Everybody attempting to build a great beauty brand must be aware that one error, especially one involving the brand name you select, has the power to reverse all your hard work drastically.
Every beauty brand’s identity is strongly influenced and shaped by its brand name. And that’s why if you want your brand to be successful in its industry, you have to take special care to ensure that its name accurately reflects the values of your business and the personality and core desire of your customers.
Thanks to tried and trusted naming processes like brainstorming with a team, using trusted business name generators, and crowdsourced naming competitions, finding a solid business name has never been quicker and simpler.
Yet, no matter which route leads you to the perfect name for your company, ensure you keep a watchful eye and avoid the following easy-looking blunders that could harm your brand’s reputation.
Brand Names That Can Be Easily Misunderstood
Businesses tend to draw more of their target customers when they share the same political, social, and environmental perspectives with them. It’s nothing new that the average person has strong views on these sensitive subjects and would be more willing to patronize a business that aligns with their views.
And while other edgy brands might view it as a publicity stunt, if your beauty business chooses to address any of these issues, even if it’s through your company’s advertisements or messaging like Gillette, you’ll end up excluding a sizable portion of your audience because people who disagree with the view you promote would be less likely to purchase your goods or services.
Additionally, adopting names like ‘Spank Me Santa Lipstick’ or ‘Druggie’ will provoke severe customer dissatisfaction with your brand.
Overly Complicated Beauty Brand Names
We advise companies to steer clear of names that are difficult for customers to pronounce or words that’d be difficult to search online, such as ‘WeAretheSuperlativeConspiracy,’ ‘Aeropostale,’ ‘Troglodyte Humoncolus,’ and ‘Euymhod.’
If you don’t craft captivating cosmetics brand name ideas that are short and memorable, a significant portion of your customers will struggle to remember your beauty brand’s name, much less promote it to their family and friends. If you must use a lengthy brand name, consider making it an acronym like H&M and EOS.
Since 80% of customers tend to forget about branded items after three days, using short, distinctive, and memorable names should be your first consideration when naming your brand.
Your brand name must be distinctive, sound great, and be easy to say if you want it to get stuck in your customer’s minds. Short names are much more effective at grabbing customers’ attention than lengthy, complex ones.
Offensive Foreign Translations
Giving your company a strong online presence has the advantage of allowing clients worldwide to communicate with you. But having a global identity also has its difficulties. Choosing a brand name that conveys a weird meaning in a foreign language is one of them.
One thing that can make potential customers unwilling to use your products or services is if your beauty brand’s name is insulting in their native language. A perfect illustration is that the names of two widely known goods—Mazda’s Laputa and Nokia’s Lumia—meant ‘prostitute’ in Spanish, causing Spanish-speaking consumers to reject these products.
We often caution business owners against focusing their linguistic investigation on a single language when naming their business or products. So make sure you do a thorough study before choosing a brand name. By doing this, you can ensure that your chosen name will be well-liked by your international clientele.
Therefore, whether you’re in charge of a California-based local company or a global corporation, give your brand a comprehensive language test to determine how people from different cultures perceive and interact with your brand name.
Put Your Audience First
Even though it may sound cliché at this point, most business owners forget that their company exists to serve their clients. Do all in your power to prioritize your client’s needs and wants.
Most beauty businesses fail because their founders neglected to focus on the central needs of their firm and its customers, instead focusing on just the money. This often causes customers to lose interest in such brands. No one wants to do business with a company they believe is unconcerned about providing innovative solutions to their problems.
The greatest method to show clients that you care is to choose a name that has been thoroughly analyzed, has nice meanings in many languages, and isn’t difficult to say. Selecting an excellent name will spare you from having to rename your company after a few years.
Grant Polachek is the head of branding for Squadhelp.com, 3X Inc 5000 startup and disruptive naming agency. Squadhelp has reviewed more than 1 million names and curated a collection of the best available names on the web today. We are also the world’s leading crowdsource naming platform, supporting clients from early-stage startups to Fortune 500 companies.
