How to Name Your Security Business
Welcome, I’m James, a specialist here at BrandNewName, ready to guide you through the vital process of choosing a name for your new security business. To help illustrate, I’ll use a fictional security business of my own and walk you through each step along the way.
Our first step is to write a Mission Statement for our new security business. Don’t be overwhelmed by this simple but vital step. There’s no form to fill out or an essay of not less than a thousand words to write. Your mission statement is simply a one or two-sentence explanation of what exactly your security business is all about.
My Mission Statement:
A home security system that can work alone but is capable of integration with other neighborhood home security systems to alert of potential threats. This is, in effect, a “neighborhood watch” system.
Preparation
Write a Brand Brief
A brand brief may sound like intimidating work, but again, taken step-by-step it is a simple but brilliant tool for focusing your mind, energy, and finances. What is your security business all about? What’s different about your security business? What does your business offer today? How do you envision your business changing and growing in the years to come? Taking the time to answer these simple questions will put you way ahead of the pack.
It’s a good idea to write down these questions, as well as the answers you give. Keep it close as a guide to refocusing your business goals from time to time.
What is my product?(What product or service are you offering?)
My answer: Home Security Systems that can work alone, or be integrated with neighborhood security systems.
Who is going to buy your product?(Who is your customer? Who will your product appeal to?)
My answer: Clients who want personal home security systems with the added protection of notifying neighbors of current security breaches as they occur.
How do you expect your brand to affect your clients? (How will your customer feel while using my product?)
My answer: Safe, Secure, Current.
What Does Your Business Aspire to Become? (Don’t hold back - where do you want to be 5/10/20 years down the road? Visualize!)
My answer: An expanded security system interacting on a large scale without sacrificing personal security.
Value Added: (Why you instead of the competition? What’s your edge?)
My answer: Offering an integrated security system with neighboring residences/businesses.
Descriptive Focus: (How will clients describe your business?)
My answer: Cutting edge, Integrated, Protective.
There you go - you have a brand brief to help guide and direct you as you pick the perfect name for your security business.
Interested in Personalized Name Ideas for Your Brand Brief?
Competitive Brand Names in Your Industry
In the 21st century, security is key to almost everything. While the computer age has seen miracles in education, communication, medicine, art, and more, it has also required an exponentially growing security industry to counteract hacking, theft, etc. The security industry today includes bodyguards, swat teams, airport screening, residential and business systems, cybersecurity - the list is endless.
Let’s take a look at some general competitors in various security businesses, and how they chose their names. It’s a smart idea to take a closer look at businesses in your particular security arena as well. How did they pick their name, and how has it served them?
RING
Ring, a smart home security system, started life as Doorbot in 2013. Rebranded as Ring in 2017, it was purchased by Amazon in 2019 for 1.5 billion dollars. Their experiential name “Ring” evokes both the experience of using their product (the product is activated when someone rings the doorbell), and the immediacy and protection that is their value proposition.
LEXISNEXIS RISK SOLUTIONS
Considered one of the top three cyber security firms in the world, LexisNexis began its life as a legal (Lexis) and news (Nexis) database service. The name was from the Latin “lex” meaning law, and the “is” from Information Services. Today LexisNexis is an industry leader in risk management the world over.
CROWDSTRIKE
CrowdStrike is a cybersecurity innovator focusing on cloud workload and endpoint security, threat intelligence, and cyber-attack response services. Because CrowdStrike operates from the cloud, it is able to protect against threats before they reach the endpoint, and across their “crowd” of clients, both corporate and governmental - ergo, “CrowdStrike.” This approach has been wildly successful, and CrowdStrike has been called in to assist in many major corporate and federal security and data breaches.
HACKTHEBOX
With “A Massive Hacking Playground” as its tagline, Hack the Box approaches its mission statement with a playful, tongue-in-cheek pride. It is a training platform for security professionals to experiment and exchange information across networks. Hack the Box’s name summarizes its teaching and intent.
THREATQUOTIENT
ThreatQuotient's mission is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of security operations through a threat-centric platform. Their name and logo are a descriptive reference to their mission statement. Interestingly, ThreatQuotient introduced its rhino logo well before it became an official partner of the conservation charity Helping Rhinos in 2019.
Find Your Brainstorming Group
It’s time to assemble your brainstorming group. What you are aiming for here is diversity of experience, creativity, and expertise. Variety is essential. If everyone in your brainstorming group shares essentially the same background and knowledge, what’s the point of having a group?
Look around you. Take a run through business and personal contacts. Chances are good you have an excellent group to help you brainstorm your security business name.
Need More Perspectives?
Just a note here. Sometimes, despite your best efforts, the magic doesn’t come, and you feel like you’re back at the starting line.
Naming contests are a new tool to help you in your search for the perfect security brand name. It’s like having a giant group of brainstormers working for you.
Want to Know More?
Brainstorming
Congratulations! You made it through the preliminaries and it’s time to pull up a chair and get started with the actual naming process.
Of course, you can choose to have a bit of a fireworks session, with everyone exploding their ideas and suggestions while someone tries desperately to get them all down, but we’ve come up with a few guidelines that might streamline the process, and make the end results more productive.
Control the Creative Chaos - Control can actually make the process more freeing and productive. It allows the brain to expand and allows the different voices you have gathered together to spark greater creativity in each other.
