Today’s Tip
Best Practice: Inquiring company names stand out and cause people to stop and think what does this company sell.
Wake Up! name creates curiosity
Today’s Article: Creating an Inquiring Company Name
Inquiring names arouse interest or curiosity. They intrigue people. They cause people to stop and think “what does your company do?” Examples: Virgin (Virgin Group Ltd. is a British multinational branded venture capital conglomerate) or Bluetooth (technology company)
Pros: Company name stands out and does arouse interest or curiosity. People associate inquiring names with companies that think outside the box or are innovative. Under the right name you have the ability to expand with new products or services.
Cons: May take more money and time for potential customers to connect with what the company sells. A great tagline would help with this.
Other Examples: Adore Me, Affinity, Applause, Audience, Aware, Inc., Bazaar Voice, Bright Cove, Cache, Dolls Kill, Dope, Element, Envy, Exceed Co., FireEye, Fluent, Google, Guess?, Harmony, Lolly Wolly Doodle, Mojo, Monster Worldwide, Perfect World, PureWow, Rivet, Superfish, Talking Rain, Tickle, Twine, Twitter, Urge, WeVeel, Whoop, or Yahoo
Brand Name Filter
The brand name filter below will help you objectively evaluate how available and good a name is.
Number System: 0-poor, 1-fair, 2-good, 3-excellent.
___ Easy to Say and Pronounce
___ Easy to Remember
___ Easy to Spell
___ Name is Web-Ready: Exact Match Domain Name with no hyphen (Domain Search)
___ Trademark is Available (Trademark Search)
___ Available in Your State (Online check with your State Department of Incorporation)
___ Social Media Identity Availability (Example Facebook (B2C), LinkedIn (B2B), etc.)
___ Stands out from the Competition in a Favorable Way
___ Has no Negative Meanings (Example: when translated to a foreign market’s language)
___ Name Allows You to Add New Services or Products in the Future
___ Number of Points
Action Step: Make a list of intriguing or inquiring words to create a name that arouses interest or curiosity. Come up with 1-3 that you like. Next go to the name filter above to evaluate them.
Note: If you are having trouble coming up with a name that you like and is rated high by the brand filter, it may be time to look for an outside source to help you i.e. Ask the Expert.
Recommendation: In a branding process, it is important to look at name possibilities in different name categories: Literal, Attribute, Legacy, Initials/Numbers, Word Combination, New Invented, Related and Alliteration or Rhyme. This helps you expand they way you look at your company, to find the best name to connect with your target market, that stands out from the competition and reflects your brand position.
Additional Resources
Return to Company Naming Return to Brand Library Return to Brand Yourself
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