How to Name Your Real Estate Company

The pandemic is reshaping the housing market dramatically.

Like many businesses across verticals, it’s causing the real estate industry to shift and evolve to embrace our new normal.

While buyers proceed with caution, pockets of the housing market like suburbs and exurbs have grown exponentially. And as we’ve experienced in recessions past, we know that the housing market will recover.

While the idea of market uncertainty is concerning, there is also opportunity. From Groupon to WhatsApp, many brave entrepreneurs not only started their business in the recession but thrived. With vision and ability to respond to the needs of home buyers, it’s possible to launch a successful real estate company, even now.

As with any business, one crucial element to starting is deriving a fitting name that encompasses what you do and who you are.

A strong name performs up to 33 percent better on the stock market than weaker names

The name you create for your real estate business is your first impression on potential home buyers or sellers.

Landing a name that distinguishes you from competitors is imperative. A decision that will cost you. Studies have illustrated that a strong name performs up to 33 percent better on the stock market than weaker names. This is a significant advantage that cannot be ignored in an industry that operates in ebbs and flows.

Here is the proven process of creating a name for your real estate company that will leave a lasting impression.

Determine your identity

The first step in the process is to identify your brand.

Real estate companies can run the gamut in tone and vision. Coldwell Banker exudes tradition whereas The Agency based in Los Angeles emanates edginess. You can start by working off your original business plan and define what your company stands for.

Next, you’ll decide how you want that reflected in your marketing materials, collateral, imagery, and design. Historically, real estate companies spend a lot on advertising, so it’s important to lock down your tone and look for consistency and brand recognition.

Brainstorm

The next step in the process is to review and understand naming constructs.

Most brands and companies, despite the industry, fit into one of five styles: classic, clever, pragmatic, emotional, or modern. The naming style needs to reflect your brand’s tone and values. It should also appeal to your home buyer or seller.

Using what you cultivated after determining your real estate company’s identity, you should begin brainstorming names. You can utilize online tools such as a brand name generator to spark the conceptualizing. Squadhelp’s generator is powerful in that it analyzes the accessibility, depth, and functionality of each name idea.

Dive deeper

Successful real estate brands constantly evolve and so should your brand and name.

Creative names are what buyers and sellers respond to. It’s what will set you apart from the bland and boring. Your brand’s name should try to evoke genuine emotion.

While big-box real estate companies used to dominate the market, boutique businesses are finding more and more success.

As a new agency, you can be extra creative and innovative than older, stagnant competitors in the industry. The majority of their names and brands revolve around founder and family names. But as demonstrated with The Agency, you can dive deeper and be both imaginative and modern.

Get feedback

The IKEA effect is real, even if what we’re building is our own brand.

We have a cognitive bias in which we place a disproportionately high value on things we create. It’s easy to fall for a name relying heavily on personal preference. But that’s why audience testing is so important. Through proper audience testing, you can gauge whether your favorite name resonates with your key demographic or if there’s another name that better hits the mark.

Real estate companies, especially, must understand the buyer’s anxiety to purchase in this current economy. Businesses must be mindful of their messaging and naming of products and services. Buyers are seeking peace, not more uneasiness.

Review functionality

Before finalizing a name, you want to be sure that you’ve run through a final functionality checklist.

Does your name pass the “crowded bar test”?

There are three main parts of functionality to review when naming your real estate company:

Read to Speak – Can buyers or sellers easily say the name aloud after reading it? Do they pronounce the name correctly?

Hear to Spell – Can someone easily spell your name after hearing it? Would they be able to Google search it after hearing it once or look your business up on social media?

Speak to Hear – Does your name pass the “crowded bar test”? Meaning, would somebody be able to clearly understand your brand name even if it was spoken in a crowded bar? Would whoever heard it be able to repeat the name back in the same situation?

A highly functional name are ones that are easily remembered and often referred to in conversations.

In conclusion

The global pandemic has been the catalyst for many budding entrepreneurs to pivot careers and launch their dream business.

Real estate businesses that are nimble, original, and cutting-edge will thrive. When we make it to the other side, your company may look different than when it started. But trust that you will make it to the other side. From previous recessions, we know that crises can spur abundance and growth.