The right name can make your business the talk of the town while the wrong one can doom it to obscurity by impacting negatively how people identify your venture and also reduce the chances of marketing your product or service on a global scale. Ideally, your name should convey the expertise, value and uniqueness of the product/service you trade. Some experts believe that the best names are abstract, blank slates upon which to create an image. Others think that names should be informative so customers know immediately what your business is all about. In reality, any name can be effective if it’s backed by the appropriate marketing strategy.

Choosing a business name can be a daunting task yet due care must be given in order to pick a name that you absolutely love and can easily identify with. Once you can identify yourself with your business, you’ll become more passionate about it, your commitment will increase and you’ll find yourself accomplishing your business goals with ease.

To choose a name, you can either hire a professional to name your business, use an online business name generator tool or go through the process all by yourself. This guide is for those who would like to take the bull by the horns and coin themselves great business names that go places.

To get started with the process, you should have the following in mind:

#1. Define your business.

Before you go into the brainstorming exercise to coin out a name, you need to first define the products/services and customer experience your business will provide for its potential customers. Write down the key benefits of your products and services, as well as what will make your business unique. For instance, a business definition for an agricultural business may look like – Starting livestock farming to breed and raise snails for sales to the social class residents of X location; to be killed, sterilized and well packaged in 5 piece/pack. In the example, the key things to note are underlined – livestock farming is the business category that is to be ventured into, snails will be the focus and product to offer for sale, while X residents are the potential customers, the last part explains the uniqueness to be brought to bear. Adapt that to your idea or proposed business to come up with a clear definition of what you want to deal in.

#2. Make it Simple.

It is very important to bear in mind that your business name has to be simple to spell, easy to read and remember. As a startup, chance are high that the bulk of your initial customers will be referred through words of mouth. Therefore, your business name has to be concise and straightforward to give your business an intriguing first impression for people to talk about you. Strangely sounding names discourage people from pronouncing and limit the quick spread. Always remember that the simple the better.

#3. Must be Unique.

With over a billion sites on the web, it’s quite thinkable to assume that almost every word in English language has been trademarked hence the option of coining out unique names is becoming more viable and popular. This is also important to avoid possibility of taking your brand for another because of the name relation. Being unique will make you have a good business name that is catchy and clearly synonymous to your brand. Caution has to be taken though to avoid weird and unpalatable names. Uniqueness does not suggest rigidity or vagueness.

#4. Avoid the personal touch.

Though tempting and an easy way out of name finding puzzle, especially when the name search has taken too long and become worrisome. However, it is advisable to avoid personalizing your business to yourself or family. If you’re hoping to grow your brand, then it is important for your business to have its own name and be independent of yours. This may not be exactly right for businesses such as personal blogs, as it sometimes intended to promote the crafts or creations of the individual but for more commercial businesses involving actual product trading or service, it’s better to give the business its own identity distinct from the owner’s.

#5. Make it Multi-functional.

Do not limit your scope by choosing a name that suggests you only offer one product/service. Even if you’re only going to run a particular service for start, pick an appropriate name that considers future diversification prospects.

Below are few things to also note as it relates to the law governing company registration in Nigeria;
•Corporate Affairs Commission will not accept for registration any name having words like Incorporation, incorporated, Project, Certified, Group, Consortium, Holdings, Authorized, State, Government, Conglomerate etc. except under special circumstances such as a merger.
•Names which include Words such as Consulting, Construction, Engineering, Medical, Pharmacy, Accounting etc. require that at least one Shareholder/Director/Partner is a Certified practitioner. In some of these instances, membership of Professional Bodies like (COREN, NIM, ICSA, MPA, NSE, ICAN, ANAN, ACA, CITN, etc.) is required and evidence filled during registration.

With all of the above being properly noted, you are ready to give your business a name that will resonate. Now, follow these simple steps;

Step 1. Make a list of key words and attributes that describes what your business does. If necessary, use a thesaurus to generate extra words so you will have plenty of options as you brainstorm. For inspiration, look at the names of successful companies in similar industries and analyze what makes them effective and memorable.

Step 2. Decide if you will go for a direct, straightforward name or one that is descriptive, coined or comprised of initials. Sometimes people choose coined and then opt for a logo and accompanying graphics that make the company’s mission easily relatable.

Step 3. Experiment with the word order and spelling of the names you like best. Consider acronyms of some of these names, they might spell something catchy. You should also consider the intellect of your target buyers and refrain from names only few persons would understand.

Step 4. By now you would have narrowed it down to a few names, about three to five. Solicit honest feedback about your choices from family, friends and even strangers.

Step 5. Research whether the business name you want to use is available for registration. See how to check name availability and make reservation.

Once the step 5 is successful, you can immediately proceed to register the reserved name as Business Name or incorporated as Company. You’re not recognized as legal owner of a brand name no matter the amount of effort that birthed it or how long you have being using it until you register it in either of the ways. Repeat the process above, if the name is already in use by another from the name check query (Step 5). Finding the right business name is generally not an easy task but it effect pays off greatly on the business once its taken time to be done correctly. What is worth doing is worth doing well – take the pain today and give your business a right identity that takes it into a promising future.



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bros I was scammed wen I wanted registering my business ..
I submitted two names n one name was chosen.
I was then given a form or booklet to fill n submit along with my passports n ID. including details of my two other Directors . .
since then (2014) till now the man is either not picking my calls or will keep telling me he is almost done n my certificate will be given to me.
pls wat do i do cus I have been using d company's name for plenty jobs already for my clients