Know-How Exchange : Branding

In your initial marketing to focus on the company's name, what is your messaging? What will you be saying to attract interest in what you offer? How will you differ from your competitor's offerings? By educating people about your company's goals/promise, you're hoping to attract interest in you business in hopes that this may translate into sales. But people aren't looking for a company – they are looking for solutions to their problems/needs. If you're crystal clear about your target market's needs and have proof that you can solve the needs as no one else can, by all means focus on your company's name. Otherwise, your resources are likely to be wasted. Instead, focus on how your first product can solve their unmet need.

Regarding naming – if you're planning to roll out a set of products that are complementary (a set of tools, for example) then a common naming scheme makes sense. If the products aren't related to each other, then you'll be starting with a naming handicap trying to force a name rather than choose an appropriately great name that will interest prospective customers.

If you haven't developed a marketing strategy document to guide you, start there. It's easier to do things on paper and perform market research rather than having to reprint labels, redo advertisements, redo websites, etc. when you realize that your messaging isn't working.

There is not an easy answer to your question. Much based on your situation and future plans. Answers likely will have a lot of "if this, then that" responses.

You could use the same product and company name. This is simpler, but also limiting. Having the same product and company name means that you will have to do a major change in the future if you ever want to have multiple products. Recent very expensive changes to fix this have been done by Google (which made that Alphabet parent company) and Uber (more with logo than name), as they found one name wasn't good enough for their expanding ranks of product offerings. Having a separate product name from company name definitely make it easier to have multiple products.

If your future products are complementary to the users/consumer, then having names that work together is useful. But if the products are not really complementary (often the case when a product is based on a technology, and that technology could be sold to vastly different markets. Example being GE selling jet engines and power plants and kitchen stoves - all based on heating technology, but not very useful to promote as a family of products grouped together.

One possible work around to start is to use a 2 word name, where in the end one word would be your company name and the other word would be the product name. Example being "Google maps", "Google adwords", Google Anaytics", etc.

As a general rule, a same-name approach can make sense when your target audience is the same and the core benefit you provide is the same. Otherwise you will probably confuse your customers.

BTW, almost every new business has limited marketing dollars. The key is to determine whether your marketing budget will accomplish your goal(s) before you spend it all. If not, then you probably don't have a good business proposition. You have to adjust your goals or your budget, or both. Why spend marketing dollars if you already know you can't accomplish the objective with your marketing plan?

Hello
Use Same Name policy. Key advantages are:
1. Cost savings while building your awareness. Each brand you create starts from zero awareness and cost money to penetrate prospects' top-of-minds.
2. IPR security. Protecting each separate name will cost a fortune. Typically company name gives you protection. Adding product name behind your company name is easy.
Look at big olympic brands like Microsoft. Main brands all are added to the company name (Micorsoft Azure, MS Dynamics...). Just one sample.

I agree that using the same name is cost effective, but that depends on what your company or your product is called and which name you choose. For example, companies may choose the product name and then find it more difficult to market new products, prior to it becoming a global giant, Coca-Cola was named after it's signature product. Expanding at first was not easy because consumers wondered if it was a Coke product -- remember Tab? It had to become Diet Coke.

So think about how your name/product differentiates you from others in your market. A good name is a strategic advantage, it identifies you and makes people think of your product, like Levi's - an image of jeans likely popped into your brain when you read that one word. Think about the creative story of your name, why did you pick that, and make it memorable. For example Lego is from the Danish "leg godt" meaning play well, a name used by both company and it's product.

Being creative may also avoid the legal trouble of trademarks. It's a jungle of registered trademark, trademark, copywrite, blah, blah.... You need to be sure your name can be legally yours now, not after some infringement suit. Spend the money on good legal help for this. You may want to pick a name that is completely separate from your business. IBM says what it is/was - International Business Machines. Others do not, such as, Apple or Square Root, a geeky name that doesn't say "software", or Lusha which doesn't mean finding professional contacts. But all 3 of these companies are known for excellent work and remembered.

What these last 3 companies have in common is a short, easily pronounceable, creative name. That is how customers and potential customers will remember you: catchy, easy to say and short.