We have seen the same picture for years. When a new company is founded, the first check is whether the name is available at the chamber of commerce; if it is, the brand is built on that name. But being able to register a trade name and being able to register that name as a trademark are not the same thing.
What happens when you start without research?
The trademark application is refused. A registered brand with the same or a very similar name turns up in the same field — by which time the logo is printed, business cards handed out and the sign put up.
Someone else comes up in search. A company with a very similar name has had a website and SEO work for years. However hard you try, customers searching for you end up with them.
Customers don’t have to tell you apart. The confusion is your problem, not theirs. Nobody researches further to find the right company; they go with the first result.
Domains and social media drift apart
The exact-match domain is often taken, so you add a prefix or suffix. The trademark may need a similar addition, and social accounts are opened with whatever variation is free.
In the end your trade name, brand, domain and Instagram account are all different. People always search for you with one name, but your digital footprint is spread across four. This corporate inconsistency undermines the trust you work hard to build.
The right order
This is how we run the process at Farklı Bir Fikir. First we find suitable name options together. Then we check similar brands, trademark status, domains and social accounts for each. For the right name we secure the domains and start the trademark application with the professional team we work with. Only then do we design the logo and identity — so name, logo, domain and accounts are aligned from day one.
A little research, a big saving
The research takes a few days. Changing a brand years later means redoing everything from signage to catalogues, websites to packaging — and losing the search rankings and customer memory you earned.
If you are founding a company or preparing to grow your brand, we can look at it together, starting with the name.
Related service
Corporate Identity & Brand Design