Product Names — What’s in a Name?

When thinking of names for one’s startup or new range of products, people tend to fall into the bucket of

‘let’s go with the first decent name and get started with the business’; or

‘we first find the perfect name and then get cracking on the business.’

I have been a bit of both, reasonably picky with names and the kind who might sit half the night going through hundreds of variations to create ‘the logo’ for my venture in the past. And at the same time, I also set deadlines so as not to spend too much time on tasks like names, logos, and such.

And during any of my innovation and strategy consulting engagements, if a client is obsessing for too long on names (not a part of my scope of work or offerings but stuff that might slow down my work with them), I remind them that the likes of Yahoo, Google, The Laughing Cow, among many others didn’t start off with a seemingly perfect name. They became popular or memorable with their offerings and business models. Implying names only go so far, and it is the rest of the actual work that matters most.

And then I came across this clip. About a brilliant life-saving product from WWII days which, for lack of a better name, might have also been the cause of a lot of deaths.

And thanks to it, now I know better. That in certain situations, the answer to the question, ‘what’s in a name?’ might best be answered with, “everything!”

***

If you are a leader or product manager developing a new product, and could use a multiplier effect to all your efforts: Book a virtual consult today.