I want to start a cutting edge Interior Decorating Business.

Nairaland users, please suggest a business name for me. Only FAB, Catchy names please!

Thanks.

I always thought the name "Lucy Pearl" was catchy and classy. It's the name of Raphael Sadiq's short-lived R&B group from 1999.

MONDEA ITALIAN FOR GRAND

@nynlicious
Hi.
Starting a business and getting a business name are very important pursuits.
Your business has its core focus, its target market, core competencies and competitive advantage etc.
Your Business name is very important because that is often what your prospective customers first come into contact with and it is part of your marketing communication.
Picking a business name can be as easy as getting something off the top of your head or as detailed as drawing up a branding and integrated marketing communications plan.

From the information you have given it is hard to advise you professionally about choosing a business name because -
1. I don't know which country or region of that country you are contemplating openning this business ie. is it Nigeria, South, North, East, West, what language do you want to use etc.
2. I don't know your target market or your target clientele. Young, Old, Rich, Working class, V.i, Chelsea and Kessington, etc.

There has to be a philosophy behind your business name.
And try to make it no more than 2 syllables. (Witness - coke, coca-cola, tesco, asda, walmart, lux, harpic, ariel, ikea etc.)

I know you thought it would be just a simple case of choosing any random name didnt you?

Sorry, I couldnt help it, I am a marketer by profession you see 

@ijogbon,
you are so accurate. A biz name goes beyond suggesting a list of names.U have to choose one to reflect ur personality,type of biz, nature of clients or even type/nature of product or service.
@nynlicious,
If u really need help, make it easier for people to offer suggestions by pointing us in the right direction viz a viz what i suggested above.

Thanks everyone for your advice! Appreciated!
@ Soj, please read clearly before you start supporting or making comments.

I stated the nature of business i wish to start. Have done my research and created a portfolio. i find this website incredibly useful etc so i thought to myself it would be a great idea to ask for suggestions, if you haven't got any you sure know the way out. peace!

@uche77zero, fabulous name! thanks

@Ijigbon, Thanks for commenting!

here are the answers to some questions you raised:

1. My business will be in Nigeria (PH) to be precise.

2. Target market, definitely the young, Rich/Working Class as my style is very contemporary

3. Never knew marketers are short of ideas.

@nynlicious
I find it quite boring that every thread on this forum nowadays is always turned into a free for all arena. Regarding your reply to SOJ I really didnt think it was called for, you should know better. He didnt say anything that was not helpful. I think an apology is in order.

Regarding your business name -

1) In PH? One of my favourite towns, pitakwa !
I know for a fact that the PH crowd is very class based but the good thing is that the town is full of young people. So you need a contemporary name, something they will easily recognise. Something that will remind them of something.
2) Young working class - that is definitely the PH market.

I would suggest you take something from TV or films.

I would strongly recommend - THE BOLD and THE BEAUTIFUL_in-T-riorz
Apart from being easily remembered it will help your marketing communications if your design is indeed BOLD and BEAUTIFUL.
In marketing we say - Keep It Simple, Stupid (KISS).

On your number 3. - That will be Mr. Chartered Marketer Sir, to you. I am not short of ideas, just used to getting paid to give them.

@ijogbon
Bold and Beautiful is good but any hopes of getting a better 'free' service in future? perhaps, i shall need your marketing skills at its best.

@nynlicious
You can hook me up on my email dunhayes@yahoo.com.

What do you mean better 'free' service? Was my input not satisfactory enough?

Anyways, my suggestion was based on my most up to date assessment of the PH/Nigerian market (circa nov/dec 2006).

You seem to be in London? How soon are you looking to open this service and do you have any clientele or did you grow up in PH and so have access to the market already?

@ijogbon,

Your Input was grudgingly satisfactory. lol
You were skeptical about releasing vital info. anyway thanks!
I am a freelancer designer but trained as a journalist. i have a strong passion for designing/interior decorating which has taken me places as i love to travel to gain more insight.
Will be coming back soon for this all important project as i have access to the target market. I will definitely keep in touch because there are few lessons to be learnt from you.
cheers!

Arena


Iroko


Woodrite

this is what i do, you can send me an e-mail for "full options" naming mechanism and branding solution for your organisation, i will write the story behind the name and create a material for your website, hoping to hear from you.

can anyone tell me the meaning of Tesco, Toyota, General Electric, Microsoft, Cadbury , Nestle, Omo or even Coca-Cola. They really have little meaning ordinarily, but the reputation and branding that has gone into those names over decades has differentiated them. They are now no longer names but an experience.

To that extent, you may chose any name that can easily be remembered to start with, over time, through your market differentiation and branding strategy, the name becomes extra-ordinary. Would anyone tell me the name David Bechkam is more superior to Ade Komolafe, not at all, but the marketing/branding behind the former makes all the difference. Am actually supriced that professional marketers in the house are dictating to the contrary .

