Naming Question of the Day: How do I pick a name now that we have some great ones to choose from?

In many cases, I recommend at the beginning of a naming project, clients always have a plan for how a name will be selected before the project starts. This can help smooth the way for a more efficient name selection down the road.

For example, will there be a voting process (where the names are ranked by some criteria) or just one key decision maker or will it come down to the cleanest legal name? Sometimes, it’s a combination of all three. Be sure everyone on the “name team” knows what the plan is and why.

Either way, I’ve found as a client and a consultant, it’s not always an easy task—particularly if you have many strong name candidates. Here are some suggestions to help save time and make this stage more successful:

1. Trim down your choices as quickly as possible. (Your naming consultant will likely provide some kind of evaluation criteria or checklist as developed in earlier stages. This may also be done by legal. )
2. Consider involving a focus group (formal or informal) of customers, internal teams, or both to help narrow or rank name choices further.
3. Depending on your brand and the types of names up for review, your namer may also recommend a basic language review to ensure that there are no negative global implications.
4. The legal research, filing, and registration of a tradename and/or trademark (including the logo) can be a long and expensive process so consider selecting no more than 5 name finalists (depending on your budget) for final legal review.
5. Based on legal clearances, make a final decision. And protect your name as soon as possible using legal assistance. This is particularly important with names that will live in a national or global marketplace.

What about Your Website Name?

Along the same lines, register your URL name immediately. Even if you are still on the fence about it. It’s relatively inexpensive, even if you never use it.

Many naming consultants (and I’m one of them) may come across a strong name and register it for future use or even possible sale. As a result, available dot com and dot net names, particularly short ones, can be snapped up the very next day. So again, don't put this crucial step off.

Need help with your naming project? Please drop me a line, I’d be happy to help!