Strategies And Insights On How To Name Your Product.

What’s the importance of a name? When it comes to product naming, it’s nearly everything. Knowing how to name your product is ⅓ art, ⅓ strategy, and ⅓ science. With the right naming formula companies can distinguish their brand name from the competition, attracting more attention. An ideal name doesn’t just represent your offering – it resonates with customers on a deeper level. 

This article will explore how to develop an impactful product name that drives awareness and influences buying decisions. We’ll share strategic insights into crafting a good product name that fits your brand personality while meeting customers emotional needs.

Whether launching a new venture or expanding an existing line of products, learning how to name what you sell effectively can be a make-or-break for your business success. Ready to learn our tested framework that delivers optimal results when naming a product? 

Read on to discover our actionable guidelines for choosing a great name.

Defining Your Brand Identity And Target Market

The first and most crucial step of any naming process is to consider the current situation of the company’s brand identity and market positioning. Additionally, conducting a thorough survey of the target market is a necessary component of a naming strategy.  

Before you start brainstorming names, define your brand identity and strategy. Understanding your potential customer group is vital – who are they, what matters most to them, and how does your offering solve their problems? Your product name must align with your brand personality and appeal directly to your target market. 

For example, an outdoor apparel company targeting adventurous millennials may emphasize durability, inspiration, and exploration in their name. Through market research, identify your ideal customer’s demographics, pain points, and what makes them tick. 

Conducting Market Research On Existing Products

After learning about the brand’s position in the market, the next step is to conduct detailed market research. It allows companies to learn about their competitors’ product naming conventions, enabling them to identify untapped market opportunities and craft innovative product names that stand out.

A detailed market analysis allows companies to develop a unique and compelling product naming architecture. Examining top brands in your category reveals naming conventions, features, and messages that appeal most to customers. For example, researching smartwatch brands’ naming conventions may uncover opportunities in a name centered on overlooked health-tracking features. 

Such market intelligence allows crafting an original name that positions your product to stand out while still feeling compatible with its product category; developing a strategic naming architecture informed by market research arms you with the knowledge to drive initial interest through a clever, targeted name.

Brainstorming Potential Product Name Ideas

After researching and gathering enough market data, it’s time to start brainstorming potential names for your product. Bring stakeholders from different departments to spark diverse, creative, and unique product name ideas. Use techniques like name-storming, word association games, or product name generators to tap into possible names. 

Don’t self-filter—write down anything, no matter how unusual the idea may sound. Consider how names sound, feel, and look written down in marketing materials. Play with shapes and syllables to craft options that roll off the tongue in a memorable way. Evaluate how well names align with your brand identity and key messaging while resonating intuitively with customers. 

The right name should feel inherently fitting for your product. With exploration, you will uncover an ideal candidate to take through testing.

Choosing Descriptive Vs. Suggestive Names

When evaluating potential names, brands must determine whether a descriptive or suggestive approach best suits their needs. Descriptive names directly state a product’s key benefit, category, or use, which can help educate customers. But on the flip side, they risk being too literal over time. 

Suggestive names evoke what a product does without explicitly stating it, allowing for more imagination and brand personality to shine through. While they may require more work to define meaning initially, suggestive names have more flexibility. Product naming exercises help identify the approach aligned with a company’s framework for driving engagement.

When to Choose Descriptive Names

• When educating customers on a new product category. A descriptive name conveys purpose.
• When functionality drives purchase decisions. 
• In crowded categories with direct competition. 
• For B2B/commercial customers, 
• Commodity products where price and performance are essential. Less branding emphasis.
• While establishing a new brand for recognition building.
• When introducing entirely new or unfamiliar categories, define them.
• Highly task-oriented versus lifestyle-focused products. 

When to Choose Suggestive Names

• When building an emotional connection. Suggestive names can evoke feelings.
• For brand-focused, lifestyle-oriented products. 
• In crowded categories dominated by function. 
• When differentiation is critical for success within your product naming framework.
• Early in the brand lifecycle, when recognition isn’t vital.
• For disruptive products that change the category paradigm.
• Targeting creative, imaginative customers receptive to new ideas.
• When trademarking functionality terms isn’t possible. 
• To project desired brand attributes as part of your naming strategy.

Testing Your Top Name Options

Once you’ve narrowed potential brand names through internal evaluations, testing top contenders with consumers is essential. Getting feedback from the target audience ensures a name will be understood and appeal to them as intended. 

Methods like focus groups, surveys, and interviews provide qualitative insights into how each option resonates. Participants can assess clarity of meaning, memorability, tonality, and whether the name fits the product or service. It exposes confusion, negative connotations, or lack of appeal for particular names. 

The most successful ones rise to the top. With consumer testing, brands find a unique name that genuinely connects with people in a way internal reviews alone can’t guarantee.

Registering Your Trademark

Once you’ve identified the optimal name through consumer testing, registering it as an official trademark is imperative. While testing reveals the best name internally and with your target audience, trademark registration provides the legal protection necessary to establish your unique brand identity fully. 

