How to Choose Name That Sells Your Company

CHICAGO (TheStreet) -- A company name is all about doing a lot with a little. In just a few short words, you have to summarize who you are, what you do, and -- crucially -- make yourself appealing to potential customers.

What makes a name work? Sometimes, it needs only to be short and to the point. Midwest Tax Advisors, for example, is informative and sober-minded, which fits expectations for an accounting firm. (Most of us don't want our financial advisers to be overly hip and clever.)

Creative fields have more license, but also higher standards. If you're promoting your business as cool or fun, your name needs to stand out. Another challenge is finding a name that hasn't already been snatched up, especially when finding an address for a website. But when the right name appears, it can work like magic, instantly differentiating your company in the marketplace and drawing in customers.

That's what happened with Museum of Robots, a home accessories design firm based in Northern California.

"The name has been a key factor in increasing visibility," says Vicki Kung, who founded the company with her husband, Richard. "It's an immediate icebreaker. At trade shows we have people come to the booth who say, 'I had to come see you -- I love the name.'"

The Kungs, who came from branding backgrounds, envisioned a company that was imaginative, fun, design-focused, tech-savvy and retro-futuristic. "We thought hard about what we wanted the name to convey," Kung says.

Their interest in science fiction and lifelong love of robots provided the inspiration. "'Museum of Robots' fit all the criteria, plus we loved how these seemingly unconnected words conjured up something memorable and whimsical," Kung says. "It also keeps us on our toes -- with a name that's fun and different, people expect the products and our design point of view to be that way too, and we continually check that whatever products we're designing are true to the spirit we promise in the name."