Why Your Brand Name Matters More Than Ever
“Branding isn't about making your name or logo look good; it's about meaning something.”
A brand is an organisation's most valuable asset. It should be used as a vehicle to tell your story and build your audience.
Most of us are familiar with the idea that a name is everything. In business, that's especially true. Even if you're not a designer, it's essential to make sure your logo looks great.
It should be eye-catching, memorable and convey the message you want to convey. But that's only half the battle. You can do so many things to make your brand stand out, but one of the most effective ways is by adding a meaningful brand name to your business name.
Brands today have a choice. They can be big and boring or small and daring. As consumers seek ever greater diversity and individuality, they will only continue to choose brands with personality.
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The Brand Name You Choose Is Important
Choosing a brand name is just as critical as choosing a product, so you need to make sure it's relevant to your business and have a plan for how you're going to communicate it to the world. It's also essential to use a brand name that's easy to remember and won't cause too much confusion with another company in your industry.
According to Forbes magazine, when people search online for a brand name, the first result that pops up on Google is about 90% of the company's website. If you want to build your own business as a personal brand, it's critical to have a name representing your ideal of yourself.
A brand name doesn't just describe what your company does; it also represents who you are. It would help if you strived to make sure that the name you choose communicates your values, personality, and style to the world.
A company's brand is its reputation. If a company doesn't build a solid and trustworthy brand, its customers won't trust them.
Your brand isn't just a logo. It's a promise. A promise that you'll be responsive, helpful, knowledgeable, honest, and dependable. People are going to choose a business because they like the brand. So if you're thinking about starting a business, you need to decide what kind of brand you want.
What's Your Brand?
Branding is the process of establishing and managing the identity of your organisation. It's about building a unique and memorable name for your business and creating and maintaining a consistent visual identity, including logos, brand guidelines, and visual elements.
When done well, branding helps people identify your brand and distinguishes it from competitors. You can represent your brand through physical properties, such as a logo or website, or digital properties, such as social media content.
To brand or not to brand is a question that has been debated since the beginning of advertising and marketing.
It was even debated in the 1600s, as the Royal Society of London, an academic society of scientists and mathematicians, held a contest to determine whether the British royal family should adopt a new dress style.
Make Sure You're Choosing a Name That Speaks to Your Audience
You have to be careful that your brand's name reflects the nature of the product or service that you sell. A name that's just a verb is an excellent example of a bad name.
You want to avoid names that don't reflect what your brand does. The same goes for double meanings, like “cool” or “hip”. They have negative connotations, and while they're commonly used to describe desirable things, they're not particularly good when used to describe a brand.
There is no shortage of good ideas, but it's easy to find a perfect brand name for one market that's inappropriate for another. It's not just whether the brand name makes sense or fits the market; it's also a question of whether it matches your audience's voice and personality.
If you want to sell to a particular market, you need to identify a brand name that resonates in that particular market.
If you're selling to a particular demographic—women between the ages of 25 and 35, for example—you'll need to find a brand name that matches those characteristics.
Build a brand identity around your name
Think of your brand name as your personality. If people can get to know your personality, they can begin to understand who you are and what you stand for. When people hear your brand name, they can instantly picture what you represent.
If you're trying to build a brand identity that sticks with your audience, you need to think about what kind of experience you want them to have. Is it about learning something new, having fun, or connecting with others? Do you want to educate your audience, inform them, or entertain them?
It's all about being consistent. Brands need to be consistent in their messaging, products, positioning, and more to build consumer trust.
Consistency of the message is critical because consumers have trouble remembering. If you're consistent across every touchpoint, your brand becomes recognisable. And as long as you're consistent and transparent, you'll be perceived as trustworthy.
Get Your Name on all your Marketing Materials
In a recent study by the Content Marketing Institute, 74% of small businesses had only one or two brand messages to communicate.
They also found that the average small business spent $17 per month on advertising and marketing. So while most companies still struggle with branding and marketing, there is still plenty of room for growth.
Small business owners, just like those at larger companies, need to be creative and strategic in finding the right messaging for their brand.
When designing your marketing materials, always consider who the audience is and how customers will interpret your message to them.
To ensure consistency, keep brand names front and centre. For example, if your brand is a car manufacturer, don't call it “Car Company.” If your brand is a retailer, it's better to call it “The Big Store” instead of “Store #5.”
Make Sure Your Website Includes Your Name
When customers visit your website, they want to know where they are and what they should do next. So, it's essential to include your brand name prominently somewhere on your homepage or in your navigation menu bar.
If you want to be successful, you need to ensure that your business's name is accessible for customers to appear at the top of your search results. Also, the first thing that your customer sees on your site is usually a page title or heading. Make sure that your page's title is the name of your company.
I believe in having a strong brand identity on all digital media, including your website. Your pages should carry your company logo and other branding elements (like a tagline).
Why? It's a simple reason. If your audience thinks of your brand when they see your page, they're more likely to become loyal to you and return for more.
Make Sure Your Company Name Appears on Your Social Media Pages
As a small business, it's crucial to maintain a solid social media presence to keep customers engaged with your brand. The best part about having your own social media pages is that your company name will always appear. Customers can engage with you directly and discover more about your company by following your brand.
