I don’t think it has ever been easy to come up with a name for your brand new product, but I think it is probably getting harder as the number of products explode, combined with limited domain names, trademark issues etc. So, I think it’s safe to say that for some (especially marketing and product managers), finding the right name for a product can be hell.

And worse still… selecting the ‘wrong’ name can make someone else’s life hell! (you’ll see why in a minute).

So, here’s a few things to think about when it comes to product names (especially products you plan to market online, which is pretty much every product):

• Don’t use the word ‘Free’ or ‘Cash’ or any derivatives! Why? Because the minute you try to do any direct marketing via email (eDM) you’ll discover that all your emails will get blocked and end up in SPAM/Junk folders. Similarly, don’t use the word ‘Cash’ or symbols like ‘$’. It might sound obvious, but in the past year, I’ve worked with two brands who had this exact issue (they shall remain nameless… for now). So, if you would ever like to deliver eDM’s to anyone using Outlook, check out the Microsoft junk email filter list for words to avoid. (Note, these words are also pretty terrible for SEO).
• Keep it short. No one likes a long domain name! Plus, unless you have an exceptionally talented designer, when you shrink it down to 50×50 pixels no one will be able to read it. If you’re stuck with a long name, try shortening it (use acronyms, initials etc) so you have something to put on your favicon!
• Make sure all alias’ are available. Don’t just grab the .com and run for the hills! Make sure you grab the twitter account and any other tools you think you’ll use for marketing in the future. Also, if your hunting for a domain, do it all in one sweep or else domain stalkers will get it before you dive in.
• Make sure people can say it and spell it. This is a somewhat important point, but there are exceptions to this rule (for instance, no one knew how to spell or pronounce ‘Kazaa‘, but that was part of the appeal). If you’re starting out, you want people to be able to find you. In the olden days, if you sent a letter to Mrs S. Fry in Newcastle, the letter would more than likely find it’s way to Mrs S. Fry. However, these days, it’s a little harder. One key stroke can be the difference between your potential customer finding you or landing in the abyss. Weird spelling of wordz for the most part should be left in the 90’s (unless you are particularly linguistically talented).
• Make sure the name can grow with the business. Made up words are great for growth. Google have proven that! With a made up word, your product ‘can’ be anything. But there is a word of warning here too… if you have a simple product and you’re pretty confident that your product is going to stay the same way for a while, then name it appropriately! OzWeather (an iPhone app that tells you the weather in Australia) is a good example. At first, when it was launched I thought “what a shame they didn’t give it a more generic name like ‘WeatherMate’ or something that could go global”. But then I realised that (for now) OzWeather is focused on the Australian market, so it’s a great name! If it grows to New Zealand or any other country, I assume the name can be tailored to the target market. Customising the name for the specific market can also have it’s advantages, and big brands do it all the time – especially when dealing with differing cultural or sporting terms (think Soccer v Football). That said, the majority of products out there are not instant global hits, and it’s important to keep that in mind when naming your product! But remember, names aren’t entirely static – performers change them all the time!

So, this post was really written in the hope that one day I’ll be naming a new product at which point I can refer back to this post and then thank myself for the timely reminder.

Thanks for reading and if you have any hints or tips I’d love to hear from you!

Mishy

ps. For the foodies out there, when it comes to understanding the importance of a name, think about a word like ‘Gelatin’. If they called it what it really is (collagen from animal skin & bones), would vegetarians take more care to exclude it from their diets? Or better yet, if ‘Rennet’ was called ‘Baby Cow Stomach’ would you still find cheese as appealing? Probably, cos it’s delicious, but it might put a few people off!