What's the worth of a good name?

Martins Blog

One on my oldest friends contacted me a couple of days ago (I won't say who to keep confidences). But he was tackling a tough naming issue - a new service needing a new name. He works in the public sector, I do not. He thought that the issues he faced were different because of that, I don't agree. The whole world over, in public and private sector, we face the same problem - finding the 'right' name is difficult, it takes time and consideration. Finding the 'right' name is valuable.

Public sector or private sector its always the same with a name. The clients typically see things from the inside looking out, and not from the perspective of their users. They can see what they want to sell or provide and not necessarily what their consumers are looking for.

Sparring parties
In larger companies and organisations (just for a little spice to make it harder) there are politics too. The competing ego's and enmities of different departments and divisions. They may not see themsleves as fighting but they usually are. Its rare that we find everyone 'singing from the same hymn sheet' right from the start.

Add in too the constraints of global brand or legal policies, where they exist. These are often written in San Francisco or New York to address a 'global' market in all 50 states (of the USA) forgetting about the real world, with all its languages and preferences. Or they may be drawn up on London, by a solicitor with no eye for customer need or business need, but with a zealous eye upon protecting the company from all threats (and opportunities!).

A name before a purpose
Dig a little deeper and we often find that Clients are struggling for a name before they have created a proposition. What's a proposition - a single compelling sentence or two of what they are doing, for whom, and why they will want it.

It may seem crazy, but I often hear of people naming it first and then writing the proposition to fit. No, No , No. The first thing is the proposition and to get this we often bring together all the sparring parties (sorry I meant stakeholders) involved in a new venture and moderate a session that doesn't end until they agree on that single proposition. Once we have this we can begin working on the name.

Moving from this new starting point; the name may take many protracted collaborative routes, part perspiration, part inspiration. Or the name may just fall into place - obvious, descriptive and compelling. There are many alternatives processes you might take to get you to the right name - to many to explore here - but start with the proposition.

PS: I would also like to make the following observation. This is a case when you always name first and see how it turns out.

Consider the task of naming your children
This usually happens when they are just hours old, when all you have are hopes, aspirations, love and fear. You have no way of knowing how they will turn out; what they will be like, what they will like, and who will like them. And yet you have to choose a name and hope it suits. A name that they will grow into. A name that they will become their brand.

You may not realise it but I think there is an unwritten rule at play here, and I think it works in business too. You see, I believe that names which fall 'too far from the tree' should only be used if you're sure your offspring can fill them. For example; Zowie Bowie became Duncan Jones, because he does not suit his given name nor the flamboyance of his father David Jones (aka David Bowie). Whereas Moon Unit Zappa is totally comfortable with her name as it that suits her valley girl, actress, author lifestyle.

Wacky names, that come from another planet, say more about the parent than the child. Wacky product names say something about their parents too. In business some clients are pleased to go wacky, after all that's why "We paid all this money to brand consultants". But you'd be wise to be cautious unless you are targeting a wacky market. Your customers may be expecting something more prosaic - and want a name that makes them feel comfortable, assured and yet still motivated. I think that's this one of the reasons for the success of one consumer direct bank 'First Direct' while another called 'Egg' failed. First Direct sounds like a modern direct bank service - the other sounds daft and might work for a kids clothes brand but wouldn't get my banking business.

Finding your one or two word couplet, your name that makes your customers feel comfortable, assured and yet motivated is worth a lot. So don't be shy to invest in it.