business-registration, brand, naming, domain-nameI am trying to be a bit scientific when choosing a company name and created a survey structure to test different names. I aimed to make it short (only 7 real questions) while testing the main criteria I have for picking a name.
Do you think this survey has a suitable template that would provide me with data to cover the most important criteria for deciding upon a brand name:
I applaud your impulse to make name choosing systematic. And I'm not going to quibble about criteria - though I'd say in general it's easier to set negative criteria (screening for cases where names are going to get you in trouble) than positive ones beyond your first pair (a memorable name that's easy to spell right first time you hear it and say right first time you say it).
Seth Godin tells a great story here about naming, and I like his method, not as the right answer for all occasions, but as a good way of getting to a workable name. His point is that while (probably) all reasonable length English words you might like aren't available at reasonable price in the .com, something magical can happen when you take two English words that makes sense grammatically but don't normally go together. You get memorability when seen or said, spellability and readability for free (as long as you screen out cases where the letters give unhelpful letter combinations and ambiguous word breaks). Meaning you don't get, though in your sense (a clue) you absolutely could, if that's what you want.
OK, so I've gone near your question, now I'm going to get closer in.
Most names I know that have been built on frameworks you suggest have been corporate, and they've been chosen to cover situations like mergers or international expansion, where a name change may be seen as advantageous. One famous example was Consignia, a name that was a wonderful choice against most criteria, and an abject failure where it mattered. So yes, Accenture is here to stay, but it took huge marketing spend to establish it.
So finally, could a survey help, and is yours well-structured? Well, if you want to check your assertion that a given name meets specific objective criteria, it absolutely makes sense to ask others. But regarding the more objective criteria, I would suggest giving it to people you know, because you aren't looking for the wisdom of the crowd, just a check.
If you're with me on the small sample approach, then I'd further suggest that you test the parts that require sound (someone speaking the name to test how it's heard, or the other party being asked to pronounce a name they've only just seen) live, whether face to face, by phone or with a hangout. When surveys contain more than text, a lot of noise goes in via the content (an audio file or video, say) and the mechanics (a listen button or viewing screen), which means that to achieve significance is time, resource and quite possibly cash intensive.
Good luck. I'm intrigued to see what's behind your appy ideas!
Look at the 22 immutable laws of branding. You maybe able to find it online. It had a section on brand names and is generally a very good book. The best thing was it had a lot of examples to back up what it claims.
Here is some general rules:
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