How to Choose the Right Name for Your Real Estate Business

Choosing a name for your new real estate business can feel like a daunting task. It can be easier if you have a path to follow and a little bit of knowledge about creating, advertising and marketing your brand.

Naming any business is one of the most important decisions you can make.

When building a new company, you want to consider all the angles, especially when it comes to the marketability of your product. This is especially true when it comes to real estate.

If you follow these simple tips and best practices, naming your new business should be much less stressful.

1. Brainstorming

Get out your pen and paper, or open up a fresh text editor document, take 15-30 minutes and start jotting down ideas.

This is an essential part of the process. Think of all the names that pop into your head. Even if they sound silly or don’t make complete sense. This exercise helps to get it all out, leave it all on the paper. You will need a good selection of ideas so you can narrow down your scope.

You might have a hidden gem lurking in your subconscious. Even if you think of other names after your brainstorming session, write them down and add them in. Sometimes it may take a while for you to come up with just the right idea.

2. Go Through the List

Ask yourself these three questions on each name you have come up with.

Is it positive?

Is it memorable?

Is it relevant?

Take notes on each of the names about how these questions apply. Cross the names that don’t have a positive answer off your list.

If any of the names on your list generate other ideas, such as graphic possibilities, make a rough sketch on the back of the card or in the file.

Take lots of notes and let your creative flag fly during this part of the process. There are no bad ideas at this point. You may even be able to combine two or more of the ideas into one great outcome.

3. Scope Out the Competition

I recommend taking your time with this step. You don’t want the name you choose to be the same as other real estate companies.

This is an opportunity for you to see what works and what doesn’t as well. Some names won’t make sense or may be unprofessional. You’ll want to steer clear of similar names that are on your list.

You want your uniqueness to stand out. This step is a good way to acquaint yourself with other companies as well. Check out their websites, their logos, and their slogans. See what resonates with you.

Remember, similar-sounding names can get easily confused. It has been found that 93% of all clients searching for a real estate company do so online.

Legal Zoom has a great free business name finder tool. You may also want to do a thorough check in your local yellow pages as well.

4. Develop your brand with visualization.

Merriam-Webster defines branding as “promoting a service by identifying it with a certain brand”.

Your name isn’t just a name. It is a brand you are creating.

Simply put your brand includes your name, logo, identity, colors, marketing, and strategy. It is a big part of the message you want future clients to see.

Think about marketing materials, a company slogan, your future website, and domain name.

Take your favorite name and run it through a slogan generator like the one you can find here: https://zyro.com/tools/slogan-generator.

See how the generated slogans sound, and consider if your real estate business name will be easily brandable.

Go through your list again and take notes on the ones that invoke creative thoughts and feelings. Keep in mind that most of today’s real estate companies do most of their business online too.

On your cards mark down the different ideas for the branding ideas for each. A brand should evoke one of the five senses as well. Think about your favorite brands.

• sight
• sound
• touch
• taste
• smell

All tie in when it comes to their individual branding models.

You need only one to create a connection with a customer.

Example:

Your clients are buyers that want to move out of the city. You handle mostly rural properties. Therefore, seeing lush green fields or trees can make an impression and chances are they will check out your site.

Another important aspect to consider when branding is the choice of colors.

Certain colors invoke different emotions, some good and some bad. Multi-color schemes will make your marketing stand out better as well.

Brand Marketing

There are many tools to aid you in creating a successful program for marketing your company. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter ads are a great way to market. Online marketing offers a wide variety of sites and tools that can help with marketing, once you have your name. To market and brand successfully, you are going to need to have an extensive online presence.

There are many offline methods still work as well too. Brochures, business cards with your logo and slogan, and mailers are a popular way to get your name out there, especially in local areas.

There is something to be said about printed marketing methods, it helps buyers have something to hold onto, pin to their refrigerator, or post on their bulletin board. This means they will see your name repeatably, ensuring that they will turn to your company.

5. Define Your Target Audience

Do you have a market audience or client in mind? Perhaps you sell luxury homes for high-end clients, or your specialty is first time home buyers. Whatever your niche, consider including it in your name.

Your name should resonate with the client/customer, so it is easier for them to remember.

Example:

“At Home Real Estate” may be appealing to first-time buyers.

“Johnson Luxury Home Sales” may resonate with an upper echelon clientele.

Rhyming can also create a memorable name. You just must be careful that it doesn’t come across as unprofessional or too cutesy.

Wordplay can also be used.

6. Make Sure Your Name Lasts

You don’t want to create a name that is based on a current event or is the latest fad. Your name must be able to stand the test of time.

Will your name still make sense 10-20 years down the road?

Make sure the domain name will be one you want to stick with. You can always go back and change designs, marketing materials, logos, and even slogans.

It is much more difficult to change your name after the company has already been established.

7. Think Local

When naming your company using local connections can work out well.

An example may be Lincoln Park Realty, after a local area of town or associated to an aspect of the local landscape.

Using “nature” related words is another great option, and the graphics can be easily adapted to fit the context of the name. You need to use some caution here, as well. You don’t want to come across as unprofessional. Try to stay with local names that come across in a positive way and have a connection with the community.

8. Gather Input from Others

After you have narrowed down your selections, ask family, friends, colleagues, and others for their opinions. Be open to their ideas and thoughts. It may help continue to take notes on the ones they like. Even inquire about the ones they dislike and why.

Be careful though, involving too many others may cause some confusion.

Don’t just share your potential name. Tell them about all your marketing and branding ideas as well. Even ask if they can suggest any color schemes, they think would make your ideas pop. You may be able to come up with something better than what you imagined. Accept constructive criticism with an open mind. It helps to have more than one person to bounce ideas off of.

Overall, look at this project as a great way to stretch the creative boundaries of your subconscious and conscious mind. It should be exciting and make you want to delve into the process deeper. Take it seriously as this is your future and the ongoing future of your company, it also doesn’t have to be done in one sitting, even one day, or longer. Think critical, pay close attention, and before you know it you will have a knockout name, slogan, website, and logo. Then the real work begins.

Conclusion

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will be your business. Take your time, pay close attention to your decisions and follow the best industry practices. You’ll be establishing and growing your business in no time.

The same goes for choosing an effective real estate business name. Be sure to think over your target audience, products, and what makes your brand unique and helps it stand out from the crowd. Be critical, and listen to constructive feedback. Before you know it, your business name will start to gain traction. Good luck.