Great names pre-frame a brand experience, attract attention, get remembered, connect with an audience, and facilitate buzz, referrals, and sales. Your agency name can be a true communication asset, helping you reach key business goals – and we’re not just talking about abstract goals like the development of brand recognition over time:

When the owners of a small business use a great name, they are likely to attract more customers from their marketing and advertising than their competition who is using a flat, uninteresting name. And no one wants to be the business that causes this awkward situation:

“Your business is doing great. What did you do?”

“Oh, there’s this place near the mall that helped me with our marketing … but I can’t remember what it’s called right now.  

With this in mind, follow these guidelines to develop your own consult company names and finding a great name that will help you succeed:   

Where Do You Want to Go?

You are launching a totally new company, and you’re struggling generate the right business name. The first step is to hone the creative process. Start by thinking about the brand that you’re trying to build, and determine some core concepts essential to the success of your agency.

Agencies deliver high-quality solutions. The direction you take with your agency name will depend on your strategic deliverables. Strategy-focused agencies will want to project a demeanor of quality and sophistication, while creative agencies will want to demonstrate their abilities with a creative name. Whatever your agency is all about, you can use your agency name to communicate your essence.

Ask yourself, What do I want people to know about my agency immediately?

Here are some common answers:

• It is High-end
• It is Modern
• It is Unique
• It is Fun

Deciding which direction works best for your company will give you a sharp focus and help you develop a name (and a brand) that will support your success. Learn more about how to name a business with effective and evocative brand styles.  

Build On What You Need

Now that you’ve decided on a central direction, create a one or two sentence project statement to keep your naming efforts laser-focused. Here are some examples:

• We’re looking for a modern name that helps to guide our key needs – connectivity, reach, and growth.
• We need a name that’s descriptive and captures the values of the company – that we can offer excellent business-building services.
• We want to create a name that evokes strength and makes us the best option among even more experienced standards.
• We need a stylish and timeless name that will immediately make someone think of improving their business.

A lot of companies dive into their naming project head first without taking the appropriate time to set the stage for success, hoping that “creativity” and “inspiration” will swoop in and provide an amazing outcome. After 15,000 naming projects, developing hundreds of agency names, we believe strongly in a more systemic and strategic approach.

Why Do You Do It?

Now it’s time to put pen to paper (fingers to keyboard … stylus to tablet). However you like to work, it’s time to brainstorm ideas.

Research your competition – Understanding the companies you’re competing against is an important aspect of developing effective name ideas. One of the major decisions you’ll want to make when naming your company is, Do I want to fit in or stand out from my industry?

Develop an Inspiration Deck – You can find inspiration for your agency business name ideas in so many places. Take a drive around town writing down your favorite names that you find, get a list of successful brands across any industry you can image using your go-to search engine, or explore winning agency name ideas from crowdsourced branding contests. Building a list of inspiration is a well respected copywriting technique, and it will certainly help you develop great business name ideas as well.

What Your Name Needs

From a technical naming standpoint there are some important principles that you want to keep in mind:

Is it easy to say? Unfortunately, you may have to pass on a meaningful name if it’s difficult to say. For example, the iae vowel construct of the Latin word patriae (country) could cause much confusion if used in a business name.

Is it easy to hear? Test your name by calling a friend and saying, “I’m thinking about [insert name] as the name of my business. What do you think?” If there is a long pause or the reply is “What’s the name again?” You might have an issue.

Is it easy to spell? Simple misspellings such as Lyft, Flickr, Xero can work really well for a brand. But names that are very hard to spell will hinder your marketing and communication efforts.

Is it appealing?  Is your name pleasant to see and hear? Many times, in a quest to be unique or edgy, companies will select a name that lacks appeal with the target market. Consumers should like how your name looks and sounds. If they do, it’s much more likely that they’ll want to learn more about your business and talk to friends about your brand.

Also remember to avoid …

Obscure names: Can your name only be understood by a few people? Don’t go for an obscure name that only a handful of your target audience will be able to recall quickly. While a small number of your customers may appreciate an obscure name that only they understand, the rest will be confused and move on.

View our full checklist for Catchy Business Names.

What is Your Brand?

A great agency name will always be less appealing than your competition’s mediocre brand. It’s very hard to look at a list of names and get excited about them. One, two, or three words on a page can often feel flat.

The ability to bring a brand to life in your mind is critical to the naming process. Imagine the story. Visualize the logo. See it on your products and packaging. Without envisioning your brand, you’ll have trouble getting behind any of the business name ideas that you’ve generated.

The Hard Stuff

Developing business name ideas is only the beginning of the process. There are four important name validation steps that you’ll definitely want to complete before deciding on your business name:

Once you’ve decided on a few name ideas, you’ll want to get unbiased feedback. It’s great that you and your team are excited about your business name ideas, but general audience approval is an encouraging way to know that you’ve found a name that will truly help you succeed. Positive feedback via audience testing can indicate that your name resonates well and properly aligns with your target audience. While objectively there are no “perfect” names, vetting your shortlist of business name ideas against each other with an unbiased group will provide you valuable information that will help you make a final decision with confidence.

Learn the three additional critical validation steps – discover how to pick a business name.

It’s All For You

Follow this tested process to create a business name that will become a true asset for years to come. Take the time to set the foundation for your project, develop great ideas, and validate there usability – and you’ll find a name that will attract attention, make connections, get remembered, and increase your bottom line.

Atom is a one-of-a-kind platform where entrepreneurs and marketers get agency names (quickly and easily), create strong brands, and grow faster by launch a naming contest to engage hundreds of naming experts as you’re guided through our agency-level naming process or explore our hand-picked collection of premium names available for immediate purchase.

View our full list of agency domains.