The choice of name for a salon-type establishment is very important stage business formation. It is the name of the beauty salon that will become its calling card. How to choose a name for your beauty salon?
For last decades The number of salons across the country is growing exponentially. These fashionable establishments can be found both on the main street of the city and in quiet residential area. If in the already distant Soviet Union one could quite often see the standard sign “Hairdressing salon No...”, then in our dynamic times such a simple name is more likely to scare off visitors. How to choose the right name for your business?
When choosing a name for a beauty salon, you should adhere to certain rules. These include:
- Adequacy - the name should emphasize the specialization of the company and evoke appropriate associations. When choosing a name, you should choose words related to the beauty industry. You should not use overly pretentious expressions.
- The name should not be described by outdated words that have fallen out of circulation.
- The name will be quite successful if it is easy to read. A large number of hissing and whistling sounds should be avoided.
- Banality should be avoided when choosing. Standard names do not evoke advertising associations, and also do not contribute to quick memorization.
Choosing a name for the salon
Where can you get ideas for a name for a beauty salon? There are many options. You can take the name of a literary or historical hero.
The names of mythological characters are perfect. But it should be borne in mind that such a name for a beauty salon will be appropriate if the chosen word is popular, easily recognized and associated with any event. You can choose female name. But when choosing this option, you should give preference to well-promoted brand names. 
A good option when choosing a name would be to use foreign word. But here you should study dictionaries in advance.
The choice is simple beautiful word for the name of an enterprise is a rather frivolous act. The name may sound very attractive, but as an advertisement for the establishment it is completely uninformative.
Choosing a slogan
What is a slogan? In short, this is the motto of the establishment. What should be the slogan for a beauty salon? Why is it necessary for successful business?
The slogan is intended to create positive attitude to the salon itself and the services offered. Later, the slogan, as a rule, on a subconscious level begins to be associated with the name of the enterprise.
When drawing up a professional motto, certain rules should be followed:
- the slogan should be short, ideally no more than 8 words;
- carry a positive meaning;
- should not contain negative particles;
- should be easy to remember.
Ideas may vary. It’s just a great option when the slogan contains the name of the salon itself. This helps to better remember the place.
Salon advertising
Internal advertising for your beauty salon is an important part of establishing a successful business. First of all, you should think about the design business card establishments. Ideas may be completely different, but the only thing to remember is that only the business owner can have a personal business card.
Good advertising - colorful booklets. Ideas for formats may vary. These information and advertising materials can be brief or contain detailed information, be informational in nature, or simply image-based. Ideas of producing leaflets as promotional materials are also not bad. Leaflets are quite comparable to mini-booklets. They are produced in large quantities and most often serve as advertising for new products offered.
You should not refuse to create a catalog of services and products provided. This is excellent internal advertising for the establishment. The proposed ideas for designing catalogs are quite varied. Catalogs can be developed taking into account “home” use, or exclusively professional use. Clients will need it if they decide to check out additional services establishments. You can use various photographs that demonstrate the process of the procedure.
Marketing specialists are firmly convinced that a good hairdressing establishment must not only comply with sanitary standards, provide a wide range of services and highly qualified hairdressers, but also have beautiful name. After all, a stylish and memorable name is the first thing that greets the client upon entering.
The name of beauty salons and hairdressing salons gives an idea of the clients, the values of the company, and the imagination of the owners. Also, a competent nomination will help to avoid repeated nomination when, in everyday life, instead of official name a shorter and more convenient one is used.
The name of the beauty salon is chosen not by the owner, but by the audience
Before you come up with an original name for a hairdressing salon or salon, keep in mind that first of all you need to determine your target audience. This is what you need to focus on when choosing a name for your business. How? Formulate for yourself two adjectives that will characterize the ideal salon for your chosen audience. For example, “elite and expensive” or “modern and affordable”. Check everything in practice: ask 5-7 people belonging to the target audience of the future salon about which salons they go to, what an ideal beauty salon looks like to them, what plays a role in choosing a salon, ask them to describe their trip to the salon. Your task is to get maximum quantity information from live communication and, having highlighted what a person focuses on in his story, formulate the main criteria (1-2).
Before choosing a name, you should think about how much you are going to expand: since if you plan to sell a franchise, create a large network of salons, or register a trademark, then you need to take into account the presence of analogues of registered trademarks, because patents are given only to unique names.
