Test A Business Name in 24 Hours

A lot of entrepreneurs think that they need a domain name, custom email address, website, business cards, and lots of other things before they can get started.  While you really can get started without any of that, one thing your business will certainly need is a name.

So how do you pick a name for your business? It's an age-old business dilemma, and everyone's got an opinion:

• Inc. Magazine: How to Choose the Best Name For Your Business
• Entrepreneur Magazine: 8 Mistakes To Avoid When Naming Your Business
• Mashable.com: How to Pick the Right Name for Your Business

The opinion that really counts, though, is the opinion of potential customers!  With that in mind, I recently tested a new tool, Google Consumer Surveys, that can help entrepreneurs answer this age-old question quickly with reliable data. 

Google Consumer Surveys is like a combination of Google AdWords and SurveyMonkey.  Instead of creating a survey and emailing it to a list of people, Google Consumer Surveys shows your survey on a network of websites, almost like an online ad.  Visitors who see your survey would then fill it out in order to gain access to premium content on those websites.

Before testing your name on Google Consumer Surveys you will probably want to:

1. Brainstorm a bunch of potential names
2. Check which names are available as domains and usernames 
3. Of the available names, select your favorite 3 to 5 names
1. So that you can make a short, multiple-choice survey question

If you click the above link to Google Consumer Surveys, if Google is still running it you will see an offer for a $75 promo code. Since the service can cost $100 or more per question, using the promo code lets you ask one question to 1000 people for $25.  

If you think about it, that's a pretty good deal. Testing it myself using potential domain names for an online marketing company, I had about 450 responses in less than 24 hours, and a statistically significant winner. Think of all the time saved!  I didn't have to create a webpage or personally survey hundreds of people.  Instead, I could go to sleep, wake up, check the answer, and buy the domain name the public recommended. 

So starting with the name of your business, give people what they want, when they want it. Everything else is waste :)