Know-How Exchange : Branding

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Who is the primary target audience? Where? How is your brand different from, and better than, whatever the target audience is using now? Why should they be interested in buying from you?

What do you want the brand name to communicate?

The first step in coming up with a name is understanding your brand promise and how your company is different. The brand promise is what you are offering customers. The differentiator is how it's distinctive from your competitors. This is groundwork that's essential not only for naming, but also for your success as a business in the marketplace.

Articulate these two aspects of your business in a very concise, focused way. Then as you brainstorm name ideas, make sure the name connects with either the promise or the differentiator.

A good business name alludes to ideas beyond what you're actually offering. Take the name "Roomba," for example. The "room" in the name alludes to cleaning a room, but as a whole "Roomba" is a soundalike for "rumba," a kind of dance. The name "Roomba" leads into a story about the entertaining way the robotic vacuum dances around as it cleans your house--while you relax and do something else.

Don't try to say everything about your business. Instead, your brand name should intrigue someone to want to learn your full story. That's the first step in engaging a customer.

If you'd like to know more about creating a brand name with a story, please see the link at the bottom of my profile: "What Nobody Else is Telling You about How to Name a Business."

Devon Thomas Treadwell
Founder/Creative Director
Pollywog | A Naming Company