What to name a beauty salon to attract success?
The next step is to show all your creativity and create a list that will include the maximum number of name options. What to name a beauty salon to attract success? Make a point of not using unpronounceable names or names with opaque semantics. Of course, if you are opening a beauty salon for followers of Krishnaism, then you can call it “Parabrahman” or “Upanshida”, but you must understand that for the rest of the population the name of the beauty salon (as well as the fact that this is a salon, not a spice store or oriental clothing) will remain a mystery. Moreover, it should be easy to write so that, for example, when typing the name of a salon into a search engine, the client does not make a mistake, and the search engine returns a link to your website without failure. If it is important to have a domain that 100% matches the name, then do not forget to check whether the domain with that name is available.
About 70% of the names of popular brands consist of one word, and most often these are invented words-neologisms.
Once you've gone through a list of titles and identifying key characteristics, reach out to your target audience again. Ask them to correlate the names you came up with for a beauty salon or hairdresser with those characteristics that you have identified as key for a future salon on a scale from -10 to 10. Draw a graph with two axes (two criteria), in which each name will be on a certain mark, and the ideal name will occupy the 10:10 coordinate.
4 “NOT” in the names of beauty salons and hairdressing salons
- You should not take the name of an already existing popular salon, unless this is a conscious step to copy the brand;
- do not use very common everyday non-game words if this is not part of your concept;
- do not use popular prefixes: luxury, premium, economy, “simple”, “super”, vip - their use in the name does not determine the class of the cabin;
- be careful with provocative names.
Any person encounters a mass of brands every 12 seconds. No more than ten linger in his memory, and right away he will tell you a maximum of two. Therefore, to come up with a name for, you will need to conduct marketing and linguistic research. A good name for promoting a business is as important as a bright logo or a successful advertising campaign.
Why is an original name needed?
To stand out from competitors and arouse customer interest. The salon's name is transmitted through a huge number of channels; if it is not linked to market positions, you will lose an important channel for brand promotion.
Main mistakes:
- Wrong associations. The name makes the first impression, so it should be clear. When choosing options, put yourself in the client's shoes. He should understand the direction of your salon’s activities. This will cut off the non-target audience and support correct positioning;
- Lack of meaning. Ask yourself what your business is. An “economy+” hairdressing salon, which has a fashionable name “A La Lounge”, located in a disadvantaged area, is likely to cause rejection among clients. The name of the salon should reflect its concept. Current clients are pragmatic people. The higher the level of the salon, the less “fairytale” names you use;
- Difficulty of perception. Creative, but difficult name will not evoke emotions in most people. Now the trend is to simplify as much as possible. Advertisers are also wary of abbreviations. Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Russian Orthodox Church, KMK and others sound impersonal;
- Lack of trademark registration. If you promote an unregistered brand, you are digging a hole for yourself;
- Using cheap doubles. These are modified names of famous brands. Reception is effective only in the short term. For most people, such copying causes negative emotions.
A successful name for a beauty salon sounds euphonious, remains in the memory of clients, is closely associated with the object of the name and has several meanings. The name should not evoke associations that are unpleasant to the target audience or inconsistent with the market position of the business.
It is known that every sound has certain meaning, and letters and words are perceived differently by people:
- The sound [o] is colder than [a] and larger compared to [i];
- [p] sounds more dynamic [u];
- The sound [l] is perceived as salty;
- Women like words with [p] and [m];
- [and] is recognized as a male sexual stimulant.
Each locality and people has its own set of sounds. The Chinese language has a lot of [q], which is associated with integrity and steadfastness. The Volga region is characterized by “Okanye”, the residents of Moscow - “Akanye”. Consider the psychological characteristics of sound perception for each area.
How to choose it yourself
The development of the name takes place in several stages:
- Marketing research - studying your consumer, competitors' names, customer perception of the name.
- Linguistic research - selection of variants of names based on techniques and their subsequent semantic analysis with analysis of euphony.
- Project management - developing a plan, selecting a team, generating various ideas, analyzing and expert assessment, organization of trademark registration, completion.
- Legal work - checking the chosen name for patent purity, registering a brand.
