Naming: What’s At Stake? A Lot

Don’t think names matter? Consider a Social Science Quarterly report by Shippensburg (Pa.) University professor David Kalist. His report shows “unpopular names are likely not the cause of crime,” but factors associated with those names can “increase the tendency toward juvenile delinquency,” in large part because of preconceived bias about those names. To make a long story short, don’t name your kid Ivan unless you’re Russian.

Along those lines, the name of your product or company speaks volumes about the business, both in terms of the image you want to project and how people perceive your company. With so many things to consider when creating or choosing a name, the process may seem daunting and overwhelming. One may wonder, is it even necessary? The primary reasons for creating a new name include:

• Starting a new business – when you can’t call it Project Merlin anymore.
• Branding new products – when a new product has a completely different value proposition from existing products or the products the company is best known for.
• Changing an existing company or product name – when the existing name gets in the way of market comprehension.

Most of the time, naming initiatives are vanity projects. For example, in our market segment, individual product names are hardly even necessary. In fact, they often get in the way of recall and recognition. But if we’re talking about an HR technology company, and if the CTO is a founder or is revered in the company hierarchy for some other reason, you can bet there is going to be a very complex product taxonomy. We’ve even seen companies name and trademark individual features in each product! That’s cool if you have 100 products and a billion dollars in revenue. But what company in our segment fits that description? Inevitably, overly-complex product naming strategies create confusion among new prospects who frequently can’t differentiate between your company name and your product name. And why should they?

Name changes are more frequently necessary as companies extend their brands beyond their original boundaries. This is most often the case when companies start with a concrete name versus an abstract name, and then grow out of it. Recruitsoft had to become Taleo. Recruitmax had to become Vurv. Neither would have been able to move into adjacent product categories if its name continued to imply it was exclusively a talent acquisition solution.

Starting A New Business: Creating A Name

When creating new names, follow these guidelines as you choose a name:

• Keep it simple. Easy to spell. Easy to remember. As few words as possible.
• Avoid conflicts. It’s essential that the name chosen is free of all market conflicts and is not similar to any other company or product in your segment.
• Check on domain availability. Before you fall in love with a name, make sure you can buy the Web domain. It may alreadybe taken. Keep lookingif you can’t get the“.com.”
• Pick a defensible name. Your company needs to be able to own its particular name or phrase, and this should be reflected in its ability to be easily found on search engines. You shouldn’t have to spend an unreasonable amount of money to make your company’s name known in the marketplace. Your company name should perform well in search engine rankings, even against general interpretations of your name. For example, don’t name your company Bananas, because you’ll have to compete against a much broader SEO footprint that people probably care more about and search more frequently.
• Start with a blank slate. If a name is abstract in nature (like Rubata), there is an opportunity to create a brand around it based on the experience that prospects and customers have with your company and product. If the name implies some meaning (like Time2Hire), you may be presented with the challenge of working against expectations the name has created.
• Align with your overall communication strategy. It’s crucial that the your name be aligned with your value proposition and message – see Chapter 2 for more about messaging. Everything about the name should speak to the brand. For example, if the company has a reputation for doing things quickly and efficiently, the name should use short syllables; it should roll off the tongue quickly and effortlessly.

Branding Products

Whether a company should give a particular brand or product line its own name depends in part on the maturity of the company. If your company is new or merging with another, a new brand name may only cause confusion and dilute the overall brand image of the company. If the brand is already firmly established and the company is defending market share rather then aggressively pursuing it, a new name can actually positively contribute to brand extension.

Brand extension should only be pursued if a new product is a significant departure from a company’s original product line. A new brand name can speak to the breadth and versatility of a well-established company, but merely cause confusion for a company that isn’t.

Considering A Name Change

There is so much more behind a name than its literal definition. Customers associate a particular experience with a name, and when that name is changed, all the work that went in to building that particular brand name is, in essence, wiped clean.

So depending on what has been invested in a particular brand and how limiting a name truly is, your company will have to make a judgment call concerning the appropriateness of renaming.

• Is the current name damaging to sales? If so, this is a no-brainer. Change the name.
• Is the current name limiting or no longer accurate? This is still a judgment call. However, a name should be able to grow and evolve with the product.

That’s a lot to think about, but all things considered, a name should reflect the company’s culture, values and overall value proposition. Ultimately, a name is an expression of both what your company offers and what it is all about. Think carefully before you make any changes to such a valuable corporate asset.

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