Given that the name Twitter came about by accident, Google comes from the misspelled word “googol,” and Zynga was created in honor of the CEO’s dog, answering the question “What’s the recipe for a good name?” is hard to come up with a strict algorithm.
Because just as bestselling novels weren’t decided by their names, but by their content, the same is true for any product. But we have some inspiration for you.
Sometimes the names shock us, e.g. Virgin, sometimes we do not know how to pronounce them (Auchan), and sometimes they even scare us – one of the restaurants named its premises Thai Tanic. As you can see, nothing prevents you from naming your restaurant after the ship that claimed 1500 lives.
Composing a proper name for our business is of enormous importance, everyone knows that. Hence, names that do not go beyond mediocrity – “Pizza on the Phone” or “Cafe Cafe” are puzzling. Here, however, the first characteristic of an ideal name emerges – uniqueness. It can even be the backward-reading name of your uncle’s cat, the important thing is that it’s the only one in the world.
It is also important to remember not to be subject to fads. It’s best not to try to come up with new names at all, taking inspiration from existing ones. If you want to start a Christmas bauble store, don’t grab the name Bombex or Bombkpol, although you have to admit that they sound pretty funny and maybe they would catch on
A good idea is to write down words that you associate with your new product and then just start playing with them. Add more associations, maybe some proverbs, extra letters, change endings. Take them apart and create from scratch!
The main role of a product name is to lead the customer to purchase by convincing them that this is the best choice for them.
You carry a laptop in your backpack all day long. When you’re looking for a new one, lightweight is the most important feature for you, so would you choose a MacBook Pro or a MacBook Air?
Your product name should also inspire confidence in your brand. This is achieved consistently. If all your product names sound like iPhone, iPad, iTunes and suddenly you launch a new music service called ,“Musica”, it will sound random and may cause your customers to lose trust in your brand.
Finally, the product name should help your brand generate buzz. English speakers, when talking about facial wipes of any brand, often call them “Kleenex”, which is the brand name of only one but popular company. This is precisely the effect of a catchy name.
Here are 4 points you may find useful when brainstorming a custom name for your product:
Main Photo: Negative Space/pexels.com