If you like choose ewedu or gbegiri so long as you meet and exceed customers' satisfaction, you'll be fine. i stand to be corrected on this

@eko4show
I do wish I could say 'I see where you are coming from' but the truth of the matter is that all those brands you have mentioned have expended immense resources to get where they are at the moment. Time and millions of dollars !!!! I am dead sure our dear nynlicious has no such resources nor the desire to commit them to building the brand she is seeking if she did have such resources. Abi do you nyn ? I am free for hire O!!! Small retention fee

Choosing a business name is contained in the brand identification portion of a Brands anatomy and is very dependent on perception and positioning in the customers mind. You position your brand in the customers mind.
Now you can either do this by associating your product with something that is already in that mind (eg 'I cant believe its not butter' - in the UK, easyjet, or the very many examples of brand extention evident in the world - virginmedia, virginatlantic etc
Or you can decide to foist your brand into the collective memory of your customers. Now considering that study shows that on average, in order to remember a product or service a person must come into contact with communication about that product 26times. Multiply this by the number of customers you are targeting multiplied by the cost of communicating once with each customer. I dare say you will be looking at no less than N 50 million to explain to your market what the meaning of Enkt is.
For a small and medium scale enterprise such as we are discussing here, the best path is the first and hence my suggestion of The Bold and The Beautiful_inTriorz as the business name. It satisfies all the text book requirements on the issue and even if I say so myself - It is a dang good name for an interior decorator!

my suggestion

"changing places"

@topic,

I have always fancied evocative names. How about:

Tangerine
True Colors
Colors
Dreams
Stylez
Magic Interiors
Venus
Spring Interior Designs
Passion Interiors
September
Images
Hallmark Interiors
Surreal Interiors
Imagine!
Secrets
Deluxe Interiors
Classy Interiors
Panache
, etc

or you could keep it simple, and use your first name, i.e. <ur name> Interior Designs

or you could do me a favour and use moi, Sagie Interior Designs, hey, that's not bad. lol.

@ Osaworld
I like all the names you stated above. They are all about interior decoration except "September" which reminds me of September 11.

Lots of creative suggestions there. About the SEPTEMBER NAME, cool, but, i think

PINK SEPTEMBER DECORS

with the right Logo, billboard, and ad campaign will do.


and as far as Port Harcourt is concerned. Your showroom, (i assume you'd have one) will need to be strategically located.

My contribution

@Bulga

september presages change (such as from summer to autumn). it's also synonimous with sweetness (that's why you hear the catchy phrase, 'sweet september'.)

nevermind that muti called osama.

"The Bold and The Beautiful", hmmm. . . i like that name. sounds challenging!
nice one ijogbon, your truly an expert!

or u can just shorten it to, "Bold & Beautiful" or just, "Boldly Beautiful" hows that?

hmmm
I suggest 9slice!

I coined that from ur name (lol)

At the moment The bold and The beautiful is topping the chart!
Nairalanders pls challenge Ijogbon's creativity as d proffessional marketer in da house . I quite liked the 'september' suggestion but it's just not cutting it for me.

your choice, however i don't think it is original, it's the name of a TV show. you might as well name it 'Paris Hilton decors' if you want something that sounds familiar, she is the rave at the moment. Originally is important, it gives an added touch of class. No one cherishes common stuff. Dig deep into Creativity.

@ nynlicious

I think nairalanders has really help you by providng over 80% of ur requirement is left for you to make your choice.

@ryu11

ryu11:

your choice, however i don't think it is original, it's the name of a TV show. you might as well name it 'Paris Hilton decors' if you want something that sounds familiar, she is the rave at the moment. Originally is important, it gives an added touch of class. No one cherishes common stuff. Dig deep into Creativity.

My point exactly !!!
The name of a well known TV show. - With globalisation, post modernism and the presense of many foreigners (Who will form the majority of a wealthy PH market) the name of a popular TV show is something easily remembered and understood.
The name also tells what the business does - It creates Bold interior designs and it creates interiors that are beautiful, simple. You can even feign ignorance of the TV show just to give your businessname more mystery.
Originality and the personal touch comes in the inTriorz bit of the name which i think is just as important as the main part. It shows innovation, creativity, ingenuity and an identity in a business where all these attributes are competitive advantages.
Plus, your marketing communications, adverts, radio jingles etc come ready made (Exploit the TV show and its characters).
Doing all of this LEGALLY of course!!!!

Believe me, this consult is worth thousands of pounds GBP ask any chartered marketer. I could get cautioned.

@nynlicious
I'm humbled that my suggestion is tops.

These days you also have to think about your domain name when considering naming a company, www. ?

No point giving your company a name whose domain is not available.

So, whatever name you decide, go to www.register.com to see if the domain is still available. And if it is, register it quick !

Hey how about [b]Splash $ Sparkle,[/b]sounds different and catchy,the splash for the colors you put in and the spakle for the intensity,brightness and boldness of the decor.well i hope you like it.I have this thing for coming up with business names

Your target market is the young elite and nouveau riche. So you have to get a name that really appeals to them. Most young execs these days have some knowledge of european languages: and they feel it's really chic. So give 'em what they want. Something based in Italian, French or Spanish as long as it makes sense and is easy to pronounce. Though PINK SEPTEMBER DECORS sounds fly too. It appeals to ladies and it's ladies that make most of the household purchasing decisions. Even bachelors usually ask their female colleagues to help them pick out decorations. Anyway, these are the ones I suggest:
Chez Moi
Magnifique
Mi Casa

or if it's more about furniture, especially made of wood, just call it
woodworx.

Ciao!

@ijogbon

Could you email me; I would like to know what kind of services you offer and how it can help with my plans to sell cosmetics.

Thanks!

Who are all this people talking? you want a business name for an interior decor outfit, check out these ones- drapes N Sofa's or cozy Conners or cashmere. i have a lot up my sleeves but i wouldn't wanna make them public. call me 08022235429

Make it simple SimpliCity

Omni Decors