How to Create a Snazzy Name For Your Product or Service in 3 Easy Steps

March 16, 2008

A few weeks ago, I was in Wal Mart, on the prowl for some type of exfoliating cream. The winters in Texas aren’t bitter, but the dry heat inside can work a number on your skin. It’s been some time since I bought facial products at a store, but my usual facial remedies just weren’t doing the trick.

I stood in front of several shelves of products dressed up in all sorts of colors. What struck me were the names.

Clean and Clear, Anti-Dullness Face Wash, PorePerfect Pore Minimizing Wash, Easy Healthy Skin, Deep Clean Gentle Scrub

There are many ways to use names in your company. First, there’s your company name. The last 10 years, we’ve seen a surge of ‘non-definition’ company names in the marketplace. They are cool and non-evident on purpose. Xpedx, Activa, Red Hat, and others may be cool, but unless your brand takes off they don’t do much for helping your would-be customers find you.

Other names might include products or packages you offer clients. If you have a book, your title is a large part of what makes people want to buy it. If you have a seminar, the same rules apply. Even your newsletter’s name plays a role in your success.

Imagine me standing at Wal Mart looking at a bunch of bottles called Face Exfoliating Wash with the manufacturer’s name on it. How would I begin to choose? There is definitely something in a name.

But what is that something?

Here are three steps to creating a snazzy name that will be ever more attractive to your clients.

State what the item or company does in benefit terms. Increase profits, Boost revenue, Transform business, Turnaround services, Decrease risk.
State what the product is. Seminar, program, package, face wash, exfoliating scrub
State a way your client wants it. Fast-acting, Turbo-charged, Super-easy

Put these three together and viola! You have your super magnetic name that is easy for your ideal customers to spot and easy for your non-ideal customers to bypass.

I know you would like some examples, so here you go…

Some good ones (in my opinion):

Company: The Sales Company
Newsletter: Bookseller’s Sell More Books
Product: Buns of Steel
Book title: Damn, Why Didn’t I Write That? How Ordinary People are Raking in $100,000 or More Writing Niche Books and You Can Too
Seminar title: Born to Win

Some that could be improved (again, in my opinion):

Company: Slo*Fit (Who wants to get fit slowly? I visited the site to check it out after seeing this on a building – only a marketer would do this - and it is called Slo Fit because you only work out once for 30 minutes, but the first impression is counterintuitive.)
Newsletter: Name of Company + Newsletter (Snnnzzzzz)
Product: Poo Kiss (Believe it or not, this is something you eat.)
Book title: Nothing But Words On Paper (Amazon Book Rank: #2,087,786)
Seminar title: Association or Organization name + Seminar (Yaaaawwwnn)

Don’t be tempted to use a name that is too cutesy or off the beaten path. Do get creative and infuse your company’s personality into your names. There are many ways to brand your company and one of them is to get your names working together. Remember, the names need to make sense to your ideal clients. Keep that in mind! There are tons of examples in the world of names that don’t follow these rules – think big companies, big advertising dollars – Starbucks, Nike, Google – but then look at these companies again and you will see the consistency in the brand names!

If you have a winning name, send it to us and we’ll feature it in an upcoming Marketing Mojo with a bit about what you do and who you do it for!