Tips for choosing a name for your detailing business

Do not choose a name with O.C.D in it.

So out done, every state has an O.C.Detail...
 
Really nice information i would also like to share my thoughts like If possible, get the touch up paint from your car manufacturer's dealer. This way, you can get the closest possible match to your car's paint color.
 
Massive said:
Do not choose a name with O.C.D in it.

So out done, every state has an O.C.Detail...
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It also doesn't meet the criteria I list in my article and besides that most people have no idea what acronym OCD means... that's a detailer thing...

Keep it simple, remember... people care about themselves, not you. Your business name should first tell them what you do and if possible, tell them what's in it for THEM.


:)
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
It also doesn't meet the criteria I list in my article and besides that most people have no idea what acronym OCD means... that's a detailer thing...

Keep it simple, remember... people care about themselves, not you. Your business name should first tell them what you do and if possible, tell them what's in it for THEM.


:)
Click to expand...

The OCD acronym could also be offensive to people suffering with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (the real one, not the one all detailers joke about having).

I remember a college class a while back where a student was trying to get their papers together and exclaimed "Ah I'm so OCD about this stuff". To which another student got very upset and told them that OCD wasn't a joke, that OCD didn't mean being clean or organized, it meant having difficulty functioning in everyday society (the definition, after all, of a psychological disorder), and explained to us how hard her life is living with OCD.

Now, you know and I know it's just a joke not intended to offend anyone. But, after that experience especially I'm always aware of using terms like that. Many people have OCD (for real, not the 'I like things clean and say I have OCD' thing), or have family members or friends who do. I would imagine a goal for your business would be to be completely accessible to any and all potential clients. Offending potential clients before they even get in the door can't be a good idea. It's really no different than using a slogan like "Don't be a retard, come to us!" or something.

My $0.02 anyway.

Another thought from a newbie perspective; before Autogeek I thought detailing meant you washed the car and vacuumed out the interior. I had no idea detailers did paint corrections, spent hours polishing or even sealed the car. Now, I didn't go to detailers. But, if you wanted to convince me to start, then someone should've told me they do a lot more than just wipe down the exterior and hit it with a vacuum! Just 'food for thought' from a 'newbie on the outside' that your business should try and do a good job of reflecting the level of work that your company does.
 
Is it a good or bad idea to put your last name in the name like last-name mobile car wash?
 
Also if your doing a mobile car wash does it have to have mobile in the name like last-name mobile car wash or can it say like last-name express car wash. And can i have the word detailing in the name (like last-name mobile detailing) when I am just offering basic wash and wax right now?
 
Im starting to do a mobile car wash for right now and thinking about names. Im thinking about Red's Mobile Carwash, the thing is I'm in a area where mostly are Hispanics, so iam having a hard time getting a name for both English and Spanish. Any recommendations i will truly appriciate it peeps.

I was thinking:

Aaron mobile carwash
Lilred Mobile Carwash
Mr shine Mobile Carwash....
 
I am new to the site, and have found a lot of useful info so far as I am looking to start up a small solo detailing shop in the near future. I have come up with a price guide (needs some revision) a name "Eye Appeal Detailing" and my slogan is "Eye Appeal, is Buy Appeal". Mainly would do cars for smaller used car dealers in my area, and some personals. Sound good?
 
classicroad27 said:
Is it a good or bad idea to put your last name in the name like last-name mobile car wash?
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classicroad27 said:
Also if your doing a mobile car wash does it have to have mobile in the name like last-name mobile car wash or can it say like last-name express car wash.

And can i have the word detailing in the name (like last-name mobile detailing) when I am just offering basic wash and wax right now?
Click to expand...


I don't see a problem with any of the three questions you ask above as long as the also meet the criteria I shared in the first post of this article.


Mike Phillips said:
Now lets take a look at each tip in detail...


1. Choose a name that tells your prospective customer what's in it for them.
First, you have to stop thinking about yourself and start thinking like your customer. Your customer thinks like this,

What's in it for me?

They don't care about you. (Sorry if that hurts your ego). Normal people don't walk around all day wondering how Mike Phillips is doing, I wish they did but they don't. No, instead they think about how they're doing, they care about number one first and the rest of us later if at all. By the way, you think like this also, as in you think about what's in it for you before you make an investment.


So when you're trying to get a new customer, you need to think like they think and before anyone pulls out their wallet to spend money they think like this, what's in it for me?

