These Are The Three Common Naming Mistakes You Must Avoid To Save Your Brand From A Disaster

As a company owner attempting to build a successful brand, you should be aware that one error, especially one involving your choice of brand name, can undermine all of your blood, sweat, and tears.

And that's basically because—to the market—your brand name captures the complete identity of your business. So, if you want your brand to thrive in its industry, make sure your brand name accurately represents your business’s values.

Luckily, you have several options for choosing the ideal business name for your brand, like brainstorming and using a good brand name generator to find creative names for businesses.

However, regardless of which route you take to come up with the ideal name for your company, be cautious and avoid the following typical blunders that can ruin your brand.

Brand Names With Negative Connotations

Customers are typically attracted to businesses that share their views on social issues, the environment, and politics. Customers have strong beliefs on these delicate subjects.

And although some may view it as a publicity tactic, if your company decides to address these concerns, even if you don't use your brand's name, you'll wind up repelling a portion of your audience, as those individuals who disagree with a certain cause are less inclined to purchase your goods.

Additionally, establishing your business or releasing goods with unpleasant names like 'Pee Cola,' 'Spank Me Santa Lipstick,' or 'Druggie' will result in severe client resentment for your company.

Unnecessarily Complicated Brand Names

We advise companies to stay away from names like We Are the Superlative Consiracy that are too challenging for their customers to say or write because no customer will feel the need to remember your company name, much less suggest it to their relatives and friends if it is not short and memorable.

Additionally, it’s worth noting that 80% of customers forget about branded content within three days. Therefore, when naming, let your focus be on crafting short, original, and memorable names.

You'll need a name that sounds good and is easy to say if you want your brand name to have an enduring impact on your customers. We can assure you that a simple name will always win out over one that is lengthy and complicated, with one reason being that shorter business names make for better premium domain names.

Names With Weird Foreign Translations

Restricting your research while naming a particular language isn't advisable, as customers from across the world will be able to engage with your business, both offline and online. And if your company name is provocative in their language, these potential customers will be reluctant to try your goods or services.

Before selecting a brand name, every entrepreneur should do considerable research to ensure that their chosen name is acceptable to buyers from other nations. Failing to undertake adequate research can cause your business and product to fail, much like Mazda's Laputa and Nokia's Lumia, which were well received in other parts of the world but rejected by the Spanish people because their brand names in Spanish meant "prostitute."

Therefore, regardless of whether you run a local or global business, ensure you perform a linguistic test to ascertain how people from other cultures perceive and interact with your brand name.

Choosing a Name Because of Personal Preference

When asked to choose the best name option from a number of good possibilities, virtually everyone will have some level of emotional attachment or preference, and this is usually the case when naming a concept, product, or service.

But don’t let your feelings overpower fact-based decision-making during the naming process. Choosing a name solely based on personal preference rather than a thorough analysis of your customers and business requirements could lead to a poor decision. Personal preference should only be allowed if and when appropriate research has been done.

Put Your Clients first.

Never forget the fact that your company exists to serve its clients. Therefore, do all in your power to put their needs and desires first. The failure to focus on your company's and consumers' key demands can cause your business to struggle.

Grant Polachek is the head of branding for Squadhelp.com, 3X Inc 5000 startup and disruptive naming agency. Squadhelp has reviewed more than 1 million names and curated a collection of the best available names on the web today. We are also the world's leading crowdsource naming platform, supporting clients from early-stage startups to Fortune 500 companies.

Grant Polachek is the head of branding for Squadhelp.com, 3X Inc 5000 startup and disruptive naming agency. Squadhelp has reviewed more than 1 million names and curated a collection of the best available names on the web today. We are also the world's leading crowdsource naming platform, supporting clients from early-stage startups to Fortune 500 companies.