Filing with your country’s trademark office allows exclusive nationwide rights to that name under trademark law. It deters competitors and secures your brand’s value. Without registration, there are no guarantees about future use of that name. 

Developing A Naming Convention

Establishing a consistent naming convention is critical once your flagship product name is solidified. A well-planned convention provides continuity across your growing line of products and services. It strategically builds upon your foundational brand name in a logical, predictable pattern. Customers then understand new additions at a glance as belonging within your ecosystem. 

Conventions simplify scaling your offerings through an organized framework. Examples include appending descriptors like “Pro,” numbering sequels, or using a standard naming structure. With a convention in place, future iterations easily roll off the marketing assembly line. It further strengthens brand identity through uniformity of product naming strategies.

Also, read our guide on product naming examples

Leveraging Your Chosen Name For SEO

With the perfect name secured, maximize its SEO potential from the start. For a new product, purchase an exact match domain name to reinforce your brand and match marketing efforts. Then, populate it with highly relevant, reader-focused content that addresses customer pain points. 

An existing product’s right name should already attract some traffic, but optimize titles, meta descriptions, and headings to capitalize on top keyword opportunities fully. Internal linking embeds the name prominently throughout your site. 

Outreach gets it mentioned on other high-authority pages for backlink juice. These tactics signal your product authority to search engines, boosting visibility for people searching terms aligning with your new product.

Boosting Brand Recognition With Your Name

The chosen name is now central to boosting your brand recognition and awareness. Consistent use across all marketing channels ensures the company name becomes instinctively associated with the products and services. Ongoing promotional campaigns spread the word, while positive customer experiences strengthen positive sentiments toward the brand. 

Over time, the name alone can signal what your company represents in people’s minds. Memorability and unique meaning embedded in the word during the process further aid this. With heightened recognition, prospective customers feel familiar enough to confidently engage with the brand where they may not have otherwise. Strong brand recognition also protects against potential competitors.

Evaluating Name Changes For New Products

Choosing the right product name through a strategic naming process is invaluable for recognition building. A name resulting from qualitative research, testing, and evaluation ensures it will optimally represent your brand. When launched utilizing a thoughtful product naming strategy, the product name acts as the initial touchpoint that builds an impression. 

It introduces customers to the core benefits or experience in a memorable way. With consistent branding, that name becomes synonymous with the high-quality user experience and value proposition. Over time, the excellent product name chosen early in the naming strategy transforms into a symbol customers can rely on, boosting overall brand awareness and trust in the company.

Things to Keep in Mind When Naming Products

There are a few critical things to remember during the product naming process. When naming products. These include but are not limited to the following: 

Consider How the Name Reflects The  Brand

When choosing a product name, it’s crucial to consider how well it aligns with the overall brand image, voice, and values. The name must complement the existing branding strategy and reinforce the qualities your company stands for. Make sure any potential names under consideration properly convey your brand’s personality and position in the market.

Choosing Easy-to-Understand Names

A good name must immediately convey what the product is or does at a basic level. It helps customers comprehend a product’s core utility with minimal confusion. Vague names may turn people away.  Simple, direct names stick in the mind better than convoluted or obscure options. It aids marketing efforts as customers can readily recall and recommend the product to others.

Reflect on Longevity and Expandability

When selecting a product name, consider how well it will represent your brand over time as your product portfolio grows. Look for flexible names for extensions, spin-offs, and sequels while still clearly tied to your corporate identity. It futureproofs your naming strategy for the lifespan of your brand.

Consider Trademark Availability

Do comprehensive trademark searches to confirm that no other companies use similar names for related products or services. Having exclusive legal rights to the name protects your brand long-term. It’s better to know of any issues upfront before becoming attached to a name you can’t officially use.

Things to Avoid When Naming Products

• Generic or non-descriptive names: Avoid names that don’t convey what the product is or does.
• Jargon or industry terminology: Don’t use technical language customers won’t understand.
• Acronyms or initialisms: Spell things out fully to maximize clarity and memorability.
• Trendy pop culture references: Dated references may age a name quickly over time.
• Negative or unpleasant meanings: Carefully research translations and interpretations.
• Overly complex spellings or pronunciations: Prioritize ease of use.
• Names too similar to competitors: Consider the potential for confusion.
• Legal or trademark issues: Thoroughly research availability upfront.
• More than one product in a name: Keep names concise and singular in focus.
• Lengthy names: Short, sweet names tend to be easier to recall.
• Unmemorable or forgettable names: Make sure names leave an impression.

Data-Driven Product and Brand Naming

Need help when choosing a great product name? Don’t worry; SmashBrand has got you! Our data-driven naming and product renaming process guides you toward success. As a leading product naming agency, we specialize in creating product naming architecture that resonates with your target audience and drives sales. Book a time to discuss a project with our team.