Everybody has an idea about how to name a new company or even a new product. But when we are talking about naming a new service, things are getting a little bit complicated. The biggest challenges in naming a new service are the following:

• “Why do I need to name a new service? It’s enough just to describe the service.” This is a resistance factor.
• Differentiating the service naming process and the product naming process
• Finding the strategic tactics for defining a suitable service name

In this article we will try to share with you some answers regarding these three topics:

1. Why do I need to name a new service?

Let’s say that you are planning to install a security system in your house. You are interested in finding a good supplier and you have chosen two of them. You call both companies and you request for a visit and a personalized security solution. You receive the following two answers:

Company A: “Yes, sure. A guy from our company will pass by your house tomorrow evening and will start checking, planning and figure it out which will be the best security solution for you. Then you will receive our quotation after he will do a complete report.”

Company B: “Tomorrow evening a team will come to you and they will make the Home Security Audit. After that you will receive a Security Audit Report and a personalized Home Protect Quotation.”

Which of the two companies sounds more professional?

In most of the cases, service naming helps you to empower the preciousness of your services. If you are playing in the premium sector, if your services aren’t cheap at all, then you simply must take into consideration naming them.  

2. Differentiating the service naming process and the product naming process

We have a valuable and important hint for you here:

For product naming we advise you to use mostly nouns. For service naming you must take into consideration more to use verbs, adverbs or combining nouns in naming constructions which will make the target audience think about an action.

Services are more about actions than products. When you buy a product, the main thought of a potential customer is to possess it. Products are about the possession feeling. Services are about acting now!

Examples of services (they can be considered product too, but they main functionality is for the client to use a certain service, not to possess something):

• Booking.com
• Flying Blue – KLM’s and AirFrance’s loyalty program
• Discover Cashback Checking – a special account from Discover, credit card company
• Sales Navigator – Premium subscription from Linkedin
• Discovery – The loyalty program of the Global Hotel Alliance
• Hilton Honors – loyalty program for Hilton

3. Finding the strategic tactics for defining a suitable service name

The most important tactics you should know for finding your perfect service name are the following:

• Make a list with all the key characteristics, key benefits and key differentiators of your product
• Try to transform each of them in verbs, in action words
• Make some combinations between them. A noun characteristic with a key benefit in the form of a verb
• If the service is a passive one which is bought as an effect of the fear feeling like: insurance policies, security services, medical services, you can focus more on nouns
• If you are selling travelling services or if you want to launch a new travel loyalty program, be more focused on verbs which encourage the client to act now.
• If you are in the financial or banking industry, make a list with both options in the same time. Two names which share the same message. One expressed as an action and one expressed as a passive noun construction. See which one expresses the best your service’s vision

Don’t treat the service naming process as the cases of company naming or product naming. They are completely different things and it’s needed a specific approach for each of them. Do you have in mind a service naming project? Drop us a line and tell us more about it!