The name of the salon should identify it among its competitors, highlight its features and advantages, and also provide primary information to the target audience:
To promote your business on the Internet, you should register your domain in the RU zone. This is the name by which the salon will be found online. It should be associated with your activities, be heard and easily remembered.
When creating domains, it is necessary that the chosen name is free and does not represent a categorical word. But if it differs from an existing one by 1-2 sounds or letters, registration may be denied.
A couple of tips:
- Use the “matryoshka” principle. If you want to use the categorical word “tea” in the name, come up with phonetic associations for it - “TEAPOTS”, “BAHTEA”;
- Give the domain a tail or double the name. Adding prepositions, conjunctions, particles, abstract words will make the name brighter;
- Use dots and dashes. WORD-SHOP looks much more elegant compared to WORDSHOP;
- Come up with a rhythmic name or use rhymes. “SamSamych”, “DOMOMAMA”, “ZINGIZI” sounds beautiful and easy to remember;
- Play with words. See how the invented names are read backwards. From "Parent" comes the original "LETIDOR";
- Use creative techniques. If you need to register a one-syllable name, make a decoding for it. This is better perceived by the consumer.
Every year it becomes more and more difficult to come up with names. To pick up ideas, you can look at the names of your Western colleagues. The beauty industry there is well developed, so everything has long been invented.
How the professionals do it
They make a list of several hundred words with phrases and work through each of them. If the name is good, then it is:
- Easy to remember;
- Stands out among competitors;
- Connects in the minds of the consumer with the services offered;
- Meets the buyer’s expectations and does not cause negativity;
- It has potential - it allows you to enter the international market and increase the product range;
- Used in communication between consumers.
Examples for clarity:
| Criterion | Good name | Bad name |
|---|---|---|
| Simple Memorability | Chain of pharmacies "Neboleyka" | UZ named after S. V. Kirov - Faculty of Federal State Unitary Enterprise named after. P. A. Koroleva" |
| Reflection of business direction | Children's goods store "World of Toys" | Children's goods store "Fartovy" |
| Compliance with Russian legislation | Dance studio "CENTAUR", exotic confectionery "Eastern weaknesses" | “Stars of Thailand”, “Russian Cola”, “Bloody Dawn” |
| Uniqueness of the name | Beauty salon "Maestro" | Hairdresser "Victoria" |
| Conciseness | Skat LLC | OJSC NTP "Promtorgstroy" |
| Lack of negativism | Hairdressing salon “Diva”, Beauty Studio “Harmony”, nail bar “Exclusive” | Barbershop “Unique”, hair salon “Gorgona” |
| Semantic multidimensionality | Yandex (yet another indexer), ICQ (I seek you) | Blue Water, Baltic Bank |
| Matching location and concept | Hotel complex "House Verde", located in a park area | The “Planet of Strollers” store, located on an area of 10 sq. m. |
| Consumer clarity | Beauty salon "Accent" | Freyr grocery store |
| Use of borrowed foreign words | iRazbil Service Center | Clothing brand Doggy Style |
Before you choose final version, check for possible negative associations. This way you won’t lose clients who will refuse to use the salon’s services just because they don’t like the name.
The invented name must be checked for uniqueness, and the trademark must be registered with the Federal Institute of Industrial Property. This can be done independently or through patent attorneys. The procedure involves filing an application and paying a state fee. The total period for providing the service is 18 months. and 2 weeks.
You can check the name for uniqueness yourself using the free services RF-Patent.rf, Znakoved. The response after sending the request comes within 1 hour.
Who to order from
These are freelance exchanges, online generators or specialized companies. The advantage of the first option is that you set the royalty amount for the title yourself. If you don’t know how to come up with a name at all, use online generators. They save time and help you come up with ideas.
Specialized companies deal with naming professionally. Prices for their services range from several tens to several hundred thousand rubles per project. Some companies set naming prices based on the level of the client, explaining this by the fact that large regional companies have a wider range of marketing tasks compared to a small store. This means a different level of specialists will be required.
Regardless of whose services you use, make terms of reference or a brief indicating the following characteristics:
- General information about the business;
- Factors that you think influence the purchase;
- Methods of distributing the service;
- Market characteristics (competition, prices);
- Descriptions of the target audience;
- Communication properties of services;
- Special requirements - the number of words in the title, association, in French, English or Russian;
- Evaluation criteria - ease of memorization or pronunciation, euphony, advertising ability.
