Once you have decided on venturing into the world of ecommerce and have gone through the basics of starting an ecommerce store, it’s now time to think about naming your store and creating its personality.
Your ecommerce store’s name is a compelling part of your entire branding as it can define the identity of your business. Below are some suggestions on choosing a name for your ecommerce website. Note, however, that this is not a guideline on choosing a domain name, which will be tackled in another post.
Know what you are communicating through your name. What do you want your customers to say about your business? When you have already decided on what you want to communicate to your prospective customers, try writing your thoughts in a single sentence. Shorten your sentence until you are left with just a word or two.
Play with the names. You may use synonyms of what you want to communicate, or even memorable misspellings. Take for example “Flickr,” the popular photo portal website. It hails from “Flicker,” which is associated with a camera’s flash. Creative, yet memorable.
Spell it as it is and pronounce it as it is. Ecommerce stores usually span a certain number of cultures and regions so it is better to have a simple name that everyone can spell and pronounce. For example you are of Chinese descent, but your target customers are in the United States. You wouldn’t want your online store to be Xiao, Huang, or Tsen and expect to target people from America.
Scope the competition. Check out the names of your competition. Make sure it does not sound too similar to the others, lest you want to confuse your customers and drive them to the other ecommerce websites. Your name should be at par or even better than the competition, but it should not be too similar to them to avoid confusion.
Consult with the target market. Narrow down your ecommerce business names to five or less and test them with your target customers. For example, you want to sell costume jewelry for teens and young adults. Test your names with females from high school and college. Do not assume you know how your target profile will react to your name choices.
Remember that your name is a part of your ecommerce store’s identity. Choosing the best one that fits your business will be imperative to the long-term success of your online store.
