Guidelines for Naming Your Company

What is it that distinguishes “Coca-Cola” from “Pepsi”, “Dairy Milk Silk” form “Dairy Milk Crackles”??? Their NAMES – among everything else. A lot depends upon the name of a company when it is starting up. Apart from the procedural legalities in obtaining the name for your start-up, a great deal of branding and valuation also depends upon it. A right kind of name can enable your start-up to reach the heights whereas a wrong kind of name can lead to its pitfall. In this article, we will focus on a few factors that will help you in naming your company.

Naming your start-up and naming your pet is quite different, where you just end up bestowing your pet with your most favourite word or name.  Today’s world is brand conscious. A dress bought from Mango still fares high above the same dress bought from a shop at Sarojini Nagar. Things are no different in case of company registration. Even the department prefers unique, brand-worthy names.
Having said that, in the quest of making it unique, start-ups often miss out on one simple point – “Communication”.  What is the use of a name that leaves you confused and your already busy brain buzzing with questions? The name of your business should be such that it conveys to the potential customer the nature of your business. It is precisely for this reason that the department insists upon the fact that the name should clearly depict the main objects of the business.
A company is registered by the people and for the people. Only thing is the set of “people” are different. You (first set of people) register the company for your potential customers (second set of people). Now, is not it obvious that since you are registering your company for your customers, hence a great deal depends upon them. For this very reason, you should always choose a name which interests them as well as your customers.
A great fraction of people still shed tears while watching daily soaps in our country. We still have the urge of beating the villain into a pulp when he tortures our hero on screen. We still dream of changing the world in an eye blink after watching an inspirational movie. The point is – we are driven by emotions.
A comfortable and familiar name often does magic. Hence, an important tip will be to choose a name that your target customers can relate to. Avoid witty puns or coined terms which hold meaning only to you or a certain section of people.
Next comes the litmus test for finalising the name of your company. The “intellectual property” test.  This is the final and the most important test. You should always conduct a trade-mark search in the classes related to the business activities of the company. The name should not contain any word or part of the word which is trade-marked. Solely for this purpose the department has introduced a new segment on its website which facilitates public search of trade-marks.
In the words of Eoin Colfer, a name should be of such standards that it becomes inimitable. Solely because it instils such a sense of unattainable benchmark in the minds of the people (think of naming your child Sherlock!) that it scares them at their wits’ end to even imagine copying it. Such should be the power of your brand and the tool is your NAME.