Professional companies approach work more individually. They help draw up a brief, take into account all the customer’s wishes and closely cooperate at every stage.
How to put it into practice
The easiest way is to name the salon own name(hair salon “Victoria”, beauty studio “Irina”). With this approach, it is impossible to stand out among competitors. Especially if the name is common.
An equally popular way is to use surnames with generic names:
- TD "Shustov";
- Hilton hotel chain;
- Factory "A. Korkunov";
- Kaspersky Lab.
Here, the image of the establishment itself directly depends on the reputation of the owner, and in the future your business should be continued by descendants.
Patronyms also fit well into names:
- Construction supplies store "Mikhalych";
- LLC KF "Semenovna";
- Abrasive plant Ilyich.
Names with patronymics are distinguished by their familiar attitude towards the client. But for the domestic consumer they are understandable and pleasant.
Take literary, mythological and historical male or female names into service:
- Gun shop "Artemis";
- Hairdresser "Vasilisa the Beautiful";
- TD "Veles";
- "Brewery named after Stepan Razin."
Nicknames and nicknames are based on a legend. For example, the name music group“Kukryniksy” appeared on behalf of a group of Soviet artists. This approach is quite specific, so there is always a risk of failure.
Anthroponyms-hyperonyms imply the use of nationalities, titles - restaurant “Monarch”, private enterprise “Emperor”. Toponyms consist of the names of rivers, lakes, cities, villages, natural objects (Cafe "Everest", GC "Saturn"). Geological terms, zoonyms and planonyms are used in naming - Crystal Group of Companies, Orchid LLC.
A well-chosen combination of sounds can create a strong image. To do this, they use the repetition of identical or homogeneous consonants (KitKat, Chupa-Chups), as well as the replacement of symbols from one language to another (Apple - “Apple Rus”).
Naming tropics are rhetorical figures with a figurative meaning. This technique allows you to create certain images in the consumer’s mind:
- Identities - online store of intimate goods “Point G”;
- Adjacent - funeral services agency "Eternity";
- Similarities - express delivery services “Faster than the Wind”, “Malysh” store;
- Contrast - “Green-Eyed Taxi”, “Hot Ice” skating rink.
The name may represent a fundamentally new word. To do this, they add suffixes with prefixes, combine several words, transfer one part of speech to another, or combine all options - “Promtekhsnab”, “Eksmo” publishing house, the abbreviation IKEA.
Conclusion
Naming - a whole science. If you want a good name for your business, don’t skimp and turn to professionals. You can spend your personal time, but it’s not a fact that it will turn out well. The mistakes made in naming are primarily strategic. A successful name is not made quickly. It takes up to 20 days to develop a company name.
A name that generates income and profit is rather an invention of marketers. This is just part of many steps that ultimately make a salon successful.
I decided to launch a series of conversations with naming experts, where we discuss everything related to naming.
The first interview was recorded...
My guest is Yaroslav Kramskoy, CEO and creative director of the YaCREATIVE studio and the Accessible Naming Project, author of more than 130 titles and slogans. More than 11 years of experience in naming.
Yaroslav, if you take any provincial (and not only) city and look at its hairdressing and beauty salons, then the lion's share of names will turn out to be women's names - "Svetlana", "Olga", "Natalia", etc.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of such names? Should namers come up with other options, and in what direction is it better to move?
This is a relevant and “living” question. And a fairly typical approach to “naming” or pseudo-naming small businesses, especially in the provinces. But even the smallest hosiery department can and should be called worthy, since this will really distinguish it from competitors and add additional value to the product at minimal cost. And the business itself, and the services/products it offers, and customer loyalty.
The main thing, of course, is not to reach the point of banal absurdity, dirty vulgarity and the slightest hint of negative meaning. And here it is not at all necessary to develop a name “for registration”, that is, the entrepreneur will additionally bear the costs of primary and secondary verification of the future / potential trademark.
It’s enough to find a professional namer, trust a thorough search and deep check of priority name options in open sources(Google) and stock up on 2-3 backup options if the first brand name is taken or pre-registered.
