Formal management learning does not have adequate content related to the process of naming. This is an indication of the neglect of psychology by management teachers. My own exposure to the subject has been in the course of employment and my own business practice. I would like to share my recollections with you in this post.
1. Segmentation and targeting. I recall the case of a new systemic fungicide with which I was associated. France was seen as the prime market, so a sample of French farmers were surveyed for their choices of names. They settled on the French word for 'blood'. The latter reminded them of the new brand's ability to enter the sap systems of crops. This name made no sense in Brazil, so the brand had another name in South America. Large corporations can invest adequately to gain recall in global customer minds of novel names. Small and medium enterprises have to respond to the challenge differently. There is a risk of owners foisting personal choices on markets. It is important to allow typical customers to select names that suit branding best.
2. Values and passing fancies. My Mother bound copies of magazines in the 1930s in order to preserve knitting and crochet patterns. My generation has preserved these vignettes of a past age. Top cosmetics of this Millennium continue with names from nearly a century ago! The models change periodically, as do some physical features of the brands as well, but the name remains steadfast amidst such turmoil. It is tempting to pick fashionable names but classic ones will yield greater returns in the long run.
3. Life cycle management. This aspect is contradictory to the immediately preceding one. Brands for young people, and ones related to personal preferences, will become irrelevant in rather short periods of time. A business should develop and maintain a pipeline of brands that yield strategic flexibility. Perhaps this dimension favors large corporations over their much smaller competitors. However, a creative small-business owner can innovate streams of brands that appeal to changing customer tastes. There is a strong case for a range of brands covering as many possible future segments as possible. We can garner clues by careful observation of what customers do, especially with regard to emerging gaps in their baskets of needs.
4. Registration. I do not know about other countries but name registration in India is nearly impossible! The full process takes at least a decade, and unscrupulous elements are able to file prior applications for nearly every word under the Sun! Lawyer bills and threatening claims never end. The best compromise I know is to surreptitiously prefix all names with the founding one of a company or even a family. I think it also helps to establish widespread usage as soon as possible after the first name search and application.
5. Plagiarism, scope, and growth. This dimension is related to life-cycle management (outlined above). The best names are bound to be imitated. This can be an advantage when a proprietary name becomes a kind of generic for an entire product or service category. However, it is best to try and register a name with a statement and a graphic. Another tactic is to use goodwill for extensions, or better still, use just one name as an umbrella for numerous extensions. However, such an approach can become self-defeating over time if an enterprise begins to serve discrete market or customer segments. Clustering is more of an art than a management process, but it is invaluable in creating a fortress around a brand name.
I have avoided specific examples in this post since name owners might object, but can illustrate the concepts in my mind, in bilateral and private communication. Do write to me with your email address in the space below this post, if you would like my counsel and help in naming your brands.
Now for a practice case: the mango tree in the picture below is from Behat in the Saharanpur District of Northern India.
The orchard belongs to a friend. It is replete with the most amazing varieties of fruit trees. The produce is sold locally and the orchard is run nearly on a hobby basis. What if the owner wishes to expand? A name will become important as the fruit will have to compete with market arrivals from other areas.
How would you address such a challenge?
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