WHAT’S IN A name?

Liz Rochester Shaddock

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Award-winning website & brand designer, Liz Rochester Shaddock of Bit2Flash, reveals top tips for naming your business and treatments...

First steps

Before naming your business, work on your brand strategy. This includes fully understanding your business’ values, vision, and the demographic and preferences of your ideal clients. Your name should resonate with your target clientele, accurately represent your services and reflect your values. Conduct research on competitors, to avoid selecting a name that is similar or the same, as this could lead to legal issues and inadvertently direct potential clients to another business.

Increasing visibility

Incorporate keywords that people are searching for into your business name to increase Google visibility, and register your brand with Google My Business. This free service increases your visibility in local searches and on Google Maps.

If your name is unique, potential clients are more likely to find you when searching for your business online. Ideally, your name should be the same across all platforms, so check that the website domain name and social media handles are available. It’s vital to have a domain that matches your business name, as it can significantly boost your online visibility and credibility. If the social media handles are not available, I advise adding relevant keywords.

Business name don’ts

• Don’t choose a name that is difficult to spell, pronounce or remember. A straightforward, concise yet impactful name will help you to be discovered online more easily and encourage word of mouth referrals. Say your business name aloud and note how it makes you feel. If you’re hesitant to say it, you might struggle to promote your business.

• Avoid generic names, as these can give the impression that you are unoriginal. Embrace creativity to distinguish yourself from the competition.

• Don’t make the name too specific about the services you offer, in case you ever change the direction of your business. Also, ensure it holds potential value if you plan to sell the brand in future.

• Avoid trending names, as they can become outdated very quickly.

• If the name is an acronym, ensure it doesn’t have any unintended meanings.

Treatment names

Avoid technical jargon that might be confusing to clients. Treatment names should be simple, cohesive across your business and communicate each service’s purpose and benefits, without the need for specialist knowledge.

Go back to your brand strategy. If you’re a luxury salon, for example, your treatment names should reflect this. Consider the terms that would appeal to your ideal clients.

Find out about Liz’s services at www.bit2flash.co.uk

Trademarking a name

A name can be trademarked, providing protection as a way for a business, service or product to distinguish itself. Names shouldn’t be generic, offensive, misleading or similar to established names. Therefore, one of the best ways to ensure a trade mark application is successful is to coin a name.

An official trade mark allows you to take legal action against anyone who uses your brand without permission, put the registered trade mark symbol (®) next to the name, and sell and licence your brand. It must be renewed every 10 years to stay in force.

To register for a trade mark, an online or postal application must be sent to the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), and there is a cost of at least £170.

More information can be found at www.gov.uk

Suzi Weiss-Fischmann

CASE STUDY: OPI

On a LinkedIn post in 2019, Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI co-founder & brand ambassador, shared an insight into the naming process for OPI nail shades. “Names help form an emotional connection with our customer, offering a literal ‘message in a bottle’,” she commented. “Our names have also served as a great form of advertising. Customers not only remember the colours, but ask for them by name.

OPI GelColor in Suzi Takes a Sound Bath £19.90 + VAT www.opi.com

“Naming is such a fun and interactive process. Coming prepared and with props helps inspire us and keep our imaginations flowing. It takes a full day to name a collection, and the name for a single shade might happen very quickly, or might be deliberated, shelved and revisited. Many of OPI’s names are intentionally funny, designed to make people laugh, and others are imbued with personal meaning for their wearers – like Mimosas for Mr. and Mrs. worn at an engagement party, or It’s A Boy! and It’s A Girl! used to announce a pregnancy.”

Nick Mellor on the January 2005 cover of Scratch.

CASE STUDY: Scratch

“Scratch co-founder, Scott Derbyshire, tasked me with naming our new nail magazine in April 2003,” says Alex Fox, co-founder of Scratch & global director of Nailympia Competitions. “I had a list of 20 that ranged from The Nail Bible and Nail Encyclopedia to The French. I knew none of them were a fit for our style of trade magazine, with the tagline ‘Dare to Be Different’. Around this time, I found myself in a nightclub with a group of friends. As we were leaving, I asked my brother’s close friend, Nick Mellor, creative director of marketing & advertising agency, Honest Ideas, what he would call a nail magazine if he had one. He looked at me and said, ‘I’d call it Scratch’.”

Alex Fox

CASE STUDY: This is Gel

Becci Abbott, founder & director of This is Gel, decided to name her brand’s shades after video game titles, characters and settings, upon launching in October 2023. “In the saturated nail product market, it can be difficult to think of great colour names, let alone unique ones, so injecting my personality into This is Gel’s names made sense,” she says. “This will remain a theme throughout the brand’s ranges.

Becci Abbott

This is Gel Gel Nail Polish in Kassandra, named after the female protagonist in Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey. Available for £13 inc VAT via www.thisisgel.com

“The aim is always to ensure that the shade names are attractive and catchy, whether you understand the gaming reference or not, and for those who do, it feels like a hidden Easter egg buried in the brand.”

Ashleigh Alli

CASE STUDY: ASHE London

“Working in salons has meant that I’ve known the names of nail colours: from a practical point of view, it’s easier to ask someone to pass you a shade or remember what a client’s favourite hue is,” notes Ashleigh Alli, founder & CEO of ASHE London. “When it came to naming my brand’s colours, I wanted them to reflect ASHE London and what it stands for. ASHE means the power to create change, so naming our colours after people who have changed the world was a natural decision. For example, we have a colour named after community leader & activist, Olive Morris, and one named after the first Black British woman to win an Olympic gold medal, Tessa Sanderson. Customers love the names, as they give each colour its own personality.”

ASHE London Nail Polish in Tessa £15 inc VAT www.ashelondon.com

“Keep names simple, unique, memorable and consistent for brand recognition. If unsure, ask a diverse group of people, including your target clientele, for feedback.”