The rule is simple: any business must be unique. And it's easy to do. If we are talking about sincere business, sincere service and sincere naming. The main thing is to select competent naming specialists who will offer accessible and effective naming, understandable and logical word building tools that correspond to the conditional or actual brief.
Sometimes the namer should offer something special outside of the brief. “Ekaterina”, “Svetlana”, “Annette” - bad. There are several hundred such hairdressing salons throughout the country and, perhaps, almost a thousand throughout the CIS and throughout Russian-speaking Europe and the USA.
Yes, that's true. What should a woman do, for example, who decides to open a hairdressing salon and really come up with good name?
Eat good example of what you can do to both get insight and surprise.
Hairdressing salon "Strizhanna": here is a haircut, and the female name Zhanna, and compactness with speed and ample opportunities for original visualization. And the name can become popularly accessible and understandable.
In the case of "Strizhannaya" - easily. "Where to look" for our virtual hair salon owner to choose good name?
- Option #1. A beginner or experienced businesswoman should find a professional with an impeccable reputation who performs naming work, for example, for 10,000 ₽ (three submissions of 10 options, 30 options in total) and, say, for at least 1,000-2,000 ₽ ask him to do it 5-7 worthy options according to his proven scheme.
This scheme can be followed in case of a “classic” lack of funds for a figurative startup of an abstract individual entrepreneur.
- So she shouldn’t be involved in this matter herself? Will the chances of success be slim?
- Option #2: use unfortunate namers from the “school environment” who fill her up with “heaps of slag” and transfer her precious time to freelance discount sites, where all services are 100 ₽ / 300 ₽ / 500 ₽ / from 1,000 to 2,750 ₽.
As you understand, the second option is very doubtful. And it's fraught additional costs without a guarantee of successful investment in the name and return of funds in the future.
There is a chance that you can find a river pearl in a slag heap. But is it worth the time? Rhetorical question.
Option #3: independent development. Everything here is extremely simple. You should start with an analysis of your closest competitors, and ideally with competitors at the district/city/regional level.
Important: the namer (real/professional) does not invent or search for names. A naming specialist creates, develops, and generates names.
- Here our heroine will encounter numerous “Olgas”, “Natalyas” and “Snezhannas”.
- In the third option, the businesswoman studied her closest competitors. What should she do next?
You don't need to read anything about naming. Let's be pragmatists and realists. She won't become a namer in five hours. If the option of turning to specialists is not for her, then let her use her imagination, because a hairdresser is still creative business, and will connect friends for help. Let there be a brainstorming and a focus group in one.
- Will your friends do any harm with their advice? After all, they are still “professionals”!
Right. Their advice is needed only as a free collection of information. Perhaps the individual entrepreneur has a creative pseudonym from her youth, when she was just starting to work, or a current nickname that can be used comfortably. Or they will throw good idea for further development. The goal is information gathering, not "great-expert-opinion."
- So our heroine needs to listen to everyone and make her own decision, based on common sense?
The free association search method is good. Especially with pu-erh. People who know will understand. For example, if they offer 50 names or phrases, let her filter and “comb her hair”, then trust her intuition and facts: if there is no such hairdresser (Google showed), then ideal.
It’s worth studying “trends on the Internet” - whoever calls it what they call it - and highlighting its advantages: maybe offering instant coffee? Or positioned as a “family hair salon.”
Or use the actual address of the hairdresser. Perhaps it will sound: Mira, 3 - “Miratri”.
You can use the abbreviation: Mironova Inna Anatolyevna - MIA.
If this is an economy segment, then simply make noname and focus on the brand name / logo:
"Economy hairdresser number 1"
Here are more options:
- "Quick haircuts from Darishka" (playful motives).
- "Anna on the neck" (allusion).
- "StrizhAlla".
- "Good by Frosya."
Developed in 3 minutes. I'll take the names into the archives. My gift to your subscribers. Let it come in handy.
Yaroslav, thank you. This was a comprehensive answer to the question posed. It’s very nice to know how professionals act in such a situation.
Afterword
The day after the interview, I was driving along Rachmaninov Street in my native Penza and looked at how, in one row, at a distance of no more than 30 meters from each other, the following were located:
- Hairdressing salon "BESTia".
- Beauty salon "Abaston".
- Hair salon "Barber shop".
Beauty salon names are almost always aimed at ladies.
