How to Test Your Name Before Launching Your Business

One of the most important components of starting a new business is choosing a name that will effectively resonate with your target market.

Once you find a good name, your business will have the opportunity to effectively distinguish itself from the competition and be positioned to achieve long-term success.

The importance of having a catchy business name is undeniably important. The last thing you want to do is choose a name that is ineffective and then have to start all over from the very beginning. Fortunately, there are a few simple things you can do to test various company name ideas before you actually have to make any firm commitments.

Talk to People that You Know

If you are in the process of starting a business, hopefully you will have at least a few people you can trust to run various ideas by. One of the most common problems in the naming process is that people assume that the brand name ideas that they come up with will resonate with their target audience.

Testing your business name ideas with people that you trust will make it much easier to catch potential red flags. In order to remove any bias that people close to you may have (such as giving an automatic “yes”), it is generally a better idea to propose multiple names at once and see which ones resonate the most.

Utilize a Test Audience

While getting feedback from peers is great, there will always be a level of bias when running a small name test with people you already know. One of the best ways you can find the most catchy business names is by taking advantage of a test audience.

A test audience should be useful for multiple different reasons. The audience gives you an opportunity to access truly objective input before making a final decision. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to make the test group precisely match your target demographics.

Take Advantage of Social Media

Social media is an easy to use and highly underrated source for testing various brand name ideas. There are a few ways you could potentially do this. Doing things such as creating a basic poll, posting in specific groups, and even just asking your friends can help you find the business name ideas that will truly be best for you.

Speak to Others in the Industry

If you are starting a new business and looking for advice—even beyond just company name ideas—it can be very useful to communicate with other allies in your industry. Being able to speak to those who have gone through the naming process in the past may be able to give you a unique perspective you would have otherwise not had access to. Additionally, these businesses will be much more likely to point out any potential road bumps or future issues you may have.

Conclusion

Though the naming process may initially be rather overwhelming, taking a moment to reach out to others is something that can be very beneficial. Whether you are speaking to your friends, a test audience, people on social media, or allies in the industry, it certainly never hurts to ask.