Naming Your Interior Design Business
Don't Let Business Name Confuse Clients
When people go through my course, The Golden Blueprint, they often realize that they need a little rebranding so that the look of their business matches the services they are providing. And in that process many designers get really hung up on naming their businesses.
After talking to hundreds of designers, there is something that I feel I need to share on this topic. Don't name your business something basic. We all know the words that are overused in interior design business names. Don't use those.
And when words are overused clients can get confused and confused clients don't make purchases. Think twice before using these words, not because they aren't great, but because we've reached capacity of their use.
Search Your Business Name
When choosing an interior design business name, do a web search for the name you want to use, if you can find anyone (in any industry) who uses this name or a name that is close - pick something else. Before, it didn't much matter if a soap company in Denmark had the same name - let's give this fictional company the name Soapy Home, because people used phone books. But now they use the internet, which means that if a potential client goes online and searches Soapy Home, they'll see the established other business and think it's yours, click on it, realize that it's not you or think maybe you sell soap too. They won't find your business page because it's buried on page 3 of the search results.
This is not good for business.
When you search your business name, it should be on the first page of Google search results, if not the top listing.
Any variations on this name are not ideal options either, so Home Soapy, Soap Home, Soaps Home, Home Soaps are all close enough that if you wanted to name your business Soapy Home you shouldn't.
Watch out for those overused and common words as well. For example, Simple Interiors - this is a proper noun, but imagine how many people are simply searching for "simple interiors" online. Your business page could get buried under the articles, blog posts, other interior designer's websites that mention "simple interiors".
How to Name Your Interior Design Business
You need to strike the balance between being original but also keeping it simple. You don't want to be too clever so that clients can't remember your business name or find you online and you also don't want to be too simple that there are hundreds of businesses that have the same word in their name.
Here are some pointers:
- Avoid common/basic words.
- Avoid overused design words.
- Search for your desired business name online to make sure no one else is using it or anything similar.
- Walk the line between simplicity & originality.
- Your business name should be easy for someone you just met to remember.
- Your business name should be easy to find in a simple web search.
- Avoid unusual spellings.
