Giving your business a name will play a big role in aligning the rest of your company’s elements. If you choose the wrong name, then the misalignment becomes prevalent. You can adjust other factors of the business like products, the logo, monetization, the business plan, email marketing, and others as the business unfolds, but the name will remain once you have reached a decision. Otherwise, you will have to change it entirely. So, choosing a business name is a do or die situation for the company.

The name you choose for your company is what will introduce you to the world, is among the first words you will use every time you pitch and is what people will remember you with after you leave their presence. Therefore, it is essential to get it right on the first trial.

Many entrepreneurs trip and make mistakes when choosing a business name and regret in future because the name does not communicate the intent of the business and is not memorable enough. Here are the probable mistakes you need to avoid.

Involving the Wrong People in Choosing the Name for your Business

As much as society requires us to be democratic, choosing a name for your company is a personal issue. It is not time to gather a committee including your family, friends, staff, and clients. By the end of the day, it is one name you want. By consulting with a committee, there are high chances that you will come up with a name that is neutral instead of impactful.

The best way to get a great name for the business is through involving only a few key decision-makers in the company. These people need to have the company’s vision on their fingertips to come up with the best name possible. Remember that ego-centric individuals can skew the results – avoid them.

Choosing a Name That Does not Reflect the Company’s Mission

Before settling on a name, ask yourself pertinent questions like, what is my company about? What is my mission? What do I believe in? The name that you settle on will determine how the other elements of the business, both visual and non-visual will align. Nailing this important concept is a huge milestone for you since it has a lasting impact on the business.

When the name reflects the mission of your business, you can use it in the logo, on the website, and in images as well.

Forcing Words on Each Other

When it reaches the time for a budding entrepreneur to create a company name, it is common for them to collide two or three words that seem to contain what they want to communicate. These could be nouns, verbs, adjectives or any other form of words. Though the words are correct, they tend not to go together.

By the end of the day, the result will be names that sound forced, awful and look weird. Some of the common truncations you might find yourself considering include Corp, Tron, Ameri, Tech among others.

Using Common Words that Don’t Stand Out

A mistake that is common during choosing a company’s name is picking one that sounds obvious, generic, and is forgettable. The first business in this category can get away with this poor choice, but the rest won’t. The name here might be descriptive but will not be easy to forget.

The key is ensuring the name is unique and sticks with the first mention before it even describes the business.

Naming Your Company and Attaching a Location to it

Well, using a location on the or not name depends on your vision. If your end goal is to reach clients only in your city, then attach the name of your location on the business name. However, if you intend to grow in future, including your location in the business name will become an obstacle for growth.

If, for instance, you are offering plumbing services and add a Florida tag in the name, then this will communicate to prospective clients that you only provide these services in this specific area. This explains why KFC was initially Kentucky Fried Chicken while Minnesota Manufacturing and Mining changed to 3M.

Using Cliches to Get a Name

It is obvious that every entrepreneur thinks of their company as the top in the marketplace. This can contribute to you thinking of overused terms like Epic, Apex, Pinnacle, Summit among others to create a business name for yourself. These names are actually nice but they are all over the place and won’t add value.

Making the Wrong Name Choice and Sticking With It

If the name of your company makes it hard for you to explain what you trade in, has many meanings, sounds off, it would be a huge mistake to avoid getting another name. Go back to the drawing board and find the name that suits your business.

You can now avoid these mistakes if you know what they are. Before you settle for a name, have several options and narrow down to three or four that you can test them through a poll on social media on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook.