Naming test. Choose the best name for your business with a brand test.

Today we’re going to talk about the naming test or brand test, a type of market research that helps you choose the name with confidence and assurance.

A brand name can determine the success or failure of a brand. It’s that straightforward.

A good name will help differentiate it from other brands and will be associated with qualities that convey the desired brand image and attributes. But how do you know you’re choosing the right name?

What is naming?

Naming is the creative process that culminates in the selection of the ideal brand name.

A name that aligns with the product or service’s characteristics and values and evokes the emotions the brand intends to convey.

The name given to a product or service directly impacts its market.

Through the name, potential consumers form a first impression even before considering the purchase of the product or service.

A good name can pique interest and capture the attention of your audience, while a poor name can generate confusion or rejection, leading to the brand’s failure.

Furthermore, if the brand is going to have a presence in different regions, foreign naming, analyzing the name in those places considering local, cultural, and language connotations, must also be addressed. Famous examples include car brands that had to change the names of their models when launching in Spain, such as Mitsubishi (Pajero), Opel with its Manta model, Nissan with the Moco, or Volkswagen with the Jetta.

Why is a brand name important?

The name or brand of any product helps convey a set of characteristics and qualities that contribute to the image the brand holds in the market.

It is, therefore, a differentiating element that endows the product with its unique features (functionality, values, value proposition, etc.) and significantly influences the brand’s personality.

The greatest success of a brand name is when an entire product segment is referred to by the name of a specific brand, as is the case with Tipp-Ex, Kleenex, or Post-It, for example.

Therefore, it is crucial to conduct a brand name study before launching a product or entering a new market. This is what is referred to as a naming test.

What is a naming test?

A naming test or brand test is a market study that ensures the name given to a product or service will be successful.

In other words, before investing in its launch, it should already have the approval of the target market, and its target audience should have validated it.

This helps avoid the kind of mistakes we’ve seen earlier.

Furthermore, the naming test also helps us ensure that the name conveys the brand’s values and resonates with its target audience.

Thus, choosing a good name will facilitate the penetration of the product or service into its market and offer several benefits, including:

• Promotion of the product: creating awareness among the target audience is much easier.
• More accessible sales: when the product name is easy and memorable, sales barriers are simplified.
• Increased brand recognition: an easy-to-remember name increases brand recognition.

The naming process is key to gaining visibility and adding value to the brand. To be successful, naming must integrate creative, linguistic, marketing, and legal aspects.

Key elements of an effective naming test

A brand name must meet certain requirements to be accepted by the market. These are logical needs aimed at effectiveness:

• It should be easy to write and pronounce.
• It should be easy to remember and retain.
• It should allow easy association with the brand’s benefits.
• It should not have negative connotations.
• It should be appealing to the target audience.
• It should evoke the desired brand emotions.

Therefore, a naming test investigates to achieve these objectives:

• Measuring the appeal of the name itself: reactions (whether it is liked or not, what it suggests, if it resonates with the audience, etc.), as well as its form (if it can be pronounced well, how it sounds, if it is easy to remember, etc.).
• Brand personality: its personality, what it suggests, what it contributes, which attributes and values it is associated with, what it offers, how it distinguishes itself, etc.
• Meaning: what it means, what it conveys, what semantic associations it creates, and how it is understood in different contexts, territories, and cultures, etc.
• Target audience association: who it is targeting, who it seeks to attract, and what type of audience it aims to connect with.
• Options: if there are different alternatives, which one is more attractive in terms of connection, communication, consistency, originality, creativity, etc.

How to create a naming test step by step?

At this point, it’s time to initiate the research for a naming test.

The brand test can use a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies.

Qualitative methodology is very common because it provides a wealth of information about what a name evokes and the associations it creates. Through online focus groups or in-depth interviews, you can gain a high level of detail regarding opinions about different name options, and you may discover perspectives that you had not considered. Thus, qualitative naming tests help preselect names that are believed to work best to achieve the desired objectives.

Once you have that preselection, an online quantitative study will help you evaluate each option and prioritize them based on statistical data. With a well-designed naming test questionnaire, you can present different name options to consumers for evaluation. The data from quantitative research will enable you to make a definitive decision with confidence.

Ensuring your brand’s success is easy. At We Are Testers, we can help you define a naming study. We will assist you in the process of designing the name test, creating the questionnaire, conducting the test, and extracting results.

Don’t hesitate. Make sure your brand has a name that meets all your expectations and helps you succeed in your market.