Brand Building: 5 Ingenious Tips for Company Naming

How much thought went into naming your business?

Creating a name for your business is important for many reasons. Primarily, the name of your business affects how others will view your business; indeed, if the name of your business communicates well to others, you will spend less time explaining your mission and more time selling your brand. Further, think of naming your business as part of branding — in doing so, the name will communicate a positive image that reflects your company’s industry, product, or service.

When brainstorming, remember the long term effects of the company name and avoid choosing something based on a trend or fad. Many companies dedicate a portion of their website to the history of how the company came to be, so having a meaningful story or reasoning behind your name is crucial. Additionally, consumers will search for information on how the company got started and why they chose a certain logo, company colors, etc.

Along with what the name means to others, trademarking the name of the company prevents others from using the same name. Here are the steps to avoiding name duplication:

• • Check the Trademark Electronic Search System for a Company Name Check
    • The database will show you if someone has already trademarked the name for the same industry. A U.S. trademark is given to the first company who registers the name. If you decide to keep a name that is already in use, it will likely be rejected and may require legal action if you want to proceed.
  • Filing for Registration to Trademark a Name
    • Registration costs anywhere from $275 to $325 in the U.S.. You will be asked to provide information about what industry the company is in, when the name was first used, and if there is a design component used in conjunction with the name.
    • It is recommended not to use a URL for registering a company name, unless you register both with and without the suffix. Otherwise, other companies will be able to register the same name with a different extension.
      It is also best not to designate a design for your trademark in order to get the extensive coverage.

Tips for Naming a Company Strategically

When it comes to naming a company, the best practice is to plan it out ahead of time instead of choosing at random. This will help you get the most out of the company name and help you to avoid potential issues that may arise from poorly naming a company. Below are recommendations for how to go about doing this:

1. Effortless Pronunciation. When it comes to naming a company, the easier it is to say, the easier it is for the customer to remember. Keep in mind that you also want something that people are able to spell when they’re looking it up on Google. It’s a lot harder to spell a company name right if you can’t say it.Take Apple, for example. Not only is Apple easy to say, but it’s a common word that nearly everyone knows how to spell. The same goes for a company like Facebook — Mark Zuckerberg combined two simple, one-syllable words that are easily pronounced and spelled while cleverly describing the company’s product.
2. Avoid Name Duplication. Choosing your or someone else’s name as the company name can give you SEO benefits if the name is unique. However, this can be tricky if the spelling of the name is unique or if you want to build a company that will eventually stand on its own.With that in mind, sometimes naming your company can help your brand. For example, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Dell, and Bloomberg are all massive brands that many people recognize and revere. In fact, an American Economic Review analyzed nearly two million companies and found that on average, the eponymous firms had a higher return on assets than the non-eponymous firms.Nonetheless, naming your business after yourself is a gamble — while it might pay off down the road once you have gained brand value and success, it provides challenges while your company launches. Again, with a common or hard-to-spell name, people may not be able to find your company.
3. Check Google Ads. To ensure that your company is “searchable,” consider testing names with programs like Google Ads. This allows you to review keywords related to your name that receive a high volume of traffic. Not only does this give you more name ideas, but it also shows you what companies already exist — that way, you can avoid name duplication.
4. Be Forward-Looking. Don’t pick a name based on what it means today; instead, pick a name with longevity. A name should be memorable as time goes by, so don’t choose something because it follows current “naming trends.”This can be more dangerous in certain industries over others. For example, if you want to start an apparel company, following trends can be an easy trap. There’s a new style trend and descriptive word for clothing every month, so your name can fade away almost instantly if you’re not careful.
5. Don’t Limit Yourself. Have you ever seen a business whose name is based on the products/services they provide? While the name should provide some insight on what the company does, don’t limit yourself by choosing a name that may prevent the company from adding a new product line in the future.Take Dunkin’ Donuts for example. Dunkin’ Donuts is a very successful company and arguably the largest donut fast food chain in the country, but it still has a limiting name. They have started selling coffee, sandwiches, and other pastries, but many people don’t think of their other food items when considering them for breakfast. Try it with yourself — when you think of Dunkin’ Donuts, do you think of getting a donut or a breakfast sandwich? Likely, you chose the former, and that shows the pigeonholed nature of the company’s name.

MWI’s Brand Image

Where did the name MWI come from? What does it stand for?

The company started in 1999 as “Don Loper,” but the name quickly changed to Mindwire Interactive to create a name that establishes better branding (plus, as mentioned earlier, eponymous companies are risky).

However, our founders faced some roadblocks with Mindwire Interactive — when applying for the domain name, they made a spelling error and applied for “Mindwires.” Thus, they were back at square one in finding a new domain name. After testing and rejecting many available domain names that worked with “Mindwire Interactive,” they finally stumbled upon mwi.com. It was short, simple, easy to spell, and it was close enough to Mindwire Interactive. They faced some more hiccups with the domain name, but eventually, they secured mwi.com as their email domain and URL.

So if you want to know what the acronym stands for, the truth is, it’s up for interpretation. It could mean Mindwire Interactive, it could mean Marketing with Intensity, it could mean whatever you want it to be. And at the end of the day, that’s our mission, we are a versatile company that can be whatever our client needs us to be.

Companies Better Known by Their Initials

Are you familiar with the company “Consumer Value Stores?” It is better known as CVS to most. Companies such as CVS, IBM, and ESPN are better known for their initials than by their full name because their names are long, hard to spell/pronounce, etc.

For example, IBM got its name after switching from CTR (Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company) to International Business Machines in 1924 to reflect its international expansion. However, many people don’t know what IBM stands for, even though most people know the brand.

In the aforementioned section above, these names are simple for consumers to spell and pronounce, therefore promoting company recognition. By having broad names such as “Consumer Value Stores,” “International Business Machines,” and “Entertainment and Sports Programming Network,” these companies have the ability to expand their offerings.

Please note that this can harm smaller companies because abbreviations generally lack flare and excitement. They can certainly be conversation starters, but at the risk of removing interest from your company.

Contact MWI to Get More Info on Our Services

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