Choosing a name for your business can be quite a task. This is because your name will be the identity of your business for the longest time. A terrible name will work against you, while a well thought- out name can propel your business to success. Here are seven naming mistakes that you should avoid like the plague:
1. Spelling your Name Creatively
While being outstanding can be good for business, being overly creative with your business name often is a terrible mistake. Spelling your name differently than how it is normally spelt will prove to be cumbersome and definitely not worth the effort. Every time you are directing people to your site, you will need to spell out the name for them, and hope that they will remember how to spell it your way.
Not only that, but you also put yourself at a disadvantage because voice recognition software such as Siri spell words how they are ordinarily spelt. Why should you knowingly sabotage your own business? Instead of spelling your name as Nayme, simply spell it the usual way. It will save you a lot of trouble in the future.
2. Having Mysterious Names
Creating a business name that is nothing more than a collection of letters is just as bad as being overly creative with your name. If words don’t make any sense, most people will be inclined to simply move on to sites with more sensible names. Don’t fool yourself that naming your business Drkle will intrigue people to find out more about your company. It will most likely have the very opposite effect. Many people have made that mistake before, and they learnt their lesson the hard way.
3. Picking a Limiting Name
As an entrepreneur, seeing the big picture will prove to be invaluable. This applies even to the name you give to your business. While there are advantages of choosing a name that is descriptive of your chosen business niche, being too specific can be rather disadvantageous. What happens when your business expands, and you want to include more products or services than those that you are currently offering?
Say for instance you start off your company by selling bags and purses, and you name it as such. What happens if you decide to start selling dresses and coats? You will be forced to rebrand your entire business, which is both tedious and time consuming. Rather than suffer this in the future, choose a name that allows some space for growth.
4. Coining Names
Even though current trends encourage coming up with a name out of the blues, beware the downsides of such names. Combining two words in order to come up with a name for your business may not be the wisest thing to do. This is particularly true if the resulting word is hard to pronounce and spell. Don’t just come up with a ridiculous name in an effort to keep up with the trends. If you must coin a name from two words, make sure that it can be pronounced naturally and that it is not hard to spell.
5. Using Odd Domain Extensions
Using extensions such as .me and .ly is another naming mistake that you should avoid by all means. Most people will simply not remember the strange extensions, and will simply assume that the extension is .com, .org or some other familiar extension. This will lose you traffic, which is not in any way desirable. Simply stick to extensions that people are well- versed with and you are good to go.
6. Using your Business Name as Your Domain Name
There is no rule that states that your domain name must match your business name, so don’t feel obliged to use the same name. If the domain name that matches your business name is not available, feel free to add another descriptive name to your domain name. A quick search of your company will lead to your site, and most people can’t even tell the difference.
7. Choosing a Name That’s Difficult to Pronounce
Finally, avoid picking a name that is hard to pronounce. People generally tend to forget hard names, and this isn’t good for business. Pick a name that is easy on the tongue. It is more memorable and can be great for branding your company.
Conclusion
Picking a business name may not be the easiest task, but it is also not all that hard. Try and avoid the mistakes that have been outlined above. It will save you a lot of misery in the future.
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