According to a survey conducted by Kobo, the ebook publishing company, a recent study found that over 50% of people don't recognise the brands of social media pages they follow on Facebook.
Even if they do, they may not be following those brands on any other platforms like Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest. So, make sure that the name of your business is showing up on all of your social media platforms.
Keep Your Name Simple and Clean
The more complex your brand, the more difficult it will be to convey that you are the real thing. If you're selling dog food, there are many more options than selling cars or electronics. So, keep your brand simple and clean.
Do not add words such as “excellent,” “top-quality,” or “high-end” to the description of your products. Avoid phrases like “Made in America” and “American Made.”
If your brand has existed for years, this may not be a big deal, but keep it short and sweet if you're a newer startup. Remember, you only have one chance to make a first impression.
While there is no hard-and-fast rule about what should be the length of your brand name, generally speaking, shorter is better.
In a study conducted in 2014, shorter brands were associated with higher search engine rankings. One example Google uses to illustrate this point is Apple Inc., whose brand name is “Apple.” Although the company is a powerhouse, it's not overly complex or lengthy.
Use a Name that is Easy to Say
If you don't get your target audience's attention, you won't get them to convert. That means you need a brand name that is easy to say. It is easier to recall, but people associate easier-to-say brand names with higher quality.
Using this knowledge, you can use the brand name to your advantage. For instance, you could create a list of words that have positive connotations (e.g., “awesome,” “amazing,” “great”) that customers could use as the basis for a new brand name.
Or you could play off of an existing brand's established meaning. If your target market is millennials, you could create a brand with the word “Genius”.
The second psychology principle is that people need consistency. If something is easy to say or pronounce, they tend to do it more often and use it more frequently.
In the case of brand names, consumers can understand them more quickly and easily and use them more frequently. That means that brands that are easier to pronounce will be used more frequently.
For example, you could argue that Nike is a pretty straightforward name, and millions of athletes consistently use it. That's why Nike sells many shoes.
A Strong Name Can Help You Find Customers
For any business, having a brand name is critical. But a strong name doesn't mean just any old name. It means something that reflects who you are and what you want to say to your audience.
If you think about it, when a company builds a strong brand name, it gives them a leg up when marketing to people. They already have a brand name that they can use in marketing materials, ads, and social media posts.
So if you're creating a new business, it can be helpful to build a strong brand identity for yourself and your business right away. A firm brand name makes customers think of you every time they see or hear your brand name, even if they don't realise that they're thinking of you.
Whether you're trying to sell a product or service or find customers, branding is crucial in a business plan.
Branding creates a feeling in people's minds and subconsciouses that something is unique, trusted, and valuable. But while branding is essential, you don't have to have a brand name that already exists to create one.
An enormous branding opportunity isn't necessarily creating a brand name but one from scratch.
Make Sure Your Company's Logo Reflects the Name
We often hear companies say they're a “people company, ” but how does that look when its logo reflects it?
The logo is the company's most visible piece of branding. Yet, the company's brand identity will only be complete if the logo reflects and communicates the company's brand values and purpose. Your company's logo should reflect your organisation, rather than just a corporate image.
As a brand's visual identity grows over time, there is no reason to assume that a company's logo is always appropriate for every new marketing campaign.
You can still use the old logo with a bit of creative touch up when a company's name changes.
This is a common pitfall for many eCommerce business owners. Whether they're trying to create a new brand or rebranding an existing one, they're often not aware of the importance of having a solid logo in place. This is especially true for companies that aren't yet established in their respective industries.
Avoid Confusing Brand Names
Choosing a brand name is one of the first steps to setting up a business. While there are many strategies you can use to choose a name for your business, the simplest and least expensive is to search on Google for your target market.
When typing in your keyword phrase, make sure that the words are short and easy to read. In addition, you should avoid choosing a name that has too many letters or is spelt so that it can easily be confused with another company's name.
Choosing a confusing brand name for your company is the first mistake a startup founder makes. I'm sure we all remember the first time we heard a product or service described in a way that we couldn't quite understand what it meant.
Sometimes it was because of a weird acronym, like the one the company uses, or a long title that didn't make sense when you read it out loud. Even if you know the company, you may still be confused.
So avoid choosing confusing names. Choose something that sounds like something that's already existed or something that you can make up for yourself.
But whatever you do, make sure that you're not making a name that is already in use, and if you do use an existing name, make sure that you have the legal right to use it.
Conclusion
The biggest misconception brands have about their brand name is that it doesn't matter. Most brands don't realise how important a brand name can be to their success. This is because a brand is not just a name; it's a promise of quality and value delivered to the customer.
And if that promise is delivered with sincerity, passion, and enthusiasm, then the brand becomes a precious asset that is hard to replace.
It's easy to focus on what's wrong with your brand—the things that are broken and need fixing. But, if you want to take your business to the next level, you've got to start thinking about what's right about your brand.
By focusing on the working things and the qualities that make you stand out, you'll see results.
Please read my entire post to get my tips on naming your company.
