Content Starts Here

Why your businesses' names important

What's in a name?

Search: Choosing a business name

- The ultimate business how-to book
- Search through thousands of businesses for sale
- Get a business mortgage

Your business's name isn't just something that appears on your letterhead or company website. It can help generate sales and affect the way customers see you.

Picking a name should be part of a long-term strategy and reflect how your business might grow in future years. It shouldn't just refer to your current best-seller or market place. Think big when choosing a name and you won't damage potential new markets.

Names to remember

Here's how some successful businesses chose their name:

• Abercrombie & Kent, the upmarket travel company, uses a made-up name designed to suggest old-fashioned values. Some customers might remember the American travel outfitters, Abercrombie & Fitch. The first part also gives the business an alphabetical advantage.

• Google, the international search engine, takes its name from a misspelt word for a very large number. "googol" refers to ten raised to the hundredth power, a word which was itself invented by a mathematician's nine-year-old nephew who was asked to think of a name for a large number.

• Yarg, the Cornish cheese, takes its name from the people who first made it - "Gray" - backwards.

Hitting the right buttons

If you're dealing with the public you need a name that's memorable. Avoid something that can be spelt in different ways or that might cause offence in different cultures. Remember that your name will appear in various places: in your logo, signage, stationery, adverts, website, perhaps even on uniforms. Will customers find it easy to say on the phone?

If you sell abroad, or hope to in the future, consider whether the word is easy to pronounce or has unfortunate meanings in different languages. "Mist", for example, means "manure" in German.

Don't pigeonhole your business. Sometimes a word that's abstract, rather than specific, will give you more options. Quirky names might be attractive to customers but can damage your profile with investors.

Nick Jenkins chose "Moonpig" for his business, which sells personalised greeting cards over the internet, because he wanted something that was catchy and cheeky. It couldn't be misspelt and it summed up the business's image. It was also easy to convey in a cartoon.

When the business applied for venture capital funding it changed its corporate name to the more sober Altergraphics Limited, although it still trades under Moonpig.

Before you choose a name make sure the domain name (website address) is available. Even if you don't have a website yet you probably will eventually. If you do business within the European Community having ".eu" at the end of your domain name can create the right image. See the European Registry of Internet Domain Names (EURid) for advice on registration.

Playing safe

If you're well-known in your industry it might be a good idea to include your own name. Consider, too, what the company name conveys. Is it traditional and 'solid' or dull and lacking in zing? Will it stand the test of time? The image you want to convey will depend on the profile of your customers.

If you've decided to form a limited company you need to register your name and other details with Companies House. They will give you more information about what you can and cannot use in your name. For example, the name must end with limited, plc, Ltd or the Welsh equivalent. This must not appear anywhere other than at the end. Don't use a name that's the same or similar to one that's already on the register.

Be very careful about using certain sensitive words that might give a false impression about your business. Companies House has full details about the rules governing these terms. They include:

• Words that suggest your business has national importance, British, Irish, Welsh, Scottish, English, National, International, European.

• Words that suggest a special status: Association, Authority, Chamber of Commerce, Chartered, Council, Institute, Society.

• Words that suggest a particular function: Charity, Insurance, Register, Trust.

Words linked to a specialist activity such as Architect, Chemist, Health Centre.

Words that suggest connections with the Government or royal family: Parliament, Government, Royal, Queen, Prince.

Don't have any stationery printed until you know that your proposed name has been accepted.

Useful links

www.businesslink.gov.uk
www.companieshouse.gov.uk
www.eurid.eu

page: 1 | 2 | 3