1) Making your business name so obscure, customers won’t know what it is.
It is important to keep the name of your business simple and straightforward. It is also important to be creative and unique with your new business name, so that it stands out. However, this doesn’t mean that the name should be so obscure people won’t be able to tell what type of business you have – or know how to pronounce it. As a rule of thumb, if your business name requires you to explain what it is (or means), it is too obscure.
2) “Creative Spelling.”
It can be challenging to find a business name that has an available domain name. As a result, many businesses purposefully misspell the businesses name. Although staying up night after night searching for available domain names can be daunting, try not to solve this problem by replacing the letter “K” with a “Q”. Misspelling your business name will make it that much harder for customers to find your website down the road.
3) Being “Cliché.”
You want to avoid choosing overly cliché words for your business name such as peak, summit, and apex. Clichés often go hand in hand with pop culture, and can easily date your company name. Make sure to avoid them and choose a name that is timeless.
4) Using a Name that is Already Being Used.
It seems obvious, but you want to make sure you choose a name that no one else is currently using in your area of business. Do not get your heart so set on a name that you overlook how critical being different is. You do not want to end up driving customers to someone else’s business. Stand out and choose a name that is unique to your business.
5) Putting the “Secret Sauce” in Your Name.
You want to avoid putting your area of focus into your name. An example of this is RadioShack. As the market changed and MP3 players became available, RadioShack had difficulty rebranding and adapting because the name of the company became outdated. Give yourself the flexibility to grow and expand your company by choosing a name that isn’t too narrowly focused to a specific offering.
