Introduction - The Importance of Choosing the Right Brand Name

One of the first questions we ask ourselves after getting a great idea to start a business is, ‘what would I like it to be called?’ And answering this question requires technique as well as knowledge.

Getting the perfect name for your business comes from analysing different brand name ideas, and as an entrepreneur going into the fashion industry, giving your brand a solid name is more important now than ever seeing that millions of brands are pouring into the market.

From our experience, we've found that entrepreneurs who properly understand the industry, their prospective clients, and the steps we'd be showing you below have an easier time getting the best name for their fashion brand.

Four Things to Know in Order to Get the Best Name for Your Fashion Business

‍

Define and Understand Your Company

First, understand that you can't properly name what you don't understand. Even if you attempted to, you would only end up misrepresenting your business with a bland name.

Therefore, you should fully understand your fashion company, the industry, and target audience, as well as set up a clear and detailed vision for your brand.

You should also be able to outline your business’s primary objectives and ambitions in clear sentences and further reduce each of these sentences to a keyword or two.

These keywords will serve as a crucial factor in your naming process as they describe your brand in a word or two, as your name should.

Give Your Fashion Brand a Befitting Tone

When your business name is said or heard, what mood do you want it to set for your audience? Do you want to communicate fun, excitement, or a classic tone? The tone you choose influences your business performance as it gives your brand name the power to retain clients' attention.

Getting a powerful and engaging tone will set the stage for your business among your target audience as it gives them a feel of your company's personality.

A good way to get the best tone is by understanding what your target audience prefers and knowing which of them appeals to both your clients and your company. A few examples of business tones are:

• Prestigious
• Emotionally impacting
• Fun and playful

Create Your Secondary Branding Elements

Your fashion firm's secondary brand elements are not just an important part of your company's identity; they also have an important role in the naming process.

If these branding elements are mismatched with your client's demands or in contrast with your overall brand, customers will find it difficult to connect with your company properly.

You should set out time to create and study your fashion brand's secondary branding elements. Focus on your brand's:

• Big idea: What is the main purpose of your fashion brand?
• Values: What social or professional values does your business uphold?
• Story: Do you have a story behind your business?
• Benefits: Do you provide any special benefits to customers? What would they gain from buying from you?
• Emotions: What mood or emotional response do you want to convey to your customers
• Value Proposition: What makes your brand unique?

Create a Naming Criteria and Brainstorm

With the processes you've completed above, you can now write up a detailed project statement defining the type of name you are looking for.

Setting these naming criteria would help channel your thoughts properly and reduce weak ideas. An example of a great project statement is:

• I'm looking for a bold and thrilling name for my fashion brand that reflects my vision of prestige and affordable clothing.

Your naming criteria reflect the properties your company's ideal name should have, and messing it up could stretch your search time or even ruin your business name. Therefore, make sure you make a conscious effort to draft a detailed project statement.

After creating your desired naming criteria, brainstorming should come next. Gathering all this information would make your brainstorming session a lot easier. And while brainstorming, make sure to have your naming criteria close by so as not to get off track.

Also, know that brainstorming mustn't be done alone; you could recruit the help of family, friends, employees, or colleagues. Remember, ‘The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas’ - Linus Pauling.

Adding the Finishing Touches

When you've eventually found your perfect name, don't hesitate to trademark it to prevent other companies from using a name that's too similar to your new business name.

Grant Polachek is the head of branding for Squadhelp.com, 3X Inc 5000 startup and disruptive naming agency. Squadhelp has reviewed more than 1 million names and curated a collection of the best available names on the web today. We are also the world's leading crowdsource naming platform, supporting clients such as Nestle, Dell, Nuskin, and AutoNation.

‍