Most often they are represented by vocabulary associated with beauty, style and feminine charm. The most well-worn trick is the use of women's names. The same goes for the names of flowers, fruits, precious stones And confectionery. Phonosemantic neologisms are popular, which should evoke a feeling of something stylish and sophisticated. Enough options related to fine arts, first of all, these are the names of great artists of the past. There are many examples associated with France, which in mass consciousness is a trendsetter. Left out of the list are beauty salons named after their owners; there are such salons in every more or less large city.
The best names of beauty salons
|
Bon salon |
Fashionable people |
Other titles
|
Aria Club |
Fox |
|
Need to come up with a name? Here you go. |
EXAMPLE OF TYPICAL NAME OPTIONS FOR A BEAUTY SALON
Option 1- variations on a theme “ FIRST” (“first”), First Elit or Elit First – the first elite beauty salon.
Option 2– variations on the theme “Elite” in Russian or Latin writing
- Elit
- Elite club – elite club
- Elite
Option 3– variations on the theme “Image”
- New image
- Your image
- Studio image
- Studio image
Option 4– variations on the theme “Style”
- New style
- Your style
- New style
- Restyling
- Re- Style
Option 5– variations on the theme of historical names or cultural phenomena
- Aphrodite
- Venus
- Mona Lisa
- Gioconda
- Amelie
- Calypso
Option 6– a banal option, but often used – variations on a theme name the owner of the establishment.
Option 7- variations on the theme “modern”, “original”, “elegant”
- Modern
- Original
- Original Style
- Elegance
Option 8- “skewed” under a fashion magazine, under famous name or a well-known brand
Option 9– flower theme
- Lily
- Anemone
- Fjordalisa
- Iris
- Violetta
Option 10– female names
- Julia
- Camilla
- Judy
- Angelica
- Victoria
- Natalie
- Valerie
- Katerina
Option 11- V lately in beauty salons they often exploit the idea of a clear affiliation of the establishment or the technologies used to any country - Italy, France, Belgium, England, Thailand, China, Japan. In this case, you can use some well-known phrase in a foreign language:
- O'key
- Ca va!
- Buongiorno
- Va bene
- Ciao
- Merci
- A more mio
City name or other geographical name:
- Paris
- Venezia
- Barcelona
- Cote d'azur
- Cote d'Azur
- Monaco
- Sanremo
- Sun beach
Option 12– fairy-tale heroes and characters
- Snow White
- Princess
- Cinderella
Other options:
- Inventa
- Inventa
- Fantasy
- Fantasy
Here you can see an example of development original names for restaurant menu dishes.
For future professionals
Name, image and success - what to call a beauty salon
Initially, this article was planned to talk about the main forms of advertising promotion for beauty salons. But familiarity with their names and the correspondence of the latter to the type of activity of the salons prompted me to narrow the topic. Choosing a title or name is always difficult, and the task must be taken seriously. But how to choose the name of the salon so that it works correctly for its image?
A little theory
When choosing a name for a nail salon or studio, consider the general rules that will help you avoid absurdities and mistakes. Let us denote these rules by keywords-requirements.
- Adequacy and associativity - the name must correspond to the specialization of the company and evoke adequate associations. For the name, it is advisable to use words related to the beauty industry. You should not get carried away with pretentiousness, both in name and design, for example, excessive color contrast;
- Functionality - the name will work if it is clear to the potential client.
- Viability - the name should not be expressed in outdated words or neologisms that have not yet entered the everyday language.
- Sonority and ease of pronunciation - a name is successful if it is readable, easily amenable to grammatical changes (can be declined, used in different combinations without losing its euphony). Should not be in the name large quantity hissing and whistling consonants. Vowels should alternate evenly with consonants.
- Semantic non-triviality - platitudes should be avoided, since they serve neither an advertising nor a distinctive function.
Literacy is the last, but very important requirement: the name must be selected based on knowledge of the norms of the language. This means that the replacement of individual letters, syllables, their rearrangement within a word (in order to achieve special expressiveness) must be highlighted graphically. Otherwise, there is a risk that a non-standard move will be perceived as a typo or spelling error.