Stylistic variety - You’ll want to experiment with different name styles and tones so that you get a wide variety of options to choose from later.
Note: For my security business, I’ve come up with 3 name ideas for each type, but of course you are free to come up with more for your own list . If you have four for one style and can’t move past one for another, just try to stay balanced, with a nice variety.
Descriptive Names
Just what it says - descriptive names describe your product or service.
My descriptive name ideas:
- SyncSecure
- CommunityNetwork
- NeighborhoodAlert
Invented Names
Google, Vrbo, and Etsy are invented names. They can’t be found in any dictionary, but they are certainly a part of our current lexicon. Invented names are totally made up. The key is to make them catchy and short.
My invented name ideas:
- Securify
- Alering
- Omguard
Evocative Names
Emotion, color, memory - evocative names rely on their name to take you out of yourself and make you feel what the product offers. Some examples are Red Bull and Honey.
My evocative name ideas:
- HomeScout
- BlueGate
- DefenseGiant
Expression-Based Names
Expression names are based on common expressions in culture and language. These names work because they feel instantly familiar to people and are easy to remember.
My expression-based name ideas:
- SafetyNet
- StrengthInNumbers
- BetweentheBlinds
Put All Your Name Ideas in One List
All the name ideas I came up with during the brainstorming stage:
- SyncSecure
- CommunityNetwork
- NeighborhoodAlert
- Securify
- Alering
- Omguard
- HomeScout
- BlueGate
- DefenseGiant
- SafetyNet
- StrengthInNumbers
- BetweentheBlinds
THE CUTTING BOARD
You now have a decent list to start the pruning process. We’ve again prepared a series of steps to take you to the perfect name for your security business.
Cut the Weakest Links
My guess is that when you made a list of all your name ideas, a few were obviously stinkers. They are your weakest links, so let’s toss them now.
I feel that these names are my weakest links:
- Omguard - It’s awkward and tough to remember.
- BetweentheBlinds - Sounds less friendly and more creepy neighbor.
- DefenseGiant - A bit overblown.
Check Against Best Practices
Now let’s narrow down our list by using best practices to disqualify names that don’t meet our standards. Here are some questions you can ask yourself during this process:
- Is the name simple and easy to remember?
- Is the name easy to comprehend, pronounce, and spell?
- Is there differentiation from your competitors?
- Does the name mean something or convey a relevant vibe?
- Is the name flexible enough to grow with my business?
Name ideas I am cutting:
- NeighborhoodAlert - It might sound a bit too much like Neighborhood Watch.
- Alering - Not sure starting with “Ale” isn’t confusing.
Go Back to Your Brief
You have in front of you a list with some great name ideas. Are they, however, great names for your business? This is when your brand brief becomes your best friend. Go back and check each of these names against your brand brief.
- What matches your dreams and aspirations?
- Which name complements your current product or service without cramping growth in your security business?
- Does the name feel right to you? Seem silly? Not at all. The “feels” are connected to our instincts. Just because we can’t quite explain it, doesn’t mean it isn’t valid.
Names that aren’t a good fit for my brand:
- CommunityNetwork - It just doesn’t feel right.
Make a Shortlist:
You’ve cut your names down, and you finally have a shortlist. All of the names left on this list should have real potential.
Here is my shortlist:
- SyncSecure
- Securify
- HomeScout
- BlueGate
- SafetyNet
Check if It’s Available
Before you make your final choice, find out if the matching .com domain of your business name is available. Check every name on your shortlist. Why the .com domain? It’s the most recognizable and most authoritative domain.
Using a domain name registrar like Godaddy is a quick and easy way of checking name availability. Just type your name into the search box, and they will tell you if the matching .com is available.
These two names weren’t available to register in my chosen TLDs (Top Level Domains):
- Securify
- HomeScout
Now I have three finalists to choose from.
- SyncSecure
- BlueGate
- SafetyNet
Get Feedback
It might be a good idea to get more feedback at this point, and it doesn’t have to be from the same brainstorming group. Sometimes, someone totally separate from the process can see something glaring everyone in the gritty process missed.
Because of my feedback, I’m removing SafetyNet from my list. Why? Three people thought it sounded like a government or school project.
Make Your Final Choice:
There are only two names left on my final list:
SyncSecure
BlueGate
You now have to choose between two or three finalists that you love. Follow your instincts and pick the one that you know is right for you. From my names, both of which I really, really liked, I settled on the one I felt encompassed more of my future plans for my security business.
My final choice is BlueGate!
Wait! I don’t love any of my names!
Don’t panic, it’s a process. It’s not unusual to need more input, more ideas, and more time to find the exact name that works for your business.
Round Two
You are not going in circles because you now have a list of security name ideas to use as a jumping-off point. The next brainstorming session will start far ahead of where this one left off because you have learned so much more about what you want and need in a security brand name.
Sometimes you have a dozen names that you like well enough, but none that you love. Or maybe your problem is in the other direction, and you love more than one! Either of these issues can be best addressed by following the same steps you’ve read about here. Eventually, the process will lead to a perfect result.
Start a Naming Contest
No time to follow the process? There’s another option. A Naming Contest will generate personalized, custom-made names that fit your requirements.