What’s in a name? Everything! Whether it’s the product or brand name, getting the perfect name is a critical aspect of product success. And we have a long list of terrible names to prove it.
- Nintendo Wii U
- Drysack Wine
- Nokia Lumia (Lumia means ‘prostitute’ in Spanish)
- i.Beat Blaxx
- Pee Cola
- Albino Cola
Obviously, without much argument, these names are terrible for any product, and it’d be much more difficult to convince customers to buy them even if they have superior quantity.
Getting a captivating name for your product is the best way to market your product, and today, we’d be taking a quick look at why product names are important and how to go about it.
Why Product Names are Important
Names have power, and with 50% of product launches failing at their target market, every product needs the perfect name. It’s no coincidence that the most successful businesses all have great business and product names.
A great product name communicates ideas to your customers’ minds, solidifies your brand in the public consciousness, and influences your customer’s behavior in future situations.
Some successful product names like Coca-Cola, Lego, and Colgates have even become synonymous with their parent company. And other great product names like PowerPoint, Jet Ski, Jacuzzi, Band-Aid, and Kleenex, have become so successful that they are now part of our everyday vocabulary.
And considering that your product name is one of the first things your audience interacts with whenever they encounter your brand’s products, simply shows that your product’s name can be the difference between consumers deciding to try your brand or shunning it.
So how do you go about finding the perfect name for your products? Come with us as we take a deeper look.
How to Find the Perfect Name for Your Products
1. Brainstorm Ideas
Brainstorming name ideas is the best way to generate the perfect name for your products. But, brainstorming your product names shouldn’t just involve penning down the first ideas that come to mind. But, it should be focused on finding a name that communicates the principles of your company name ideas.
Your product name shouldn’t operate outside the boundary of your brand’s identity. Instead, it should have the same tone and communicate the essence of your business. So while brainstorming, do your best to find a product name that channels the values, vision, motto, and big ideas of your business.
Also, when brainstorming, feel free to explore ideas like:
- Foreign words with rich meanings like Lego and Cadillac.
- Descriptive words like Nike’s AirJordan.
- Rhyming words like Coca-cola, iPhone/iPad/iPod.
- Metaphoric words like Galaxy and Windows.
- Invented words like Kleenex, Google, and Xerox.
- Combined words like Dropbox and MacBook.
2. Choose Visually Unique Product Names
The most iconic product names go a step further from the rest; they create a clear visual image in the minds of their customers. Nike’s AirJordan has been very successful for over 20 years because of the success of Michael Jordan, while Apple’s iPhones, iPad, and iPod were successful because they were futuristic.
Giving your product a unique visual edge helps add value and feelings to your products that are outside the needs it fulfills in your customers’ lives. Many brands attempt to replicate this visual uniqueness with celebrity endorsements and creative advertising. But, even this may be difficult to pull off without the perfect name.
The goal of giving your brand a unique visual image is to make it stand out and be unique in your industry.
3. Follow Basic Naming Rules
Although naming a product is a creative endeavor without any hard rules, over the years naming professionals have identified trends that can help you create the perfect product name.
So ensure you look out for names that possess these qualities:
- Short, easy to understand, pronounce, and memorize.
- Sounds good and trendy.
- Communicates a meaningful message.
- Positive associations.
- Give your product names positive associations.
- Correspond with your brand values and image.
- Don’t have any damaging foreign meanings.
- Easy to brand and advertise with.
- Pass various product naming tests.
- Aren’t inferior to Competitor’s names.
- Properly trademarked.
Don’t Settle for Less
Looking back at the success Nike built off the back of their Air Jordan products and the failures of Nokia Lumia. The perfect name is worth everything, every time, for a brand and for a product.
Grant Polachek is the head of branding for Squadhelp.com, 3X Inc 5000 startup and disruptive naming agency. Squadhelp has reviewed more than 1 million names and curated a collection of the best available names on the web today. We are also the world’s leading crowdsource naming platform, supporting clients such as Nestle, Dell, Nuskin, and AutoNation.
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