Naming your business is no easy task. In fact, it’s one of the most challenging projects we take on here at Honest. Why? Well, thanks to the internet, basically every name is already taken. Plus, it’s such an important part of creating your brand, you want it to be perfect. It can be frustrating to come up with a name you love and feel captures the heart and soul of your business, to then google it and discover it’s already being used. Below are some questions we use to help guide us and our clients with name development. We hope you find it helpful.
Naming Questionnaire
Describe your business (in a few short sentences).
What is the basic need your company fulfills?
Describe your brand positioning (key benefits and values).
Who are your competitors and what are their names?
Who are your potential customers? Describe their characteristics.
What type of image do you want to project?
What are the strengths, features and attributes of your firm?
Think about the brands you use everyday – which company names do you like?
Are there any specific words, partial words or letters that need to appear in the name?
On a scale of 1-5 rate the following name categories (1 low, 5 high):
Inventive: creative, “brandable” names that have no meaning (Google).
Score______
Abstract: when a common word is used to describe something else (Apple).
Score______
Descriptive: (Payless)
Score______
Personal: names that would are linked to the company owners/family/history
Score______
Is there any other information for us to consider?