Creating a product name is often a more complex process than people initially anticipate, but one that is worth properly going through as the end result is a memorable and unique name that consumers can connect with. When coming up with a name for a product, these are the essential steps that every brand should follow.
Do Your Research
When coming up with a product name, one of the most important steps is to do your research. By research, we don’t just mean market research to help you find a winning name for your product. You’ll also need to check if your preferred product name is already trademarked by another company, or sounds too similar to an existing product name. The lengthy research and specialised skills required to cover all of these bases are one of the many reasons why companies turn to naming consultants to help them create the perfect product name.
Think About Different Formats
Most of us think about names in terms of how well they fit the product, but when it comes to creating a product name, you need to cover all the boxes and think about the name’s appeal in different formats. Will it jump off the page when written down? How does it sound out loud? Will it grab the attention of your customers on a giant billboard and a small ad with the same effectiveness?
It’s easy to underestimate how difficult the task is of finding a product name that will translate well into different formats. However, it takes a lot of time and skill to ensure that a name works across all of the mediums you will need to use it in. That’s before you even get into how your product name will come across in different markets, or translated into other languages.
Keep It Short
Think about the product names you remember best – it’s likely that they are all one or two words at the most. Usually, you only have a few seconds to grab the attention of potential customers. The longer your product name is, the more difficult it will be to entice people with it, and to make it memorable. Keeping it short, simple, and snappy will ensure that your product name is memorable, and won’t suffer from the dreaded abbreviation that long product names are often subjected to. After all, even a globally known product like Coca-Cola has long been referred to simply as Coke – proving that even two-word product names are often considered too long by consumers.
Make It Unique and Memorable
Brands like Apple, Google and Skype have all become so memorable that they are now used in everyday conversations. For example, many of us are probably guilty of using the term “just Google it” rather than telling someone to search for something. That level of memorability should be the goal for any brand when coming up with a product name.
Test It
Once you have come up with your product name, it’s easy to think that the hard part is over. After all, you’ve already checked that it’s not trademarked, ensured that it works well in different formats, and have chosen a short and memorable name – what could go wrong?
In reality, there is still a very important step left in creating your product name: testing it. It’s important to remember that testing your product name isn’t about whether or not a focus group likes a name, or which one they prefer out of your top choices. Testing your product name should be about evaluating what it conveys to consumers. For example, if you are looking to create a product name that conveys quality and luxury, the last thing you want is to find out too late that consumers actually view the name – and by association, the product – as a low-value item.
