How to name a store?

 

Entrepreneurs who have decided to engage in online commerce are well aware that a sound brand is one of the most important tasks. As you call the ship, so it will start traveling (the meaning: the name which you give to your ship will determine its future). Everyone wants to create a successful brand that is on a par with the giant's Amazon, Nike, Gucci, and other well-known marketplaces.

That's why today's online sellers often ask themselves the question, "How to name a store?" The name of the store should be clear to the audience and easy to remember. The name should have an association with quality, an abundance of assortment, etc. Let's understand the secrets of naming together.

Basic requirements for the naming of online stores. 

Leading digital marketers and SEO specialists advise beginning with a study and analysis of the target audience. Who is your contingent? Perhaps you plan to sell baby aids for young moms or clothes for teenagers. Maybe your goal is to make online sales on stationery or textiles. This is all-important to successful naming.
When you think about how to name an online store, you need to have a clear idea of your potential customer. Sometimes the target audience is exclusively men between the ages of 30 and 50 (for example, some kind of brutal accessories, car tuning, styling, etc.). Then you need to select a catchy name for this group of consumers with the appropriate triggers.

In addition to researching your target audience, you need to identify your customers' pains, the solutions you can offer (and put into your store name), as well as the strengths and unique features of your online commercial project. Also, digital marketers and SEO experts advise adhering to the following naming requirements to avoid frequent mistakes:

1. Segment your target audience. If you are planning to launch an online store with youth shoes, it’s better to focus on slang, popular vocabulary among young boys and girls (Urban, Vibe, Uber). For the store of yarn, thread, and various products for crafts, where the main segment - the women over 30, these names are unlikely to fit. But some names like Tangle, Handicrafts, Pretty Things - well remembered by the audience.   

2. Say “No” to abstraction and absurd naming. Today, you can still find restaurants with names like Bleacher's Mice or Reporter, but retailers shouldn’t use too original names. The name should evoke associations with the goods of the store. If Socket, then the sale of electronics and other equipment; if Lumberjack, then the range of wood, if Lux Light, then lighting fixtures. Understanding that the Cactus store sells home goods is difficult for potential customers.

3. Say “Yes” to euphony and brevity. Make the name easy to remember, read, write, search. No need for the sake of uniqueness of the name (although it is important) to name the online store Shoe Center by Alexandra. One short word will be enough.

4. Study your competitors and eliminate the risk of name repetition. Analyze the niche in which you are going to move to the top with the new brand, check the achievements of specialists in naming (or your ideas) in services such as Profitmark, MSP Patent on the uniqueness of the trademark, sign, name.

In addition to name verification sites, there are several online services for generating names. This will allow you to do without the brainstorming of your creative team. Consider Logaster, Play Name, GenLogo, Zyro.com, GoDaddy.

Let's move from general tips to working ways, how to name the online store sound, juicy, original.  

10 ways to come up with a name for the online store. Online Store name ideas.

Let's take a look at the top 10 naming methods that are widely used today:

• Owner's name/surname - create a personal brand that is unique and associated with the creator of the commercial project himself. For example, Davidova Shoes (last name), Petrovich (middle name), Studio Lolita (first name).

• Use metonymy - tie a product characteristic to a catchphrase or expression that's on “everyone's lips”. For example, the cartoon "Lion King" becomes Burger King. And everyone understands what the brand offers. 

• A joke, a meme, a trend, a pun - you can promote a brand on something popular in the here and now. For example, Ticktocker, Hype Shop, Crash, etc. 

• Emphasize product quality or store benefits - you can emphasize low prices (Cent, HotPrice), assortment features (Milk Farm, Cheese List, etc.), product quality (Premium Meat, Lux Optica).

• Abbreviations and acronyms are a good move if you want a concise name. But it’s better than the word form is understandable in abbreviated form like AmStor, BuildMarket, MobileShop.

• Analogs and associations - often used movie and cartoon characters, zodiac signs, mythological creatures, animals, and other associated subjects. For example, there is nothing better than calling an online cosmetics store Powder, Lipstick, or considering Aquarius for a bottled water brand. 

• Rhymes - names such as Tili-Tili, Coca-Cola, Top Shop will easily remain in the memory of customers. Come up with a successful product rhyme to draw attention to the brand.

• Provocations and shock-names - if you belong to the bold representatives of online commerce, then try a provocative name with a veiled, but clear meaning of the type, the main thing is not to overdo it, otherwise, you run the risk of causing negative publicity

• Deliberate typos - the name, which has a deliberate spelling error are also well remembered. Also, such a brand is unlikely to have problems with the selection of the domain for the site. You can be very stylized with a name and stay on trend (Outfit, Accessorize, Cherry Lady). 

