When Choosing a Brand Name what Points Should you Consider?

[willyboy104]

Hey everyone.

I have been considering creating a brand behind some of my online digital products for the past few weeks and have decided that I believe it is the way to go.

However I am only on the first stages of creating the brand and this brings me to choosing a brand name I am curious as to what points and considerations I need to make when choosing a brand name.

The company/brand will be created around the Health niche, relieving, curing and treating common problems and I will be creating digital products in various niches around this selected area.

Anyone any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[jam52633]

Goodluck, that can be a long and tough road

[redstapler]

It's good to have something recognizable. Something people might be like, hey that name sounds kind of familiar..

Also, this might not matter THAT much, but I like coming up with brand names that start with letters like A, B C so they'll be listed earlier in directories.

[TommyBussey]

A couple of the most sought after benefits of branding your product/company is brand recognition and brand equity.

You want your brand name to be something that people don't associate with you or your company, BUT with your niche in general. For example, Kleenex is only one brand of facial tissue. However, their brand recognition and equity is so strong that many people refer to ANY facial tissue as a Kleenex. "Could you hand me a Kleenex?" rather than "Can you hand me a facial tissue?"

I would suggest that you explore some of the top brands that already exist in your niche, (i.e. WebMD), and see if you can find some things to model your brand after.

Just a few thoughts for you

- Tommy

[steveweber]

Make sure that the name is unique enough if someone searched for it, you'd have no problem ranking high for it.

For example, in our retail business we buy and resell a product called "power plus". There are like a billion results for "power plus". There's no way to SEO for it...we only make cross sales with it. The manufacturer really hurt themselves by not using a more search engine friendly name.

[Online Business Mentor]

Originally Posted by steveweber

Make sure that the name is unique enough if someone searched for it, you'd have no problem ranking high for it.

For example, in our retail business we buy and resell a product called "power plus". There are like a billion results for "power plus". There's no way to SEO for it...we only make cross sales with it. The manufacturer really hurt themselves by not using a more search engine friendly name.

100% bang on

plus make it unique...and even outside the box...for example...dont think it must emphasis the niche or product...

craigslists for example...what a massive brand and website...yet totally unique and never would have thought to make it up for a classified online site

[ikrieger]

My partner, International Branding Strategist, Andrew Sokol and I believe that any decision about lead generation, or other business building tactics, must first be based on the development of a point of strategic differentiation.

We often refer to your point of strategic differentiation as your Brand Strategy.

At its heart, the purpose of a Brand Strategy is to create a perception of difference between you and your competition and answer the question: “Why you?” In a city, or an internet universe full of choices, why should consumers choose you, over other options?

Without a well defined and expressed Brand Strategy to answer that question, you will be left to compete on price. That is not a powerful foundation on which to grow any business.

Here is something my partner; Andrew says all the time, “Your opportunities lie in what your competition isn’t doing.”

We believe that being Better is one thing. Being different is everything.

In a perfect world, your differentiation strategy should come even before your initial business plan... and certainly before you create any of your marketing materials, including your web site, logo, slogan, and even your name.

Hope this was helpful.

Ike

[Bill Farnham]

Originally Posted by ikrieger

We believe that being Better is one thing. Being different is everything.

Being different without being recognizable, or as Seth Godin puts it, remarkable, is a useless strategy.

That's a long way from "everything".

Just sayin'...

KJ

[Marian Berghes]

@ the kleenex thingy...in my country almost everyone says "lets go xerox this paper" instead of something like "lets go duplicate this paper"

I would focus on choosing something that is VERY EASY to spell and VERY EASY to remember...I've seen way too many people having names like WinOnTheInternet Inc. or some sht like that...thats not a brand name, thats crap.

And personally...I started to apply this rule on every product that I want to create or idea etc... instead of Google Total And Final and For Eva' Destruction why not go with a unique name? ex: if its related to affiliate marketing on google why not go with Affiliaro or Proffiliate or some sht like that...easier to remember and you do stand out abit.

Unless there are some tests that prove that using Google Cataclysm is better then a 1 word name...personally, I think its more professional.

[ikrieger]

Hi Killer Joe,

Appreciate the feedback.

I don't know if you smoke cigarettes, but if you look at two cigarettes, one of them a Marlboro, chances are the cigarettes look the same. What makes Marlboro the top selling cigarette in the world is a difference in perception. What is that perception? Marlboro is a rugged, manly cigarette. Does it look more manly than another cigarette? Probably not.
So, this difference must be the strategic message. Even though most cigarettes are the same... Marlboros are perceived differently than their competitors.
If you started a cigarette brand now... how effective would a strategy of "the rugged manly cigarette" be in the face an already held public perception.
These ideas are what makes the Fortune 500 the Fortune 500. We weren't taught these concepts and we should have been.
Remember, if someone else, or something else holds a perception in the eye of the marketplace... it will be tough, if not impossible to break into that market with any impact. To be successful you must create a different and unique perception of your business that answers the question, "Why you?"

[Bill Farnham]

Originally Posted by ikrieger

What makes Marlboro the top selling cigarette in the world is a difference in perception.

To be successful you must create a different and unique perception of your business that answers the question, "Why you?"

You're saying "difference" is "everything", and then you're arguing for "perception" as being the key.

Perhaps using generic absolutes could cause a little confusion...

Back when I smoked cigarettes in the 1960's I smoked Marlboros due to peer pressure. Not because they were different.

KJ

[marciayudkin]

craigslists for example...what a massive brand and website...yet totally unique and never would have thought to make it up for a classified online site

It's not far-fetched at all once you know that the founder's first name is Craig.

I don't know if you smoke cigarettes, but if you look at two cigarettes, one of them a Marlboro, chances are the cigarettes look the same. What makes Marlboro the top selling cigarette in the world is a difference in perception. What is that perception? Marlboro is a rugged, manly cigarette. Does it look more manly than another cigarette? Probably not.

Marlboro - yes, using that very name - was originally conceived as for women. Then the ad agency in charge of the brand thought up the Marlboro cowboy and gave the brand a sex change.

Willyboy, if you want an easy-to-follow process for generating a name, take a look at my (free) business name generator page: Business Name & Tag Line Generator.

Good luck,
Marcia Yudkin