In other words, if I give you my money, what benefit do I get in return?
People don't care how great you are they care about getting their car shiny again so don't pick a name that brags about yourself, pick a name that tells your customer in an instant, what's in it for them.

Picking a good name can bee a challenge. Let's be honest, trying to come up with a name that meets all the criteria outlined here is a challenge and it can't always be done. This tip is just to help you understand how your customer thinks.

If you can't come up with a name that tells your potential customer what's in it for them then the next best thing is to come up with a name that tells them what your business does because that will let them know if you have something they want whether it's a product or a service.

Here's an example of a business name that tells your customers what's in it for them.
Note: I'm not saying these are great names, just examples of how a name can tell your customer what you can do for them.


Here's another one that could be used for a car wash business, a detail business or even a house cleaning business.

WeCleanYouGleam.com

It even kind of rhymes... It never hurts to have a name that rhymes or can be turned into a jingle for potential use as a radio commercial. So when thinking of a name for your business, if at all possible, try to find a way to also tell your potential customer what's in it for them.



2. Choose a name that's easy to spell, pronounce, remember, type and write.

In the above examples, each word used in the domain name is a simple, easy to spell word and also easy to pronounce word. There's an old saying in the copy-writing world that goes like this,

Don't use a $10.00 word when a $1.00 word will work

That is, don't make your audience or potential customer work at having to understand what it is you're trying to tell them. Try to choose words that are simple understand, simple to spell and simple to pronounce.


Easy to pronounce
Near to where I live in Florida is a city and a lake with the name Okeechobee, now if you grew up around here or live around here it would be second nature to know how to pronounce Okeechobee as well as remember it, write it and even type it out, but not every customer in your geographical area will have grown up in your area and for some people trying to pronounce the name Okeechobee might be difficult if they've never heard the correct pronunciation before.

Here's the tie-in, people can remember, write and type words and names better if they can pronounce them. So try to pick a name that the average person can pronounce and you'll help make it easier for them to remember it, write it and type it and even share it!

By the way, Okeechobee is pronounced, ō"kēchō'bē

Click here to hear it pronounced


Easy to write
This is similar to easy to spell and pronounce and here's an example of what I mean; you're driving down the road in your shiny car with your business name on the sides of the doors and on the back window and you get a potential customer's attention and as you're driving by them. They only have just a few seconds to try to write your business name down so they can contact you later when they're not driving.

  • Mike The Detailer is fairly easy to write or scribble on a piece of paper.
  • Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is on the difficult side to write or scribble down on a piece of paper.
Easy to type
Just like some words are easier to remember, pronounce and write, some words are easier to type than others . By this I mean some words are easier to type into a window browser in order to visit your website to get more information or so they can schedule an appointment.



Easy to remember
Sometimes you only have a few seconds to get your business name in front of a potential customer's eyes. For example, maybe you put a sign on your car? You're driving around in your shiny cool car and a potential customer sees how shiny your car is and then puts it together that you offer detailing services. Besides seeing your name they need to remember your name so they can contact you later.

The same could be said for a print ad, or a flier, or a business card, or fill-in-the-blank. Focus on coming up with a name that is easy to remember. This is where a graphic or logo can help too, for example,
Mike the Detailer
MikeTheDetailer.jpg

Visit our website for more information!
www.MikeTheDetailer.com
​
One comment...

Note in the fictional ad above, the sentence above the domain name that reads,

Visit our website for more information!

In the copy-writing or advertising world this is referred to as a "Call to action". That is, your potential customer has read your copy and the next step is they need to take action, so you help them by telling them what to do. You could also do this,

Call us!
1-800 XXX XXXX


Don't leave the little things up to chance. Help yourself by helping your customer to help themselves.


Short Simple Words
Choose shorter, simple words instead of longer, complex words. This goes without saying and applies to all of the above tips on picking a business name.




3. Choose a name that can be registered as a Domain Name

Once you come of with words that create your business name, before spending any money on business cards or filing a DBA form, (Doing Business As), before you take any action on your wonderful new business name, check to see if you can register it as a dot.com domain name.

For example when I wrote this article I checked to see if Mike the Detailer could also be registered as www.mikethedetailer.com and it was available so I registered it for the purposes of this article.

