Help With Creating a Business Name

[Megacannon]

First off, I'm sorry if this is in the wrong forum. I couldn't quite figure out where it would be appropriate to post this.

I'm having trouble coming up with a really good business name. I want it to convey the ideas of honesty and quality as well as technical knowledge. For an example of what I don't want, I tell you this brief anecdote...

I previously worked at a company doing remote tech support, but I highly disagreed with some of their business practices. Mostly, it was their sales people who lost them more customers than the techs ever could have by lying to them about the different pricing plans and neglecting a few other details. I had many customers call in complaining about a charge on their card they didn't ask for, only for them to just *then* find out that they now have subscribed to our services. I also don't plan on doing "fast food repair" where you try to subscribe as many customer's as possible and queue up an hour-long phone queue before you ever get to a technician.

With that in mind, here are several of the names I've thought of that I rather like. They all end in "Computer Services", but I didn't include it down below to avoid clutter (e. g. Sagetech Computer Services).

Sagetech
White Knight (several companies have this name, unfortunately)
EverPro
Knightech

Here's what I think of each name...

• I like "Sagetech" because it conveys an idea of expert, technical knowledge (even if I'm not quite there yet). there's one company I've found with this name (Sagetech Corp.), but they're in an entirely different industry than computer services).
• EverPro: Looks good, but sounds so incredibly generic that I think most customers would instantly forget it. Otherwise, I like it because it's got the idea of professionalism in it.
• White Knight: I like this one the most because it really says all that I want it to. Unfortunately, there are a couple companies that have the full name "White Knight Computer Services". I'd rather not risk any legal battles, however.
• Knightech: Keeps some of the awesomeness of the "White Knight" name, but avoids most of the trademark issues. Unfortunately, in normal conversation you can't hear the "k" sound and I don't want people getting confused thinking we only operate in the evenings or something. Otherwise, I really like this name.

With that in mind, would anyone here be willing to help me brainstorm some ideas for a business name? I've been asking my friends to help come up with ideas, but they're not very good at it.

 

[cypress]

If I was to choose from the list you provided I would go with Sagetech.

 

[carrcomp]

I agree with SageTech

 

[callthatgirl]

I'd stay away from Sage because of ACT and unless you're really good at specialty ACT/SAGE, you might get calls and not just locally lol.

There are not many Sage/ACT techs out there.


Consider this, who are you marketing to? Home/Res? Young/old/middle America? What will appeal to your audience best? WhiteKnight? Probably not. Not to men anyway. Men don't need to be saved, women won't dig it. Sage, we discussed above, and the KnightTech might be better, are you planning on having your logo be a Knight with a laptop in his hands?

I don't get "EverPro"....meaning?

If you're into Knights and what not because of gaming, it's not a good idea to brand with that, it's not everyone's cup of tea and the average person will relate you to a nerdy gamer probably.

Sometimes it's just as easy to do your name too to get started, "Andy's computer repair and services" get your name out there and be self branded. or be "Awesome Andy" or something more blingy. Since I don't know where you live or are...hard to come up with location based names.

 

[tom11011]

Whatever you decide, don't choose a name that will lock you into anything when it comes time to expand. Instead of computer services, how about technology services or technology group.

 

[wavey]

And, of course, Google the name before you make a final decision.

 

[Megacannon]

I'd stay away from Sage because of ACT and unless you're really good at specialty ACT/SAGE, you might get calls and not just locally lol.

Ah, dangit. I never would've thought of that. That's a shame too because I really liked that name.

I don't get "EverPro"....meaning?

"Ever" meaning "constant" or "always" (e. g. everlasting) and "pro" from "professional". The idea being that I will provide consistently professional service.

If you're into Knights and what not because of gaming, it's not a good idea to brand with that, it's not everyone's cup of tea and the average person will relate you to a nerdy gamer probably.

It's not because of gaming, but because it portrays a level of confidence and skill. You don't become a knight if you're useless. I don't think of gaming when I hear about knights, but, you're right, other people probably do and I wouldn't want that to chase them away.

