Remember the suggestions I gave for coming up with that perfect name? If not, read my previous post again.
After rereading my previous post, I realized that I needed to re-code it to be more efficient. It wasn’t nearly clear enough about the process. The good thing about blogs is you can go back and change stuff.
The old:
So how does one come up with a name? Without succumbing to some level of marketing cutesy-ness that makes engineers gag?
Take a step back and figure out what you’re trying to convey with the name. Since a name is essentially a mini-positioning statement, you should avoid the temptation to simply come up with merely a descriptive name. Boring! You may also try to avoid conveying something. For instance, if you want something to sound easy to use, you may not want a very complicated-sounding name. If possible, write down in prose what your intended reaction is when someone hears this eventual name.
Got that? Great. Now start writing down as many words as you can that are related to what you’re trying to convey. Pop up a thesaurus and go nuts. One word may inspire another; give yourself permission to go off on tangents. Once you’ve got a good list of words, you can start picking through them, combining them in whole or in part, discarding ones that give the wrong connotation, and otherwise manipulating them until you have a short list of favorites. Try to come up with at least 3-5 choices.
It’s pretty clear, right? But it’s not memorable. This comes up in bad presentations all the time. Never use a wall of text when bullet points will do. If you’re ever giving
Now here’s what my new version looks like:
So how does one come up with a name? Without succumbing to some level of marketing cutesy-ness that makes engineers gag? Let me help you get your “MBA” in naming:
1) Message. Figure out what you want to convey.
2) Brainstorm. Write down all the related words you can think of.
3) Assemble. Pick through and select different favorite words and combinations until you have a short list of 3-5 you like.First, the Message. Take a step back and figure out what you’re trying to convey with the name. Since a name is essentially a mini-positioning statement, you should avoid the temptation to simply come up with merely a descriptive name. Boring! You may also try to avoidconveying something. For instance, if you want something to sound easy to use, you may not want a very complicated-sounding name. If possible, write down in prose what your intended reaction is when someone hears this eventual name.
Got that? Great. Now the second step: Brainstorm. Start writing down as many words as you can that are related to what you’re trying to convey. Pop up a thesaurus and go nuts. One word may inspire another; give yourself permission to go off on tangents.
Once you’ve got a good list of words, you can Assemble. Start picking through them, combining them in whole or in part, discarding ones that give the wrong connotation, and otherwise manipulating them until you have a short list of favorites. Try to come up with at least 3-5 choices.
Two huge changes. First of all, it’s the old “tell ‘em what you’re gonna tell ‘em, then tell ‘em, then tell ‘em what you told ‘em” idea. That’s been working since your 10th grade English teacher forced you to learn how to write five paragraph essays with an introduction and thesis statement, three key points, and a conclusion restating the thesis. The second is distilling what I’m trying to say into three key bullets — with bonus mnemonic acronym, no less! — and then reinforcing each point afterwards.
I made similar subtle but meaningful changes to the follow up post — just look for the bolded words. It really does make a difference!