For beauty salons, the choice of name is especially important - after all, their visitors are especially demanding. In Moscow, according to the Internet, there are about 600 beauty salons of various levels: from luxury salons and VIP studios to very small salons located in areas remote from the center. Unfortunately, not all of them chose a name that complies with the above rules. This is all the more unfortunate since beauty industry professionals could give birth to a huge number of poetic comparisons. The name is part of the image, and today creating the right advertising image is the main way to promote in the market.
Use of names from mythology and literature
Names can be used as titles literary heroes, historical figures, mythological characters. Names of such a property are effective if they:
- popular;
- easily recognizable;
- evoke a number of associations.
It's hard to say this about titles like "Abel", "Adam and Eve", "The Little Mermaid". The Old Testament Abel, according to the Bible, died at the hands of his older brother. The story of Adam and Eve is known to everyone, but hardly in connection with the area of beauty. It is important to take into account hidden nuances in the use of lexical material. For example, the emotional connotation of a word should be positive, or at least neutral. The sad image of the Little Mermaid from Andersen's fairy tale is unlikely to serve as a benevolent symbol.
Visitors to the salon of the same name will remember that the prince went to someone else. There are better names of this kind: “Aphrodite”, “Elena the Beautiful”, “Psyche”. It’s a shame that Russian beauties are ignored: “Vasilisa the Beautiful”, “The Swan Princess”.
Female names
Perhaps, when choosing a name, salon owners underestimate the advertising potential of Russian names. In an effort to imitate Western standards of style, they use foreign names: “Adele”, “Julia”, “Josephine”, “Christie”, “Kathleen”, “Romero”, “Minona”. Although there are salons “Lyudmila”, “Svetlana”, “Nadezhda” in Moscow, these are rather exceptions to the rule.
It’s understandable that salon owners want to see their name on the sign; there’s nothing wrong with that. However, there are not many cases where the name in the title is justified. So, for example, it is appropriate to mention a name if it has already become a brand, a trademark. Famous name will attract customers.
Foreign words
Preface
The question of choosing a good name for a hairdressing salon first interested me in a humorous form - in the form of a survey, and more seriously - in one of the posts “Overheard - Copywriting”.
The range of creative approaches to naming is amazing:
I decided to launch a series of conversations with naming experts, where we discuss everything related to naming.
The first interview was recorded...
My guest is Yaroslav Kramskoy, CEO and creative director of the YaCREATIVE studio and the Accessible Naming Project, author of more than 130 titles and slogans.
More than 11 years of experience in naming.
— Yaroslav, if you take any provincial (and not only) city and look at its hairdressing salons and beauty salons, then the lion’s share of names will turn out to be women’s names - “Svetlana”, “Olga”, “Natalia”, etc.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of such names? Should namers come up with other options, and in what direction is it better to move?
— This is a relevant and “living” question. And a fairly typical approach to “naming” or pseudo-naming small businesses, especially in the provinces. But even the smallest hosiery department can and should be called worthy, since this will really distinguish it from competitors and add additional value to the product at minimal cost. And the business itself, and the services/products it offers, and customer loyalty.
The main thing, of course, is not to reach the point of banal absurdity, dirty vulgarity and the slightest hint of negative meaning. And here it is not at all necessary to develop a name “for registration”, that is, the entrepreneur will additionally bear the costs of primary and secondary verification of the future / potential trademark.
It is enough to find a professional namer, trust a thorough search and deep check of priority name options in open sources (Google) and stock up on 2-3 backup options if the first brand name is taken or pre-registered.
The rule is simple: any business must be unique. And it's easy to do. If we are talking about sincere business, sincere service and sincere naming. The main thing is to select competent naming specialists who will offer accessible and effective naming, understandable and logical word building tools that correspond to the conditional or actual brief.
Sometimes the namer should offer something special outside of the brief. “Ekaterina”, “Svetlana”, “Annette” - bad. There are several hundred such hairdressing salons throughout the country and, perhaps, almost a thousand throughout the CIS and throughout Russian-speaking Europe and the USA.
- Yes, that's true. What should a woman do, for example, who decides to open a hair salon and come up with a really good name?
— There is a good example of what can be done to both get insight and surprise.
Hairdressing salon "Strizhanna": here you can find a haircut, the female name Zhanna, compactness with speed and ample opportunities for original visualization. And the name can become popularly accessible and understandable.
- In the case of “Strizhannaya” - easily. “Where should we look” for our virtual hair salon owner to choose a good name?
