Your brand name is everything. Here’s how to avoid the wrong one

Keep it clear and simple, avoid initials, and don’t expect a new one to repair a damaged reputation

There’s a common thread running between these companies: Auto Trader, Checkatrade, Comparethemarket, Deliveroo, Rightmove and Tripadvisor. It’s not just their success but their brand names — simple, short and all describing what they offer and why they matter. A single word that is easy to remember and isn’t fully generic. They say what they do.

I would have added Moneysupermarket Group to the list but the company has changed its name to MONY Group as it expands beyond being simply a comparison website. I’m not sure the new one will work as well as the original.

The HomeServe name, which I hope shares the direct impact of the above brand names, began as something quite different.

Home Service Scheme became HomeService, and then HomeServe

I’ve never hired expensive brand consultants to tell me what I and my teams really ought to know ourselves, which means we’ve endured some misses with the search-result hits — but at least we learnt from them. We started off as Home Service Scheme, which was too long and — because the word “scheme” had negative connotations — led customers to doubt our trustworthiness. We then moved to HomeService before landing on HomeServe. At each stage, we used our instincts for what a brand name should sound and look like, seeking advice from colleagues and customers rather than simply farming out the responsibility to outsiders.

Your brand name is the first chance you get to make an impression. You want to grab attention, convey aspiration, and help customers understand what you’re all about so they feel confident in your promise, especially if you’re starting out and battling against relative obscurity. You are selling a vision, not just a product, and although subtlety can work, the aim is to inspire interest among customers who know nothing about you.

When you’re working out what to call your company, think about the business strategy and the solution you are offering — the idea you want to plant in people’s minds. Describe it in a long sentence and then find within those words something that truly resonates and elicits a strong feeling.

Try to stand out from the crowd. People will remember something that they haven’t heard before and, when they’re scrolling the internet, they are more likely to stop on a name that gives them confidence. Does it sound right when you say it? Does it look good on a business card or when you type into a search engine? Is there excitement in your voice when you say it?

And always think globally. Do some linguistic and semantic due diligence to check that the name doesn’t translate into something inappropriate.

If you’ve got different brand names for separate offerings, think about moving to one. When I bought and then relaunched Business Leader magazine, we changed our Business Studies podcast to Business Leader and then launched a peer-to-peer networking club under the same name. Why over-complicate things by being too clever? Simple is always best if you want people to understand, remember and care.

Equally, if you are developing a new product or service within an existing organisation, you don’t need to come up with a completely new brand. It’s better to have a descriptor that refers to the core brand. Amazon has done this brilliantly with Prime and Web Services.

In the digital world, make sure the domain name is yours in as many permutations and international extensions as possible. Avoid the word Group when you are naming a company; it comes across as high-ego, or a small businesses trying to look bigger than they are. I’d also stay clear of initials that can make a business name less memorable.

If you’ve made a mistake and have damaged the reputation of your business, don’t be fooled into thinking a name change will quickly fix things. Consumers will spot that ploy a mile off. It’s much better to repair your reputation by tackling the underlying problem, rather than trying to pull the wool over people’s eyes. Keep the name and, instead, put all of your energies into changing the culture of the business and improving customer service so that the brand can recover.

Once you’ve chosen the name, do whatever you can to build awareness by creating emotionally engaging, SEO-friendly material that reflects the personality of your brand, as well as trying to stand out by being bold. One regret I do have, as we were building HomeServe, was being over-reliant on the branding of our partners. We were too enthusiastic about solely using the brands of utility companies to which we were providing a service, rather than also building the HomeServe identity. And it is never too late. Now could be the time to build HomeServe’s brand around decarbonising Britain’s homes via heat pumps, hybrid heating systems and solar with affordable financing.

Find a way to go viral that will generate web visits around a brand cheaply — in the way that Auto Trader and Rightmove have done, getting over a billion web visits a year for a low marketing cost. These companies enable people to browse cars and homes in an effortless way and then return when they are ready to buy or sell, so they can be monetised to car dealerships or estate agents, creating a virtuous flywheel.

Social media also has the power to build a brand at low cost. Checkatrade recently rented a single billboard close to Manchester United’s Old Trafford ground, capitalising on a news story that a stand had a leaky roof (and another that the team had been letting in too many goals) — a brilliant if cheeky way to remind people about their own DIY needs.

Though I better not smile too much — it could be Newcastle United’s leaky defence next season.

Richard Harpin is the founder and chairman of HomeServe and Growth Partner , and the owner of Business Leader magazine