What makes a successful business name?
A specialist guest blog exploring one of the trickiest questions that new businesses face
On 4 November, SIDN is taking part in the Chamber of Commerce Start-ups Day, where we'll be offering help with choosing the best domain and coming up with a great .nl domain name. First of all, though, a fledgling entrepreneur needs a name for the business itself. So we asked Joachim ter Haar, Managing Partner at naming consultancy Skriptor Zigila, to share his advice on what to call a new business.
Imagine if Steve Jobs had named his company after his favourite flower. Would Tulip have been less successful than Apple? Probably not. It's never about the name; it's the success of the concept that determines the strength of the brand name. Choosing a name is choosing a word that you will gradually turn into a successful business. As long as the name is fundamentally strong enough to support that transition, that's enough.
Identity
The most important thing the name will bring you is an identity. It's your first opportunity to distinguish yourself from the competition. There are many types of name to choose from. Descriptive names that literally say what you do (De Belastingdienst), positioning names that explain how you do something or what it brings to the customer (iDeal), or names that say nothing but are very distinctive (Yivi). Good names usually combine those characteristics. For every business it's different, depending on the concept, positioning, target audience and competitive landscape. Short or long, trendy or conservative, disruptive or conventional, everything has its advantages and disadvantages.
Register your brand name
In general, we advise choosing a name that won't limit you in the long term, is distinct from the competition, and can be registered with a Benelux and/or European trademark registry so that you can protect the value you build. Names that are too descriptive are ruled out: they are rejected by trademark registries and can be used by anyone.
Domain name
Don't get fixated on a thinking of a business name for which the matching .nl domain name is still available. That can greatly limit your creative options. Similar names can coexist perfectly as long as there is no confusion. The Ajax brand name, for example, can be associated with soccer, cleaning and firefighting. By combining your brand name with a (partial) description, you can almost always create a good URL that performs well on Google with the right SEO strategy.
Cool name
With that perspective, you can also prevent emotions from taking over. Ask 20 people what they think of a name, and you'll get 20 different opinions. Language evokes personal associations. Everyone wants a cool name that explains everything right away. Those are extremely rare or have already been thought of. Let go of that idea, and give yourself the space for a structured search.
Endless possibilities
The fun part is that there are so many possibilities. Therefore start by creating a clear brief. Working from your brief, develop lists of names by following various trains of thought, either by yourself or with the help of a specialist. Discuss them with the team in person, rather than by e-mail, because discussions clarify what works and what doesn't, and, equally importantly, why. Be open and willing to let go of your preferences when presented with good arguments in favour of alternatives. The directions will become more clearly defined with each step you take, and the candidate names will be better.
Legal advice
Whittle the possibilities down to a shortlist of names that could potentially become the final name. It's advisable to get legal advice about your shortlisted names, to prevent infringement of existing trademarks. Depending on your ambition, as a novice entrepreneur you can also take more risks and register the new name without legal advice. However, if you expect to stand out quickly, we recommend assessing the legal risks. A forced name change is painful and costly.
You're in business!
Only then is it time to make the final choice. Claim the URL, register the trademark, and you're in business. Ready to embark on your journey, to the stars and beyond.
