names

Figurative names are an easy type of branding, as they leave room for brand expansion and growth. They don't associate a brand name with a specific product or value proposition. They also add great depth to the brand, especially if properly understood.

Figurative names refer to things, places, people, animals, processes, mythical names, or foreign words that are associated with an important feature of the brand, so that the word reflects both the images and the meaning associated with the brand in one way or another. If you decide to choose a figurative name, it is not important that Everyone understands what it means, especially if it has value and a strong brand association.

The choice of the name of the Amazon company came because of the Amazon region in South America, which is the largest river in the world, in reference to the huge size of the Amazon store, while the name Tesla refers to “Nicolas Tesla,” an electrical engineer, who invented a set of technologies, in An indication of the advanced technologies that Tesla currently offers.

Third: descriptive nouns

The descriptive brand name clearly indicates what the company offers, it is a direct name and clearly shows customers the nature of the company's business, such as: Toys R Us and General Motors.

However, this type has some drawbacks, including that your brand name is expected to be similar to a competitor, which causes confusion and confusion for customers, and it is usually long; It is difficult to remember, in addition, the name may hinder the development and growth of the company in starting a new line in parallel with what it is currently offering.

Fourth: acronyms

It consists of short letters, and each letter indicates a specific word, but it is difficult to remember and retain ownership rights. It is not preferable to start your business name with an abbreviated name, but it can be chosen when updating in the old name of a strong and already existing brand, with a strong audience.

Most of the popular brands nowadays with an acronym started with their full name, then adopted the acronym after a period of expansion and strength, such as: IBM (International Business Machines) and KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken).

Fifthly: Nouns

This type appeared due to the difficulty of obtaining a distinctive and non-repetitive trade name, and composed names have many forms, including changing an actual word, such as: Verizon, which was formed from a change in the word Horizon, or creating a new word, such as: Kodak, or merging two words together, Ex: Pinterest.

Some brands, such as Adidas, combined the founder's title with three random letters to create a memorable brand name, while others, such as Xerox, which came from the abbreviation of Xerography, the technical name for the dry copy process used by cameras.

One of the advantages of this type is the ease of registration and legal retention of the rights to the name, but the meaning of the trade name is still important, so it is better that the word denotes a meaning at the end, while fully composed names are characterized by ease of registration, and perhaps if you do not choose an author's name well, it turns into a name Miserable, very bad and socially unacceptable.

There are still other types and additional divisions of trade names, such as the magic name, which consists of a strange and new word to give new impressions, such as: Tumbler and Flickr, but one of the disadvantages of this type is that it may cause confusion for customers and they may think that it was written incorrectly, as there are derived names It is real and not widespread, but it has a connotation closely related to the nature of the brand or the value it provides.

Steps to choosing a distinctive business name

There are some simple practical steps that will help you get a distinctive business name, namely:

1. Clarify the essence of your brand

Before you put a trade name, you need to accurately understand the nature of what you offer and what you are trying to achieve, so you need to define the purpose of your presence in the labor market, and clarify your vision about the future that you want to build, your image and your position in the future.

In addition to clarifying the goal that you are seeking to achieve, the values ​​and principles that govern your work and the behavior of your employees, and regulate the way the work flows, as all the previous elements affect everything that you build later in your brand, including choosing the trade name.

2. Focus on your features

Your point of distinction over your competitors, it may be the beginning on your way to obtaining a distinctive and unique brand name, as the essence of your brand and its competitive advantage make you different, and therefore focusing on it in your choice of brand name, can help you reach the desired name.

So, you must keep in mind your competitive advantage during the naming, which will ensure that you get a great and distinctive name, and if you have not identified this advantage yet, you can reach it by following your competitors and monitoring them in all sectors and aspects, and you may find many advantages, but there is one Or two are the strongest when compared.

3. Brainstorming

You can now prepare brainstorming sessions with some distinguished and creative workers after completing the previous two steps, and you may rely on absolute brainstorming, which may produce effective results, but it takes a long time, but it is better that the brainstorming sessions be organized with some guidelines and restrictions, so as not to expand The discussion is bifurcated.

For example, dividing the discussions into specific parts and requests, such as: setting up a special session to write down all the characteristics and features of the product or service you provide, and another session to describe the feeling that you want to reach your customers when buying the product or receiving the service, and another session in which you discuss one or more brand names The business you wish to choose a name from.

Then you start brainstorming discussions to extract the best suggested brand names according to the goals, vision and purpose set in advance, so that you extract about 15 to 20 suggested names, and then you start narrowing the number of names, until the number is reduced to about three names.

4. Name availability check

It is necessary for the name to be unique, distinct and not duplicate, so the fourth step, which carries a lot of potential frustration and anxiety, is to start examining the most nominated names and making sure that there are no companies or brands with the same name in the legal records of registered trademarks.