— Option #1. A beginner or experienced businesswoman should find a professional with an impeccable reputation who performs naming work, for example, for 10,000 ₽ (three submissions of 10 options, 30 options in total) and, say, for at least 1,000-2,000 ₽ ask him to do it 5-7 worthy options according to his proven scheme.
This scheme can be followed in case of a “classic” lack of funds for a figurative startup from an abstract individual entrepreneur.
- So she shouldn’t be involved in this matter herself? Will the chances of success be slim?
— Option #2: use unfortunate namers from the “school environment”, who fill her with “heaps of slag” and transfer her precious time to freelance discount sites, where all services are 100 ₽ / 300 ₽ / 500 ₽ / from 1,000 to 2,750 ₽.
As you understand, the second option is very doubtful. And it is fraught with additional costs without a guarantee of a successful investment in the name and return of funds in the future.
There is a chance that you can find a river pearl in a slag heap. But is it worth the time? Rhetorical question.
Option #3: independent development. Everything here is extremely simple. You should start with an analysis of your closest competitors, and ideally with competitors at the district/city/regional level.
Important: the namer (real/professional) does not invent or search for names. A naming specialist creates, develops, and generates names.
“Here our heroine will encounter numerous “Olgas,” “Natalyas,” and “Snezhannas.”
— In the third option, the businesswoman studied her closest competitors. What should she do next?
— You don’t need to read anything about naming. Let's be pragmatists and realists. She won't become a namer in five hours. If the option of turning to specialists is not for her, then let her use her imagination, because a hairdressing salon is still a creative business, and involve her friends for help. Let there be a brainstorming and a focus group in one.
— Will your friends help you with their advice? After all, they are still “professionals”!
- Right. Their advice is needed only as a free collection of information. Perhaps the individual entrepreneur has a creative pseudonym from her youth, when she was just starting to work, or a current nickname that can be used comfortably. Or they will come up with a good idea for further development. The goal is information gathering, not “great-expert-opinion.”
— So our heroine needs to listen to everyone and make her own decision, based on common sense?
— The method of free search for associations is good. Especially with pu-erh. People who know will understand. For example, if they offer 50 names or phrases, let her filter and “comb her hair”, then trust her intuition and facts: if there is no such hairdressing salon (Google showed), then ideal.
It’s worth studying “trends on the Internet”—whatever they call it—and highlighting their advantages: maybe offering instant coffee? Or positioned as a “family hair salon.”
Or use the actual address of the hairdresser. Perhaps it will sound: Mira, 3 - “Miratri”.
You can use the abbreviation: Mironova Inna Anatolyevna - MIA.
If this is an economy segment, then simply make noname and focus on the brand name / logo:
"Economy hairdresser number 1"
Here are more options:
- “Quick haircuts from Darishka” (playful motives).
- "Anna on the neck" (allusion).
- "StrizhAlla".
- “Good by Frosya.”
Developed in 3 minutes.
I'll take the names into the archives. My gift to your subscribers.
Let it come in handy.
- Yaroslav, thank you. This was a comprehensive answer to the question posed. It’s very nice to know how professionals act in such a situation.
Afterword
The day after the interview, I was driving along Rachmaninov Street in my native Penza and looked at how, in one row, at a distance of no more than 30 meters from each other, the following were located:
- Hairdressing salon "BESTia".
- Beauty salon "Abaston".
- Hair salon "Barber shop".
Expert dossier
Examples of work
Names:
- ZakaZaka, food delivery aggregator site.
- PolliTolli, designer children's furniture.
- Runa, premium vodka.
- Ben Crezo, Italian crystal chandeliers.
- Shuburg, fashionable city fur coats.
- JETFIX PRO, diet stimulant.
- Gerhort, German spots.
- Credit Line, microfinance organization.
- INDASTER, fencing systems.
Slogans:
- “You will benefit!”, EconomSvet company
- “Trust is priceless”, ARMADIS company
- “Important tasks. Bright solutions", Stilnov company.
- Meat grinder REDMOND - “Preparing minced meat is a matter of technique.”
- Bathroom scales REDMOND - “A step towards perfection”.
- Induction hob REDMOND - “Everything ingenious is flat.”
- Electric kettles REDMOND - “For those dearly loved!”.