8 Concrete Ways Your Brand Name Affects Your Bottom Line

Many people believe brand names are largely for show – mere frills, unworthy of serious investment. However, the name of your business could be the difference between success and failure. Your name is the face of your brand, and to compete in today’s saturated market, a memorable and relevant name is essential in attracting and retaining customers. When starting a new business, crafting the perfect name may seem like a daunting process. Despite the challenge, creating your name is an important and worthwhile use of your time and resources. Here are eight concrete reasons to invest in a good brand name:

1. Your name is the keystone of your brand

The importance of first impressions cannot be understated in today’s competitive business environment, and your name is the first impression your company will make on potential customers. Your brand is your company’s identity, encapsulated into no more than a few words. Your personality, products, and mission all need to be represented in your name.

Imagine if Apple had been named Jobs LLC California Technologies instead – the fun and innovative personality that the brand has carefully cultivated would be undermined by a clunky, stale name. As a consumer, you likely would not be as willing to wait in line for hours for a Jobs California Technologies smartphone.

Your name is the cornerstone of your brand. Even if you’re selling a ground-breaking new product, the name is still going to make the long-term difference in crafting a brand that consumers will remember and trust.

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2. Your name can grab attention

Today’s average consumer is overwhelmed with companies and products all vying for their attention and business. Often, brands only have a few seconds to catch a customer’s attention before they move on. In those few short seconds, you don’t have time to lay out the finer details of what makes your brand superior to your competitors.

Instead, you must rely on your name to stand out from a sea of competing products to captivate your customer. Your name could be what makes the difference between someone deciding to bring their date to your pizza shop, instead of scrolling right past your listing on Yelp.

Your name doesn’t just affect the perception of your brand – it is part of what drives customers to buy your product or visit your shop, even if consumers don’t realize they are making those snap judgments.

3. Your name connects you

Your name is your first and most enduring connection to your customers. It is what they will say when telling friends about your product, what they will search for in Google, and what they will follow on Facebook.

Defining your target market and their goals, motivations, and desires can help you find a name that is meaningful and attractive to them. You want your company to evoke their ideal lifestyle and the persona they want to convey, and your name is an important part of crafting that image.

How will your customers feel connected to your name? Maybe they will choose it based on emotions. Perhaps they will enjoy the visual appeal, or be driven by curiosity. They could also be attracted to the idea conveyed by the name, or love its classic elegant sound. No matter how you decide to best connect with your customers, choosing a name that will resonate with your target audience is helpful in driving them from casual consumers to loyal brand advocates.

4. Your name can create a buzz

Names that are hard to say don’t get discussed. Names that are hard to spell or unmemorable don’t get shared. When we can process a piece of information easily, we develop a natural affinity to it over something more challenging to comprehend.

If you want to be the talk of the town, ensure people can easily recall and repeat your name – you don’t want them to struggle to remember your name when recommending it to friends or searching online. Ideally, you want customers to be excited to share your name and discuss it online or in person. A difficult or unappealing name simply doesn’t generate excitement or encourage brand loyalty.

5. Your name = sale or fail

Forgettable names are forgotten, even by those who want very much to remember them. We’ve all had those moments when we’re desperately trying to recall the name of a business. If the name was catchy and evocative enough, we’d have remembered it instantly. If we don’t remember it quickly, when we need it, then that business has lost a potential sale.

With the bottom line of your company resting on the ability of potential customers to instantly recall your name, the importance of selecting a fitting and memorable name is obvious. If new or struggling brands invested more time and energy into the process of naming, it’s likely that more “fails” would become “sales”.

6. Your name can make savings

You want your brand to be the first thought of when your audience has a problem to be solved. You want to be the expert in your field, the leader in your niche. In marketing speak, you want to be “Top of Mind”.

Top of Mind Awareness (TOMA) is a brand awareness metric that measures how well brands rank with consumers. A name plays an essential role in a brand’s TOMA status. If your customers have your name at the front of their mind when shopping for products in your field, they’ll be much more likely to choose your products off the shelves instead of those of your competitors.

Memorable, evocative names not only help boost your brand’s TOMA, but they also save you money and effort in the long term. A great name will reduce the amount of money you spend trying to build repeat customers. Spending your limited marketing budget to remind customers of your name can be avoided by choosing a catchy name. Simply put, a great name with a high TOMA status will work to bring customers to you.

7. Your name drives referrals

Referrals happen in the moment. When a customer is trying to recall the name of your products in a conversation with friends, you don’t want them hemming or hawing while trying to remember your name. During that hesitation, the conversation could move on, causing your company to lose valuable customer referrals.

Instead, you want your customers to be able to immediately remember your name, encouraging their friends or family to look it up on social media or online. Organic customer referrals are one of the most rewarding sources of revenue, and creating an easy-to-remember name is one of the best things your company can do to drive those recommendations.

Don’t miss out on boosted revenue and potential brand advocates with a difficult, boring or unmemorable name. “Oh, I love [your company name]! You should check them out” is so much more impactful than “I had that problem too. I used this great company. Their name is… err. Well, I guess I’ll email it to you.”

8. Your name motivates

Capture your idea in a single word – a name – and you’ll not only have far greater chances of succeeding and boosting your revenue, but you’ll also be creating something people are excited to join. Your company culture is that much stronger when you have a name that fosters pride and ownership. Let your awesome brand name motivate you every day and let it attract great talent, too.

Beyond the internal benefits to your company, your name creates loyal customers and fosters brand advocates. Your customers won’t be as excited to talk to their community about your product if it has a dull or awkward name, causing you to miss out on valuable customer referrals and a powerful, avid fan base. A name that contributes to creating brand evangelists has clear positive effects on your bottom line and continued success of your company.

Conclusion

So, what’s in a brand name? Rather a lot, it would seem. Your name not only has the power to create loyal customers, but it also has a concrete and measurable effect on your bottom line. Especially in today’s hyper-competitive market, don’t just write the first name that pops into your head on the top of your forms. Take the time to craft a name that is truly evocative of your company’s mission, products, and voice – your bottom line with thank you in the long run.

Grant Polachek is the Director of Marketing at Squadhelp–transforming the way names, logos, and taglines are developed by combining an affordable agency-level brainstorming process with the unmatched creativity of “the crowd.” His book How to Develop the Perfect Name for Just About Anything is available to lilachbullock.com readers for free.