Product Naming Guide

A lot of research must go into finding the right product name, and there are several factors you need to keep in mind while choosing the right product name.

Make it memorable

• The key purpose behind a good product naming strategy is to occupy mindshare, and you have to ensure the name you choose is one that is memorable and has staying power.

Make it easy for customers to remember

• An overly complex can be hard for your customers to remember without them having to make a bit of effort. Which is why you must keep complexity in mind along with uniqueness.

Should be easy for anyone to pronounce

• Customers can reject products whose name they’re not able to pronounce easily. This would be easier if your product was to launch in a single region, but with globalization that is likely not a possibility.

Keep your global audience in mind

• Accents and language caveats need to be considered before you finalize on your product name. You don’t want to end up with a name that has the potential to be misconstrued as something offensive in another country or culture. There are often cases where your product name is completely at odds with the messaging you want to establish around your product. 

Try establishing positive associations

• If possible, try keeping a product name that includes words that have positive associations or intonations. It can be hard (often impossible) to do this for a global audience, so you can start with the target demographic first.

Brand fit

• This is an extremely important characteristic – does your product name fit in with the brand identity you have established over the years? For example, putting the letter “i” behind any device or gadget would make people assume it is an apple device, which is a good brand fit. 

Even if you want to diversify your product name, you need to ensure the name fits with your brand unless you are explicitly hoping to break the association.