How to pick a business name that doesn't alienate customers
Unconventional or edgy business names can instantly alienate conservative clients and make everyday buyers reluctant to even speak the name aloud. Choosing a polarizing moniker stops people from hiring your company or ordering your product, no matter how good the actual service or quality might be.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1sticking to traditional descriptive naming conventions
- 2running two different brands or DBAs to separate playful and serious services
- 3doing a market comparison against competitors
- 4Using domain registrars combined with excessive brainstorming time
- 5Asking online communities for random words, quotes, or phrases for inspiration
- 6Focusing on clarity about the product or service and location for searchability
- 7Ensuring the name can be trademarked if it is a product business
- 8Brainstorming names independently
- 9Asking online communities for name suggestions
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“The juice is amazing but I'm that much less likely to order it because I have to say the name to my husband.”source ↗
“I don't know, I just never really liked it or warmed up to it. Whenever I see it on my email I just kind of die inside a bit.”source ↗
“I'm not sure if a name alone would kill it.”source ↗
“I definitely wouldn’t hire any business that sounded macabre… unless it was to decorate my Halloween party.”source ↗
“my whole thing is about dogs. i’m sooo stuck. how did yall come up with your business names?”source ↗
“Hey everyone, I’m struggling to find a good name for my commercial and residential cleaning business.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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