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Never before has there been such a rush for new company names, or for the products or services companies offer, than in the current wave of dot-com this and dot-com that. It seems that you can't turn on the radio or flip on the television without being barraged with names you've never heard of, from a very descriptive "DryCleaning.com" to a more esoteric, empty vessel like "Avalon.com," which (as you scratch your head) could be anything.
Great names have often compensated for poor performance elsewhere and conversely it can be said that some companies have never been able to get around a bad name, no matter how good the quality of their offering.
With so much riding on the outcome of a name, it is surprising at times how little emphasis is given to doing naming research or to doing naming research right. This article takes a high level view of how it should be done.
The Objectives
Before specific naming alternatives are considered, it is a good idea to spend some time thinking about your objectives. - Do you anticipate the possibility of having the company, product or service expanding into related or even different categories than originally intended? Just Gazebos sounds cute, but what if at some point you want to also sell lawn furniture? Recognize, though, that the farther removed the name is from what the company, product, or service does, the greater the challenge and cost in building a logical link or connection to it in the minds of prospects. The only reason that you know Cheer is a detergent is that you have been told that it is - many times.
- Is the name memorable enough for people to find you on the Internet? For many businesses, not being able to locate your website without having to try every possible iteration could spell disaster.
- What is the desired image? Is your niche to be the speedy guy, the low cost guy, the quality guy? Keeping this in mind can help to shape the naming possibilities.
The Choices
With the objectives thought out, it is now time to land yourself a good, creative naming team.
Typically this needs to be someone outside the organization to offer a fresh, independent and creative perspective and to eliminate both the internal political and emotional attachment issues that can often exist. If one camp in your company wants to call that new talking vegetable peeler The Carrot Parrot and the other is steadfast in a belief that it should be named One Potato, Two Potato, you are definitely in need of a neutral third party. Lexicon Branding, Inc., a naming research firm located in Sausalito, will literally go through hundreds of combinations, as well as do the legal research to yield a workable set of outstanding naming alternatives that can then be tested (yes, along with The Carrot Parrot and One Potato, Two Potato to keep everyone happy).
The Research
Once a set of names, say 12, are ready for testing, it is time for some qualitative work to assess reaction to the alternatives. This can be in the form of lengthy self-administered web surveys or, more traditionally, in focus groups.
The objective of this first phase of the research is to narrow the alternatives down to the best two or three prospects. Here associations with names, including their intrinsic connotations, can be explored, as well as the fit with the new product or service concept. What comes to mind when you think of Zuma? Is Maxivon more feminine or masculine, more for younger people or older? What kind of a fast food restaurant would Go-Go's be? Fast? Friendly? Expensive?
With the field of possible naming alternatives reduced to the most promising among the bunch, additional quantitative research is strongly recommended. At this point, many of the same questions from the first phase are asked again, this time slightly modified to fit in the context of a 10 or 15 minute telephone interview or web survey. The winning name can then be determined through data analyses.
The Biggest Caveat of All
The most important lesson I have learned about this type of research, contrary to the way I often see it done, is to evaluate the names before as well as after introducing the product or service concept. In garnering reaction to a name outside of its anticipated context, you reveal its intrinsic value, what really is conveyed by the name. You discover the connotation of the name without any bias that may be associated with the concept.
By and large, if consumers were given the opportunity to make the naming decisions for all that we enjoy in our lives, most names would be skewed to the practical or functionally descriptive. This is why, when a name is tested only in the context of its actual application, time and time again the winners for best fit are too sterile and, frankly, too predictable.
Who among us doesn't think that Pentium is a great name? Yet, if given the opportunity to choose between Pentium and PowerChip, after reading a description of the product it would represent, what would most consumers pick? Sad to say, more often than not, the latter, not the former emerges as the winner.
Like many things, naming research is a piece of art framed by research. Consumers should have neither the only word, nor the final word, but as their opinions are considered, equal weight should be given to evaluating names on both the front and back end to yield the name that offers the best hope for success. In fact, it is just this kind of thinking that has enabled our company, Q & A, to make a name for itself.
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