If you have a product that needs a name you probably have at least a few ideas about what that name should be. Great. Chances are good that before you find someone like us to name your product (or company) you've actually written down a few of these names and played with 'em a bit. Maybe you've asked other people what they think about your potential names, even. Perhaps you and your peers throw a code name or working name back and forth as you work on your project just because you have to call it something, right?

Well, that's fine. But you should be aware of a couple things that are happening while you're doing this.

First, as noted in Monday's rant about cool code names, you're setting up your clients for a disappointment.

Second, and more importantly, once you begin to use a code name, working name, or even if you just start bouncing some ideas around in your mind you're beginning to lose the objectivity you need to name your project well.

Recently one of our clients came to us with just this issue. After months of considering names internally they were stuck. They hadn't chosen a name yet, but they'd been playing around with the same group of names for many weeks.

After our first round of naming the client was disturbed to find that some of their favorite pre-existing names had some rather large problems to overcome. For instance:

• The nonsensical word that they preferred happened to mean something in a foreign language that would limit their ability to own the word locally or globally
• The word has no meaning or connotation amongst the target market
• The word doesn't allign with the goals they've set out for the name or the company in general.

And there was more to it, but I'll leave it at that.

The real issue we had to overcome wasn't that they were in love with the name - it was that they'd become so familiar with the name over time that they couldn't objectively evaluate the difficulties that their clients would have in saying it, reading it, or understanding what it means. They'd come to embrace the term as catchy, when in fact it was downright awkward.

Think about it. You invent a term - say... "Cobonovirtuate" and you think about that term for months. You say it every few hours during the day. You go to sleep thinking about it. You use the term to reference something important in your life. You think of words that rhyme with it.

After those months have passed you are so familiar and comfortable with the term that you think it is the most natural thing in the world.

It can be tough to hear, then, that the name is flawed. I give big kudos to my client for trying to see past their familiarity

In fact... They're still not through it. But I'm rooting for 'em big time.

And if they don't see past it? We're gonna build 'em the best damn support structure for a flawed name that we can.

But, yes. Still rooting. (And perhaps next post I can address some ways to avoid sticking the wrong label on to begin with...)

Tate Linden Principal Consultant Stokefire Consulting Group 703-778-9925