Great names preframe a brand experience, attract attention, get remembered, connect with an audience, and facilitate buzz, referrals, and sales. Your consulting 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:

If you have a great name for your business it means that more people will at least check out what you have to offer and be interested in finding out more than if you have a boring or complicated name. And no one wants to be the business that causes this awkward situation:

“I need help scaling my business but I don’t know any reputable consulting firms in the area, do you know of anyone?”

“I used this great firm several years back when I was in your situation. Hmm … I don’t remember what it was called. I’ll have to dig through my emails, and send it to you later.”

With this in mind, follow these guidelines to develop your owner amazing [business] name ideas and finding a great name that will help you succeed:   

Always Know Where You Want to End Up

You are launching a brand new business, and you’re struggling to find the right agency names. 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 consulting business.

Consulting companies typically looking to come across as both professional and effective, as well as current and cutting-edge. It is this blend of timeless and modern that typically sets consulting company names apart from many other industry brands. However, this is not always the case. Some consulting companies move strongly towards a preeminent and classic brand to showcase their expertise, while other consulting firms move in the other direction with outside the box names to display their creativity and uniqueness.

Ask yourself, What do I want people to know about my company 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.  

Create a Definite Must List

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 need a modern and edgy name that immediately conveys our key ideas – strength, quality and performance

• • We need a name that really describes who we are and what we have to offer – being the best option out there

• • We need a name that shows we’re better than the competition, even the ones who have been around for a long time

• We need a name that lets people know we’re on trend and really know what they’re looking for

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 consulting company name ideas, we believe strongly in a more systemic and strategic approach.

What Drives You?

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

Develop an Inspiration Deck – You can find inspiration for your consulting 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 business names 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.

Everything 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 remarkable?  Is your name memorable, and does it start conversations? Today’s average consumer is constantly bombarded by companies and products vying for their attention and business.

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.

What Does Your Brand Look Like?

A great consulting 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 consulting business name 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.

Do the Research

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:

Running into legal issues after finally deciding on a business name can be devastating to your business. In order to reduce your risk of run-ins with another company’s legal teams or issues with Trademark filing, it is important to check for Trademark Risk before making a final decision on your name. consider that you may be infringing on someone else’s trademark. Depending on your experience with the Trademark process, you can perform this due diligence of your own. However, it’s often best, especially when the consequence could be a receiving a cease-and-desist letter, to have your potential business name ideas checked out by a licensed professionals.

What’s Up Next 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 Consulting Company name ideas (quickly and easily), and create strong brands by launching naming contests 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 consulting business domains for sale.