Marketing Insights for Naming Your Business

Naming your business can rank among the most difficult tasks you face in the early days of a start-up or rebrand.

It’s not uncommon for the process of naming your business to take weeks, if not months. To accelerate the process and alleviate any headaches, we’ve put together three practical approaches that’ll help you arrive at a name which effectively represents your organisation.

Use the ‘What, How, Why’ framework

By starting with these overarching questions, you can develop a pool of words, phrases, and concepts that contribute to the overall idea behind your business.

• What – What does your business do? What is the core product or service you offer, and what is it you’re hoping to achieve?
• How – How do you deliver this product or service? Using adjectives, how would you describe your delivery?
• Why – Why are you offering this product or service? Why do people need what you can provide?

Not only do these questions help frame the purpose of the business and provide language which communicates offerings, they also illuminate potential areas that could become a namesake.

Consider your customers

When it comes to promoting your business, there are a range of simple criteria to consider that will have a big impact on your marketing efforts. In marketing, we know customers are more likely to choose businesses that resonate with them on a surface level and a personal level. As such, it’s vital to consider the relevance of the name to your target market.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself so you can keep on track:

• Can the name be easily spelt and remembered? Don’t lose leads because people are unsure of how to spell your business name or web address.
• What imagery or feelings will your name evoke in the mind of your customer? What means something to you as a business owner, may mean something different to your customers. Positive emotions equate to happy customers.
• Is the name long or wordy? Consider how this may impact your domain name and email address, as well as business cards and other design elements.
• Does it sound good when said out loud? Think about saying it over and over to customers in person, or when answering the phone.

Get a second opinion

It’s easy to get bogged down in the naming phase. Sometimes, it takes a second person to break through a mental block and keep you moving in the right direction (or stop you from heading in the wrong one!). It’s better to measure twice and cut once, so talk to people who don’t have anything to lose by giving you honest feedback. Or better yet, get some marketing pros involved!

Here to help



If you’d like a hand naming your business, our creative juices are ready to flow. Say hey, and let’s brainstorm the possibilities together.