Now follow me on this, even if right now you don't think you want or need a website for your part time or full-time business, you never know what the future holds and at the price of securing a dedicated domain name to identify and brand your business on the Internet, it's worth looking into and taking this extra step. There are low cost Domain Name Registers and for example, I registered MikeTheDetailer.com for $10.00 at a popular Domain Name Register. So even if you don't think you want or need a domain name, it's a low cost insurance plan just in case you change your mind.

The last thing you want to do is to start a business only to have it become successful and only AFTER it becomes successful you find out that the incredibly wonderful and great idea for a business name is already taken by someone else.

So use one of the popular Domain Name Register's to check and see if your idea for a domain is available.


These are just some friendly tips for your consideration...
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Step 1: Write down on paper your ideas for your business name.

Step 2: Read through the above and see if your names meet all or at least some of the above criteria.

If none of your name ideas meet the above criteria then try tweaking the names a little and see if that does the trick.

:)
Read through the above
 
AaronC said:
I was thinking:

Aaron mobile carwash
Lilred Mobile Carwash
Mr shine Mobile Carwash....
Click to expand...


Out of the above three names I like,

Mr Shine Mobile Carwash

I have a nephew named Aaron and I always have a hard time remember how to spell it korektly but that's just me.

Lilred Mobil Carwash is a play on the work Lil 'Red instead of Little Red and that might work if you spell it and present it graphically the correct way.


If you like Mr. Shine Mobile Car Wash the first thing I would do is see if

www.MrShineMobileCarWash.com is available. That's just me though...



Drop the period after Mr for the domain but if it's gramaticall and mechanically correct to use it when writing then consider using it on printed material or signage. Maybe others have a different opinion or better insight on this aspect.




:)
 
Tlefe091985 said:
I am new to the site, and have found a lot of useful info so far as I am looking to start up a small solo detailing shop in the near future.

I have come up with a price guide (needs some revision) a name

"Eye Appeal Detailing"

and my slogan is

"Eye Appeal, is Buy Appeal"


Mainly would do cars for smaller used car dealers in my area, and some personals. Sound good?
Click to expand...


I got nothing against it... might be able to do some cool graphics with a person looking at a shiny car?


I'd also check to see if,

www.EyeAppealDetailing.com


is available...


:xyxthumbs:
 
So Im still working on a name for my mobile carwash and detailing service.

I have 2

Reds mobile carwash and deatiling or

Reds auto detailing and carwash...thoughts opinions please.
 
AaronC said:
So Im still working on a name for my mobile carwash and detailing service.

I have 2

Reds mobile carwash and deatiling or

Reds auto detailing and carwash...thoughts opinions please.
Click to expand...


Reds Wash & Wax

Reds Mobile Wash & Wax

RedsMobileWashandWax.com

Technically I think there's supposed to be an apostrophe after the letter d

Red's Wash & Wax


KISS = Keep it Simple Simon

Remember... your customer doesn't really care about you or your name or anything about you. What your customer cares about is them. Tell them what's in it for them.

We clean you gleam!

That means you're going to do the dirty work for me and I'm going to shine.


:)
 
My detailing business is Detailing by Matthew Tarka. It's simple, has my name, and my customers can recognize it. It also throws in that personal identity into your brand so people will see "Oh, it's a person doing it". Not ragging on a name like All-Star or Apex or whatever it may be, but personal identity being associated with your brand always helps when getting and retaining customers.
 
Mike,

I'm starting to make my detailing business brand and would like your opinion on what I have so far. Here is what I'm calling it.

Neue Fertig Detailing (New Finish in German)

neuefertigdetailing.com

Confusing or good because of the uniqueness in the name and spelling. I could very well use New Finish Detailing but I'm kind of mehhh on that one. It just sounds like every other detailing business.

Newfurtigdetailing is how it's spelled out and sounds. IDK.
 
Thoughts on these names anyone?

SuperSport Detailing
Prestige Miami Detailing
Prestige Detailing
Legacy Detailing


Anyone think one or more of these could be keepers?
 
Just starting my business and calling it Maine Shine. Located in Maine of course. Thoughts? Thanks.
 
DetailingByMT said:
My detailing business is Detailing by Matthew Tarka.


  1. It's simple,
  2. has my name,
  3. and my customers can recognize it.
  4. It also throws in that personal identity into your brand so people will see "Oh, it's a person doing it".
Click to expand...


I like it. Plus you listed most of the suggestions I shared in my original post on how to pick a good name for your business.


:dblthumb2:
 
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