Sometimes it's just as easy to do your name too to get started, "Andy's computer repair and services" get your name out there and be self branded. or be "Awesome Andy" or something more blingy. Since I don't know where you live or are...hard to come up with location based names.

Thanks. That's not a bad idea. I tend to respect businesses that have the audacity to put their name right next to their service. I'd eventually want to change the business name. Would that create problems with having outdated business cards and URLs out in the wild?

I'm not feeling the location-based names though. It's good for SEO to have your location in your name (a friend of mine named his business "Flint IT Guys". They where number one on Google when searching for tech help in Flint), but it's rather limiting and uncreative. "Southfield PC Repair" sounds like a name I'd forget it two seconds among the muddle of everyday life. Furthermore, Southfield is just one part of the Metro Detroit area. I'd hate for someone in Novi or Troy to see "Southfield" and think I wouldn't fix their computer. Thanks to remote support, I can serve a much larger area. Admittedly, "Metro Detroit Computer Services" covers more than enough territory for now. I just don't want to be geographically locked into my business name.

 

[mraikes]

....snipped.... I'd eventually want to change the business name. Would that create problems with having outdated business cards and URLs out in the wild?

I'm not feeling the location-based names though. ..snipped again... They where number one on Google when searching for tech help in Flint), but it's rather limiting and uncreative. ...last snip . . . .

If your business is unsuccessful, it's no problem at all to change names. If it's successful, it can be a pain in the rear and may cost you customers during the transition to the new name. Best idea is to take your time (within reason) and choose a good name right from the start.

And don't try so hard to be imaginative and creative that you reject solid business-building names. There's reason blunt, to the point names tend to be successful. Don't make potential customers guess what you do.

You may have big plans and feel location based names are too limiting, but your first goal should be to get customers & dollars rolling in the door. Tapping directly into your immediate local market is a good place to start doing that.

IF you grow into other geo areas or remote support, make name decisions on the new businesses when you get to that bridge.

 

[Megacannon]

Wow. Big thanks for all of the help. I really appreciate it.

The market I'm targeting to start out is residential customers in my local area. The county I live in has the highest per capita income in the state of Michigan by a noticeable margin. There are also more people in Southfield who have jobs in computers and math than 95% of the US. This could either be very good or very bad for business.

Here are a couple other names I've come up with thanks to some more brainstorming over a thesaurus.

TrueTech Computer Services: I really like this one and I can't find a company with this name. It implies the idea of honesty which is a big thing for me and it's not terribly hard to spell. Unfortunately, the domain TrueTech.com is going for $50k on GoDaddy . However, TrueTechCS.com is very much available.

CompAce Tech Services: I like the name "CompAce", but can't particularly think of a good qualifier for it. It also doesn't sound very good in everyday speech ("Is it 'Comp Ace' or 'Com Pace'?"). The only companies that have "CompAce" in their name seem to hail from the Middle East, so it might be free of trademark issues.

At this point in time I'm leaning towards TrueTech because it's pretty straightforward and I need to settle on something soon.

So, any other ideas, guys/girls? I want the name to place an emphasis on quality of service and honesty, so if you can think of some names than portray those ideas, I'm all ears.

 

[tom11011]

I like truetech.

 

[mraikes]

Being OK with tacking "CS" on the end opens up lots of possibilities.

In general, I kind of like "TrueTech Computer Services" and TrueTechCS.com is available.

"True" hints not only of honesty - but that you are a "true" tech rather than a pizza tech.

The real downside is that there are quite a few similar, even identical, names out there.

 

[Megacannon]

The real downside is that there are quite a few similar, even identical, names out there.

Yeah, it doesn't exactly stand out in a crowd. But, then again, having NO name stands out even less.

 

[Megacannon]

Again, thanks for the help, everyone. I've ultimately decided to stick with TrueTech Computer Services and just bought the TrueTechCS.com domain. Working on hosting and a website next.