Choosing a name for your business isn’t quite as simple as it used to be.  Unless you’re really half of a duo that goes by the name of “Mom and Pop”, it’s no longer a good idea to you to give your business a generic “routine” name.

Let’s face it, you may well have an excellent new angle for your business that sets you apart from the crowd.  But if you don’t have a snappy, unique brand name that rolls off the tongue and straight into your potential customers’ memory banks, you’re going to have a heck of a time getting a fair hearing in the market place.

What’s in a  Name?

You may well be asking yourself, “What’s in a name?”.   As it turns out, pretty much everything.  Even though surfing through the Internet isn’t quite as personable an operation as meeting a sales rep or CEO face to face, it’s still a very vital form of interaction.  As a natural consequence, first impressions are incredibly important.

Online-Shop by Tim Reckmann, on Flickr.  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License.

The first thing customers will notice as they log on to your site is the name.  If you supply pickles to restaurants at wholesale prices, you don’t want to name your business “Tomato Bob’s”.  You need a name that’s catchy, simple, and to the point, as well as truthful in what it advertises to the public.

Make it Catchy, Make it Cute

At the same time, it doesn’t pay to make it too generic.  “Wholesale Pickle, Inc.” is certainly self explanatory, but it lacks a certain zest.  Why not try something a bit more inspired?  Take a cue from the classic Laurel and Hardy movies, and name your business something along the lines of “Another Fine Pickle, Inc.?”

Giving your business a catchy, “fun” sounding name will brand it in the eyes of your potential customers.  Remember that your presence on the Internet guarantees that thousands, if not millions, of people will come across it on a day to day basis.  Your reputation as a business owner begins with solid branding.  In a word, what’s in a name is what’s in your initial first impression, so it needs to be solid and memorable.

Assistance is Available

You don’t have to come up with a solid brand name all by yourself.  If you need assistance with this thorny issue, or any other aspect of E-commerce, help is available.  You can learn more here.