In a recent scientific (Facebook) post, I asked my clients what their #1 issue was when developing a product and the answer was choosing the name for their brand!
I understand, it’s really can be difficult to name a product. Sometimes, it feels like that is the one thing holding you back from moving forward.
I wanted to share with you 3 painless tips on how to quickly choose a product name.
Tip #1: Start at the beginning.
When I am evaluating a product line, I start at the beginning and write out the story behind the product.
Perhaps you made the product because you couldn’t find a product that you loved on the market. Or maybe you developed a line because your clients asked you too. Whatever the reasons are that caused you to create the product, that is your history of the product and that is a good place to start looking for names.
What you will notice are the words that come out of your story, the feelings around the product and the problem that you are solving. Take notice and write those words down.
Tip #2: Make a word cloud.
This is how I come up with a lot of the product names for the lines that I am developing. Word clouds are basically a series of words written out in a 3×3 format depending on how many words I can think of. It is generally words that describe attributes of the product, your story or the brand.
Example: Body lotion made for people with dry skin
| comforting | relieve | chapped |
| dry | itchy | soothing |
| healing | Amy (fictious name) | natural |
| moisturizing | restoring | home made |
From this cloud, I see lots of possibilities.
Amy’s Natural
Soothing, comforting body lotion for all skin types
This process helps get your mind thinking on how to create your product name and often times your label copy as well.
Tip #3: Test the market.
What I do is make a list of my top 10 names and narrow it down to 5 or less, ideally 3. Then I shop it around to my would be customers or actual customers. Not my family, best friends or co-workers (unless they are my target market) but my actual customers.
I do this either via social media, ask my favorite clients or do an email survey. You could also run a contest or offer free products as a give away. The point is by getting your customer’s actual feedback it eliminates the guessing.
Then run with it and move on!
Don’t stay stuck trying to name your product. It’s just a waste of time. In the big picture a name is changeable and won’t kill your line if you are wrong. 🙂
Share your story on how you choose your name. I’d love to hear your comments!
Need to talk through it? Book a strategy call.
Lauri- that is a really good point! It is very important to make sure that the name is available! Thanks 🙂
Ashley, I love your product name! it’s really speaks to your desire to blend both natural and effective!
Hello, I enjoy reading through your post.
I like to write a little comment to support you.