The Minimum Viable Name — A Product Naming Strategy
Need to name your product or company? Try using this simple framework to measure the quality of the name you choose, and to get a better understanding of the strategic trade-offs that go along with it.
Having just gone through a naming process for a product I am working on, I stressed over creating the name quite a bit. It’s hard not to stress actually, because in a way the name you end up choosing says something, not only about your company or product, but you as well. Then amidst my stress I had an epiphany. I can create a name, and depending on the nature in which the name is derived, I can adjust my launch strategy to make any name I choose much stronger. So in effect, “naming” wasn’t as important anymore because I understood the context of the name and the strategic trade-offs that go with it.
If this sounds confusing, don’t worry, I was right there with you when it occurred to me. So I had to quickly draw out a framework so that, 1) I wouldn’t forget it, and 2) I could apply it. Yes, I guess that’s how “business/brand strategy geek” I’ve become…I literally created a new strategy framework while brainstorming names for a new product. As a nod to all of rapid start-up activity I am surrounded by in Silicon Beach, I’m calling it the Minimum Viable Name framework.
Basically, the framework says that when you name your product, it should fall into one of the following four quadrants: Features-Functional, Benefits-Functional, Features-Emotional, Benefits-Emotional. The quadrant your product or company name falls in will give you a baseline for the strategy you will need moving forward. Also, if you are naming a product and it doesn’t fit well into one of the quadrants, then you probably haven’t found your name yet.
As you can see, not all of the quadrants are created equally. The farther you move to the upper-right area of the framework (see Image 1), the more your name will likely resonate with consumers, therefore, the more support to virality your name should have. The further to the lower left your name is, then the more work (time & money) required to ensure that the personal connection needed to speed the adoption of your product occurs. In a nut shell, it gives you an understanding of the trade-offs you have made in choosing your name, what kind of connections it will likely have with consumers, and a base for building any strategy.
In business school we evaluated brand names on the basis of descriptive, connotative, invented, blended, etc. These are all great buckets, and if you have thousands to spend on an agency to help you with your name, then expect this kind of deep dive. If you are a start-up you will probably see more value in putting your cash resources toward product design and development, BUT, I hope that you will also see the value in a strong brand presence at the outset, which a basic framework like this can help you work toward.
THE MINIMAL VIABLE NAME FRAMEWORK
There are only three rules to remember for this framework:
1) Benefits, Features, Functional, and Emotional are the buckets for each concept you come up with.
2) Always strive for benefit driven concepts over feature driven concepts.
3) Always strive for emotional driven concepts over functional driven concepts
In order, here are explanations for each quadrant. Also, I’ve created a graph below and placed some existing company and product names throughout the graph to give you a visual sense of each quadrants meaning…
Features-Functional: I consider this to be the most basic launch point for a product/company name. Names that fall into this quadrant focus more on the physical features of the product. Turbocord is a good example of this type name. This product is a cord that does something fast…sounds very practical. Is there a benefit? Maybe, maybe not. Do I need to spend extra money on it? Maybe, maybe not. Names like this usually come out of the first round of a naming session and if this where you stay that is OK. The trade-off is less virality in the future, but you may have an amazing product so that may not matter. Where a name like this runs into trouble is that even if it’s on the package, and you are staring at it on the store shelf, you still really don’t know what it’s for without a considerable amount of explanation.
Benefits-Functional: You should land in this quadrant if you spend a little more time in your naming session. Like Features-Functional, the name will be derived from product features, but here they will lean toward the benefits of the features rather than the physical characteristics. For this quadrant I have chosen Netflix as one of the examples. Order movies conveniently over the internet, is there a benefit? Yes, not having to drive to the movie rental store. Does that make me interested? Yes, I hate driving to the movie rental store. A benefit driven name should make the product more understandable and peak some level of curiosity, so try to set this quadrant as your minimum threshold.
Features-Emotional: Whether it’s features or benefits driven, anytime you can make an emotional connection with your name you are in a much stronger position at launch. Twitter is a good example of this type of name. You immediately have an image of a group of small birds tweeting among one another. You also probably have some kind of emotional response to the image…maybe you hear the sounds and they are melodic, or maybe they sound more like noise and are really annoying…each response is valid given the way the social platform functions.
Benefits-Emotional: This is the hardest quadrant to get to when you are naming your product, but easier if you are naming a company. The reason it’s easier for the company is that you probably have a product line you can draw concepts from, or you envision the type of culture the company should have. These are much broader concept resources than those that a product can offer so the emotional dots are easier to connect. One product that I think got it right is Nest. Nest is a thermostat that maximizes the efficiency of your homes heating and air conditioning system. Safe, snug, comfortable…these are all emotion based responses a consumer can have toward the benefits of the product and they are captured in a single word. Imagine if they had chosen a lesser name, such as “Energisave”, or “Ecostat” (this is a competitor’s name)…hopefully you see the difference.
APPLYING THE FRAMEWORK TO BRAND STRATEGY
I’ll post some potential launch strategies one may use around the framework in the future, but for now seeing how your product/company name fits among emotional vs. functional trade-offs should give you a sense of where your launch resources will need to be allocated. At the very least, the framework should help with positioning.
WRAPPING UP
Don’t be afraid to put a little extra time into the naming process, it’s a fun way to find connections between consumers and your product that you might not otherwise think of. Also, since you will need to understand your consumer before doing it, it’s a great way to help crystallize your market entry strategy.
If you have any questions or are struggling with your launch or business strategy feel free to reach out via LinkedIn or Twitter. Otherwise, best of luck!
