Two big reasons why you shouldn’t choose a descriptive name
Naming your company isn’t easy, and the pressure’s on. It’s a decision that you’ll have to live with for years so you’ll want to get the decision right.
Wanting to make the right call can quickly turn into opting for the seemingly ‘safe’ choice: a business name that clearly describes the business.
So, if you’re after a sports physio business name, you might go for ‘Active Sports Physiotherapy’. If you’re seeking out a great marketing consultancy name, you might be called ‘Effective Marketing Solutions’.
Tempting as it might be, there are two major reasons why this is not a good idea.
- By naming your business with words that are industry generic, you will not differentiate yourself in your market. Putting it simply, you put your business at risk of blending in. If being visible online is important - and there aren’t many businesses that this doesn’t apply to - then using generic, descriptive words is not very effective. By searching for you, your potential clients are effectively searching for everyone else in your industry.
- Appealing only to left-brained, rational thought processes means that you miss out on the more intangible, human ones. Adopting an original, catchy business name that’s likeable, and projects a bit of personality and character, makes your name more engaging. In turn this means that people are more likely to notice and remember you.
It might seem like a safe approach, but choosing a purely descriptive name for your business does nothing to help create either of the two pillars of effective branding: Differentiation and Engagement.