The Name Game: How to come up with a name for your spa
The name of your business is how clients perceive you before they ever walk through the door. It should evoke a vibe, a feeling, an idea of what your clients should expect from your services. At the same time, it should be something that you can market – meaning it should be unique, memorable, and, hopefully, easy to spell.
There area a ton of articles on how to come up with a business name out there. Everything from suggestions of “mash-up” names – a trend that we see a lot in the tech/app world (Groupon = Group + Coupon), to using your kid’s or grandmother’s name or birthplace. Of course, many businesses are named after their founders (Boeing, Bayer, McDonald’s), which many salon and spa owners fall into. The problem with this is that unless you have a unique name, or are well known in your industry, chances are your name is going to be hard to monetize from a marketing perspective. An exception here is if you have a truly unique and memorable name. Karen Smith’s Hair Studio – NO. Princess Consuela Bananahammock’s Hair Studio- YES!
Here is a quick exercise to get you inspired to come up with the perfect name for your beauty biz!
Make a list of all of the words you can think of that mean “beautiful” or “pretty” or “luxurious”. Get that thesaurus out and make a long list. Get Google translator up and find the equivalent in all of your favorite languages. Bella! Bell! Beaute! Lux! Oh they sound so fancy, don’t they?! Ok – now cross all those words off your list. They are overused. Every city in the US has a “Lux Spa” or a “Bella Hair”. The same goes for puns related to your offerings. Nailed It – ha ha – so clever….(not) same with Shear Beauty (get it? Scissors!...lame) or anything with renew, refresh, and bliss.
Now – let’s get to business. Go back to your business plan (you have one, right?) and read through it. What words stand out to you? Is there a theme in your plan? Are you bold and daring? Are you focused on a green, eco-friendly vibe? Is it a fun, social atmosphere where guests come with friends to unwind and chat and laugh? or a whisper-in-the-hallway with gongs and flutes playing kind of place? Who is your demographic? Are they young hipsters, stay at home moms with money, professionals with busy schedules who want speedy services?
Now think of your aesthetic. What does your décor look like? Do you want an ultra feminine logo with flowers and swirls or an apothecary type design with black letters and serif type? What is your décor? Do you have a boutique feel or a nightclub feel? Even if you are in a solo suite, think about the atmosphere and what resonates with you and how you want to present yourself.
Now set a timer for 10 minutes and make another list of all of those words (mostly adjectives and adverbs) that describe these things. Dainty. Peaceful. Girly. Bo-ho. Shabby Chic. Upbeat. Bright. Familiar. Shiny. Wood. Natural. Classic. Fast. Quick. Professional. Homey. Cozy. Upscale. Friendly. Go for it- come up with a list of at least 50 words. Nothing is off limits – this should be a free flowing mind dump.
Now that you’ve got a decent list of descriptive words, you are going to start another list. This one is going to be things that evoke the senses, people, and feeling you’ve already come up with. This is where you want to get creative. Try to come up with nouns, but some verbs and adjectives are okay. Your eco-friendly, spa full of wood tones and natural elements? I think of: Garden, Nature, Birch, Sage (or perhaps another tree or plant from your area). The quiet, feminine spa: Hush, Whisper. Cottage. The downtown hipster spot: Trend, Edge, Urban. Set your timer for 15 minutes this time and go for it. Again, nothing is out of bounds. Even think of cities, objects or nature that inspires you. River, Moon, Melbourne – if it means something to you, you can likely incorporate it.
Now the fun part. You’ve got adjectives and you’ve got nouns. From here, start mixing and matching until you find something you love, or even just settle on one word. You might just be inspired by a concept from this list and then want to go through the process again with more focus. Some words won’t work at all – but perhaps you like the feeling or thought it evokes– so pull up that thesaurus online and see what words might evoke this concept but sound better.
Final tip. Once you’ve decided on a name, remember that it is important to incorporate what you do. If you just name your spa “Whisper”, for instance, people might drive by and wonder what the heck that means. “Whisper Day Spa” is going to tell them who you are and what you do. This will also help immensely with your SEO as you are building your website and social media presence!
Good luck!
Let us know in the comments if this helped you at all!