How important is your Brand?

The first encounter people have with your brand is your business name. Some businesses have failed in the past due to having a business name that was not well thought out, therefore allocate sufficient time to brainstorm the most suitable name. The brand name is powerful since it can attract the attention of your target audience and will also create a sense of trust in your consumers and can influence your reputation.

When deciding your brand name, bear in mind future marketing and branding endeavours. Your business name should be easy to pronounce, easy to spell and easy to remember. Once you have about ten names, get feedback from friends or family. Thereafter do a web search to ascertain that no other company has the same name. Perform a domain name check to make sure the domain name is available. It is preferable to get the .com domain. (dotcom) name.

Avoid limiting your name to a specific product, service or to a specific location. Consider the fact that your business can grow for e.g. If you name your business Umhlanga Swimwear, this means that you are limited to selling in a specific location and limited to selling swimwear. When you decide to expand the products to include swimming gear such as surfboards and other merchandise then your business name would prove to be restrictive and becomes inappropriate. Should you expand into different areas, and open a branch in the Cape, then the name will seem odd. Find a name that is scalable while still being industry relevant.

Your business name should be meaningful and evoke positive emotions. You may think that some big companies have names that are meaningless such as Google or Uber but remember that it costs a tremendous amount to brand and market those businesses.

Also, aim to create a name that is catchy but not complicated. You can get innovative by using Literature, Greek mythology, or creatively combining words to create a mash up, using acronyms, puns, maps, or other languages. Don’t create a name that is too complicated since this will become costly to market.

Once you have created a brand name, invest some energy into developing the other crucial elements of your brand identity. Spend time on designing your logo, with careful consideration of colours, shapes and other visual elements. Have a robust plan in place to implement the rest of your brand with a modern, functional website and marketing campaign. Your final brand should be an accurate representation of your company identity and should differentiate you from your competitor.