What’s in a name?

Naming your company is serious business.  It is something you need to put a lot of thought into, as your company’s name is it’s identity and rebranding is a costly, pain in the keister!  Here are some things to consider when choosing a business name.

Your business name dictates your clients
Budget, Savvy, Wise, Bargain… When you use those terms, you will attract only those clients.  That may be what you want to attract and are most comfortable with, but there will come a point when you will no longer want to work with couples who are pinching every penny and making every decision on price and if your name says budget in any way, you will not be able to break out of that mould.

High-end names like 5th Avenue, Madison, Couture…  Again, you are trapping yourself with your name choice.  If you choose a name that elicits the image of high-end, wealth and society, your brand needs to match that image.  You better be able to afford all that your name entails, because you need to market and match your business name.

Using your own name as the company name
Pros:

• You get all the glory
• A lot easier to think of a name
• Personal approach to business
• You are the brand

Cons:

• You are the brand
• You can never sell your successful business unless you can stand the thought of someone potentially ruining your name
• Clients will only ever want to work with you, not your associates, after all, they are paying for your name.

Say what you mean and mean what you say
The whole point of naming your business, is to have it recognized.  Use terms, words and spellings that are easy for clients to find.  Using a “Z” instead of an “S” or other non-traditional spellings, makes it hard for your potential clients to find you if they have never seen your company name written.

While it may sound cool or refined, using another language in your business name can also make it difficult for your potential clients to find you or even remember your name, if it is a term they are not familiar with.

I prefer to stick with the “KISS” (Keep It Simple Stupid) approach. Name your business something easy and clear, then follow up that name with a great tag line. Tag lines don’t need to be registered and can be changed whenever you like.

Danielle Andrews Sunkel is the President of The Wedding Planners Institute of Canada and Co-Founder of WPIC Inc. She has owned The Wedding Planners in Toronto, Canada since 2000.