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HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR COMPANY NAME?

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Here is a question that seems simple, but quickly becomes complex when we take into consideration all its elements.

When starting a business, in the service/manufacturing, or if you are a professional, the use of your name is often seen. Ultimately, you are the one in contact with your customers. However, this option has some problems:

  • - If you decide to sell, it will be difficult for someone else to operate under your name, unless you have achieved some notoriety, or your business is relatively large. Apart from these situations, your goodwill will be difficult to transfer to another person who will not have your name.
  • - If you sell your name, you risk losing the ability to use it in a given market. If you are retiring, that is not a problem. But if you sell to reposition yourself, depending on the agreement between the parties, you may find yourself seriously limited, especially if you operate in a particular niche. I saw this first hand with an entrepreneur who sold his clothing business and name. He was able to develop a brand, but during the sale, he lost the right to make clothes under his name. Results; he had to reposition himself in interior decoration, a field different from that in which he had worked for decades.
  • - Lately, your business is growing and you would want to hire someone, it will be very difficult to make your customers accept someone other than you. Your name is at the top of the door, your customers want to do business with you. Being more general makes it easier to grow and make your clients accept your employees and associates.

 

What would be another option other than your name? There is of course the possibility of having a very descriptive business name for your operations, for example, “Jeans-en-Gros inc”. And luckily, the domain name is available!!!! The advantage of this alternative is that your name also says what you do. So, by promoting your name you are also advertising your operations. The problem, you guessed it, comes when you want to diversify your operations. You want to add shirts and jackets to your jeans, in which case the name no longer fits.

So let us go the other the complete other direction, an original name. By using this solution, you will not encounter any difficulty in finding a suitable domain name. And if you want to diversify, no problem. If you want to sell, there too no problem either. But be careful, with an original name (example: Old Navy), you have to make the connection between the name and the product/service. Of course, the name I just mentioned is so strong that the mere mention of Old Navy makes you think of family ready-to-wear clothing. But colossal sums have been spent to make this connection. So, unless you are a happy heir or have won the lottery, your budget may be more restricted.

An interesting option is a combination of descriptive and general. Take Delta Air Lines as an example. In this company name, we have a generic name (Delta) and a very precise description of what the company does (Air Lines). So, by publicizing the name (“branding”) of the company, we also advertise its activities. These companies are huge (Old Navy and Delta Air Lines), but you can understand the logic behind their name. Also, as the business grows, people know the generic side just as much as the description. So if Delta Air Lines decided one day to get into rail transport, we would have Delta Railroads. We add the logo and we can very well understand the relationship between the two. It is the same concept for you.

Another alternative that I have just experienced with a client who is considering retirement, but in about 10 years. And as the experienced businesswoman that she is, she is preparing her company. She did experience some of the issues described in this article. She started with her name. Her business grew, she hired employees, customers only wanted to do business with her, etc. So, in her case, we used a strategy that is similar to law firms or certain accounting firms; take the last name. To protect the identity of this client, I will not take her name, but in this example, her company was changed from "Stéphane Elmaleh" to "Elmaleh". And the idea is to gradually bring in partners, so the company will become “Elmaleh – Riel” and eventually “Elmaleh – Riel – Tremblay” and so on. This strategy is excellent for preparing the succession, but it is limited at the level of “branding” because names do not say anything about what the company does. But with time and a well-executed communication strategy, a brand can be created.

The other element to consider in choosing your name is the availability of your option as a domain name. Of course, we want to have the .com. It is the most well-known. But with a proliferation of options (At the beginning of 2022, there were 1,591 extensions), you have several options. For more details on the choices, read. However, not all options are accessible. There are extensions with restrictions, for example, extensions for doctors, pharmacies, or physiotherapists. You will have to prove that you are indeed a professional in this field. This is a good thing. Some extensions are “territorial”. This may be an option if you are acting locally. So, as you can see, there are several things to consider for your domain name. But as a general rule, the shorter your name, the better, and .com, .net, .org should be your first choice. But the other options are also worth considering if you cannot find what you want with these options.

So, if you are at the stage of choosing your business name, consider these parameters before you start marketing yourself. This will prevent you from doing the same job twice.

If you have any questions or comments on this topic, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Have a great day!

Stéphane Elmaleh-Riel, B.Ed., MBA
Marketing consultant