This step may limit your choices between one or two names, so you should try to choose unique and non-repetitive names from the beginning; So that you do not have to accept a specific name, just because it is available and not duplicated in the legal records, you may need a legal person specialized in doing this step.

5. Experiment and test

After the options presented have decreased in two or three names, here comes the role of the experiment to test the preference of one of these names, as you need to experiment with the name and print it in different sizes on different types of publications, to test the possibility of visual representation in designs and the like, in addition to the logo that can be placed with the name.

It is important that you try to involve the target audience with you in this step, and test the resonance of the name on them, which names are acceptable to them, and which names are not acceptable at all, and at this comparison one or two names will fall and the options will narrow.

A better way to test, but it is a little expensive, but the results are very accurate, is to create a commercial sale page on social media pages with each name, but the rest of the page elements are exactly the same, and you start doing a paid advertisement with a fixed amount per page for at least a week, Then you summarize the results of the advertisement later, and choose the name that achieved the most sales and positive interaction from the audience.

Examples of distinctive brand names and logos

It is imperative that all the elements of your brand identity become coherent and not contradictory, and establish the meanings, values ​​and messages that you want to convey to your audience, so you need to associate the brand name with the written logo and logo design accompanying your brand.

1. Apple Inc.

Where the Apple logo (Think Different) and its invitation to think in a different way refer to the technology and modern technology it offers, which is the essence of what the company offers. The logo is very simple and powerful at the same time.

2. Dollar Shave Club

The company offers a subscription to sell shaving and personal care products on a monthly basis to its customers, and the membership subscription starts with only one dollar, so both the company’s name and logo are compatible with what the company offers. The competitive advantage the company offers over its competitors.

Instead of choosing a complex name and logo, it was very simple, direct and smooth, and explains to customers what the brand offers without equivocation, so the name does not have to be strange to become valuable and spread, and simplicity may be the best in presenting what you have, and the best in customer acceptance .

3. MasterCard Corporation

The name of the company consists of a compound word that brings to mind two images: the credit card and the master key, in reference to the importance of the card in the purchase process as important as the master key in opening any door. There are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's MasterCard

Tools to help you choose a distinctive business name

There are some sites and tools that give you a number of distinctive suggestions for obtaining a commercial name, including:

1 . Shopify website tool

This powerful tool gives you hundreds of suggestions in the domain and keywords you select, and offers you suggestions based on the available domains, so that you can choose the name and domain of your website corresponding to the brand name easily using the same website.

And the tool may help you come up with ideas for your own name, it may help you to complete the role of brainstorming groups, and it is also unique in this site, that you can create an online store on it to start e-commerce and sell your products online and enjoy the rest of the site’s features.

2 . Oberlo website

This tool works easily by entering one or more keywords related to your business, and start a search, it will show you many names that you can choose from, and also provides you with website domain names, making it easy for you to get a unique and compatible business name.

And if you don't get satisfactory results, you can change the entered words to become more specific or general until you get the desired suggestions, which will inevitably end with choosing the perfect name for your business, as the site's algorithms work more efficiently according to your need.

3 . BrandRoot

This site is distinguished from others by providing a visual logo (logo) for the proposed names, and when you choose a specific trade name, you can choose the logo and the domain of the website associated with it as well, and the site works when you search by the category to which your business belongs or by keywords related to your project.

The prices of the services provided on this site vary, so you can enter the price range within your available capabilities and search, so that you do not see results that exceed your budget.

4 . Anadea Website Tool

This free brand name generator tool helps you to find business names based on the keyword you put, you will find a selection of attractive and relevant names for your business to choose from, you can also search by industry category and the business you are in, giving you many options different types, such as: healthcare, travel, technology, and others.

You can also complete a custom website design and choose a name associated with your brand, as the site offers a specialized tool for creating the names of stores, websites and mobile applications in the same way.

What after the process of choosing a distinctive trade name?

The stage of choosing the trade name comes as one step in several stages towards building a distinctive and strong brand. After that, you need to create a visual logo design that expresses you, and the written logo to summarize what you offer or the value you focus on. You also need to create the complete visual identity of the brand from designs and prints, in addition to To define the ideal customer personality and brand story.

All of these stages will help you in the marketing process and the selling stages. Just as you chose the brand name carefully, the next steps are very important, you need to choose them thoughtfully and carefully, and even build sales messages and train the marketing and sales team on the different stages of their work carefully.

Now, it is your turn to create a distinctive brand name for your project or company, and it is also important to take into account the above considerations when choosing a distinctive brand name, but most important of all, that the name resonates positively and is acceptable to customers and your target audience.