Naming the shop

[Laura]

I have been working on opening a coffee shop in a suburb of Chicago for several months. I am in the process of securing the storefront, but I need a name so that I can proceed. Since I'm known by the high school kids in the neighborhood as Ma Giese, some have suggested I call it Ma Giese's coffee shop, or some variation. I am hesitant to use that and want to know if anyone has an outstanding name for a shop they aren't using. My main target is young business professionals during the day, and high school and jr. college kids for the after hours crowd. We will be open until midnight because right now there isn't anything else open but bars.

Some names that we've considered are Late Night Espresso, That Coffee Shop, and Ma Giese's Java Jamboree, (my son's contribution). What do all of you think?

 

[tronno]

There's a few good names that I have, but I'm in the process of trademarking one of them and have trademarked another. In the end, it's going to have to be your decision.

Here's a few tips:

Go to http://www.whois.net and see if the name you are thinking is a registered domain name.

Then go to http://www.uspto.gov and under the Trademark Search, check to see if that is registered too.

You'll want to make sure it's not in use either on http://www.google.com or http://www.a9.com.

You'll want a very unique name. 40% of restaurant goers have visited a web site or emailed a restaurant to get more information. That is why you want a web address just for yourself.

But to answer your question, no I don't have any good names to give you at the moment.

 

[Chelle]

The name of your business is your "brand" It is one of your single biggest and most powerful marketing tools. It should be chosen very carefully. There is a great book by Jeffery Fox called How to Become a Marketing Superstar, which is only about 170 pages and short easy chapters. There is a whole chapter, 2-3 pages, dedicated to the rules of naming the brand. One biggie, "Is it pronouncable?", another states that the most important criterion is the "positioning" of the brand, i.e. knowing your customer's perception of competitive substitutes. Anyway, I would highly recommend it. Good Luck!