There are the right reasons to agonize over a name, and then there are the wrong reasons. Your name needs to be easily and intuitively pronouncable in the user's head. Furthermore, and similarly, it needs to be easily spellable.
IMO, too much fuss is made over the need for a "memorable" name. Names usually don't become memorable until they become known. We all think Google is the ultimate example of a "memorable" name, inasmuch as it became a verb through its ubiquity. But it's memorable in hindsight. It became a verb only because the product became ubiquitous. I can guarantee you that, had Google been named something different -- let's say Gorkle -- we'd all be talking about "gorkling" things right now.
Memorability is the product of good marketing; it is not the antecedent to it. Focus on getting to memorable.
I fully agree that the basis for becoming memorable is by providing value.
Picture a meeting with a customer or VC that understands German (and there are many!). It took us valuable distraction time to get away from the name of the service to its value. In some cases a good conversation was just not possible anymore. Too much distraction from the story we felt was important :-(
Comments
There are the right reasons to agonize over a name, and then there are the wrong reasons. Your name needs to be easily and intuitively pronouncable in the user's head. Furthermore, and similarly, it needs to be easily spellable.
IMO, too much fuss is made over the need for a "memorable" name. Names usually don't become memorable until they become known. We all think Google is the ultimate example of a "memorable" name, inasmuch as it became a verb through its ubiquity. But it's memorable in hindsight. It became a verb only because the product became ubiquitous. I can guarantee you that, had Google been named something different -- let's say Gorkle -- we'd all be talking about "gorkling" things right now.
Memorability is the product of good marketing; it is not the antecedent to it. Focus on getting to memorable.
I fully agree that the basis for becoming memorable is by providing value.
Picture a meeting with a customer or VC that understands German (and there are many!). It took us valuable distraction time to get away from the name of the service to its value. In some cases a good conversation was just not possible anymore. Too much distraction from the story we felt was important :-(