• New forms is one of the best ways to name your e-commerce project, especially if you can combine several other approaches in the neologism above (for example, association, metonymy, and the name of the owner). Let's say the store plans to sell pet products.
   

There are many options for naming - just use one of the ways that work and be creative. Some more examples of real online stores will help to make sure that digital marketing uses the techniques and approaches described above.

Successful examples of names of online stores 

It’s worth noting that each niche has its peculiarities, and hence - the triggers to check out customers are also different. Therefore, here are a few examples of successful store names of different orientations.

Clothing, shoes, accessories  

If you are thinking about how to name an online clothing store, examples of successful commercial projects will help you decide on the best option in your niche:

Garnamama (transl. BeautyMom) (children's clothing) - emphasis on the feminine beginning, motherhood, the desire of mothers to give their children the best. A new form with the Latin spelling of the Ukrainian word combination "garnamama”. The advantage of the name - it’s difficult to confuse the characters in the domain with something else (there are no hissing and complex letter combinations).

Modiva (transl. Trendy Diva) (women's clothing) is a good example of how to name an online store of women's clothing. Association with beauty and fashion trends, short for fashion and diva. It’s easy to read, remember and spell. Stores of underwear, jewelry, and handbags can be safely called by such a sonorous name.

UrbanPlanet (online assortment of youth clothes and shoes) - a great way to name an online store of clothing for young people correctly. Urban is a popular word associated with street style, simplicity, casual fashion.

Auto parts, styling, tuning

How to call the online store auto parts? For example, the Ukrainian online market King Auto boasts a sonorous name. King's quality and a clear description of the auto-niche complement the conciseness and the message to the TA. The domain matches the name, which only increases the chances of high conversion through search engines.

Stationery, souvenirs, gifts

“Aquarelle” (transl. Watercolor)  is one of the top brands in this niche. The association with paints, which is displayed on the logo and appears in the slogan, as well as an easy and simple to translate name - the best combo.

Unsuccessful examples of naming

Once again, we should pay attention to the names, which initially were "failures" for the brand of online commerce:

• One Ukrainian online furniture store that has the name Dubok chose a controversial transliteration for its English naming and domain (Dybok). Some customers are convinced that they have visited Dybok's site. 

• The online appliance and phone store Shkolyar (transl. Schoolboy) a priori doesn’t dispose to the niche and assortment it sells. The name is more suitable for a store of school uniforms, stationery, satchels, and bags for students, golfers, bows, but not for a seller of electronics and smartphones. 

• The online store of sanitary ware Pivdyuma Plus (transl. half inch) is not exactly associated with the positions in the catalog. The owner has interestingly beaten the name in the logo, replacing the name with ½+ (graphic element). But finding the store will require a name that doesn’t sound eloquent in English (Pivdiuimaplus).

You've probably heard other absurd brands like Underpants, Friar, Тот свет (transl. Afterlife). Therefore, treat responsibly to naming and follow not only the rules and advice of digital marketers but also common sense.

How to name an online store on Instagram?

If you're planning to sell through Instagram without an existing store name and website for online commerce, a number of other tips will come in handy. Marketing on social media is different, so don't go past 5 tips for a successful Instagram name:

1. Be sure to include the category of products you plan to sell. For example, for an Instagram jewelry store, the prefix accessories would work great. For example, accessories_shop, accessories_4you, accessories_storeua.

2. The length of the name is also important here. Be concise, but put maximum meaning. Avoid two or more underscores and lots of characters. For example, the Instagram toy store is better named baby_joy, joytoy_shop, teddybear_shop than children_are_happy.

3. Add emotion to "hook" the target audience. Flirt, cutie, pretty - women like that words. Brutal words left for men (macho, snob, gentleman). Tying in a term that describes the audience is a good idea.

4. Focus on uniqueness. If your niche has many stores with the name колготки (transl. tights) in different variations, explore the English variants (tights_world, tights_premium).

5. Avoid big names mentioning VIP, Luxury. You may alienate a large segment of your audience, as such words will be associated with a high price.

6. Remember that narrowly focused niches bring less hassle with naming. Stores of agrochemical products or handmade souvenirs of a certain format are easier to name uniquely and sonically.

If you still have trouble naming your online store on Instagram, use name generators. Some popular ones are Cast Lots, Nick-Name.ru, SpinXO.com.

In conclusion

Selecting a name for a brand, store, the commercial project is a time-consuming process. However, there are many solutions and approaches that will allow you to hit the target with the name! Follow the recommendations of the methods and services to be satisfied with a stunning final result and high conversion rate from the first days of the campaign launch!