September 11, 2007 | Category: Branding | Tags: Startup Advice

Having troubles coming up with a good name for your small business or new product? Don’t worry for there are several strategies available at your disposal to ignite your creativity. The latest trend today, according to Entrepreneurs Daily, is using gobbledygook names like Wakoopa, Imeem, Xobni, and Frengo.

Some of you may even be irritated as to why we should give a damn about names if we can offer great customer service and run effective marketing campaign. To borrow the words of Karen Post, a great name is like extra octane in a brand. In some cases, it can make or break your brand.

Here’s a classic example that came from the book entitled Classic Failures in Product Marketing about having a wrong name:

Hunt-Wesson, one of the largest and most successful food companies in the US, decided to enter the French-speaking Quebec market in Canada. Aiming to localize its brands, it directly translated one of its product lines, Big John, to French and it was called Gros Jos. However they failed to dig deeper and evaluate this new brand name. Later on, they discovered that Gros Jos is a slang term for “big breasts” in French Canada!

In general, you should pick a name having emotional appeal, personality, depth, and very sticky to customers’ minds. Moreover, there are at least 10 different ways to name your business or products and you can read them all at The Name Inspector.