Naming and positioning 2026: framework in one day

Once every couple of weeks I receive a PM: “Come up with a name for us, we have three days.” Under this request there almost always lies a hole worse than the name - no positioning. A name without positioning is a sign on an empty store. Below I will discuss not “how to give birth to a creative word”, but how to get positioning in one working day, and from it a name that passes the test and does not fall apart on the trademark.

The framework here is real, I’ve been using it on projects since 2017. The conversion figures are ranges, not “office measurements”: I will honestly say where this is the median for my projects, and where is the illustration in a related niche. Over 9 years in digital, I’ve seen enough how one word on the first screen moves applications more than a month of edits in Direct. More on this towards the end.

First, let's agree that these are different things. Positioning is about the meaning and place in the client’s head. Naming is about a label. They are constantly getting in the way, and that’s where half the failures come from.

Positioning is not your “mission”. This is the answer to the question: what are you being elected against and who cares most about it. The mission warms the founder, positioning moves money.

1. Positioning is based on alternatives, not on the “mission”

A classic mistake is to start with the question “what is our big idea.” The day is spent talking about the values ​​and DNA of the brand, but there was no positioning. The April Dunford approach reverses the order: not from yourself, but from how the client solves the problem without you.

The chain is simple and can be completed in a day:

• Competitive alternatives. Everything a person uses to solve the problem now. Direct competitors, Excel, manual labor, outsourcing and the honest option of “doing nothing.”
• Unique properties. What do you have that these alternatives don't. Only facts that can be shown.
• Value. What each property gives to the client in his language.
• Segment. To whom this value is most important, who pays the fastest.

Please note that there is no “mission” in this chain at all. And it's not necessary. Positioning is a working document on which all marketing then hangs: offer, landing page, sales scripts. If you want to first understand who you are really playing against, this is a separate job - I wrote about it in the material about competitor analysis. Without a fair map of alternatives, the entire framework collapses at the first step.

2. First positioning, then name

The order is not cosmetic. The name is a label on the box, and you can stick it on meaningfully only after it is clear what is inside and for whom. When the name is thought up first, then the fitting begins: the meaning is pulled onto the beautiful word, and not vice versa.

I saw it live. The team falls in love with the name overnight, draws a logo, orders business cards - but the positioning is never written. A month later, it turns out that the product stands against other alternatives than it seemed, and the name is now lying. It costs more to rename than to do the job in the right order.

The good news is that positioning lasts longer than just wording. You don't have to touch the name. Slack started as a game project, but the name remains. So rewriting the positioning is okay, it’s not a disaster. But changing your name every six months is a disaster.

3. Naming process: generation, types, filters

Once positioning is ready, naming becomes almost mechanical. You need a lot at the input, but little at the output. I make up 40-60 drafts without self-censorship, because “generate only good ones” gives a short, monotonous list, half of which will fall off during review.

It’s convenient to generate three types of names at once - this way the list turns out to be diverse, and not “twenty variations of one root.”

Next are filters. I run the list through pronunciability, length (a long name does not live well in the domain and address bar), the absence of awkward consonances, and a quick check to see if the word means something strange in another language. 5-7 options survive to the trademark stage, and one or two make it to the final. The rest is eliminated, and this is normal: it is better to weed out early than to fall in love and become stubborn.

4. Name verification: registries, domains, consonances

Here comes the boring but crucial part. A “beautiful” name without verification is a lottery that you usually lose. At least four points of control plus phonetics. Below is the checklist I use to judge the finalists.

The order is important. First, the trademark and domain are “no, let’s move on” in one motion, without sentimentality. I check phonetics and meaning at the end, when there are two or three candidates left, so as not to waste time on screening. By the way, if the product is planned to be released in several countries, it is better to integrate the value check in advance into the generation itself, rather than catching a surprise at the end.

5. Common mistakes: falling in love and creativity for the sake of creativity

Two mistakes kill more naming names than all trademarks combined.

The first is to fall in love with the option before checking. The team finds the “same” word, and then psychology kicks in: you don’t want to check anymore, because you’re scared that your favorite option won’t work. As a result, the check is done after the logo is drawn and business cards are ordered. This is the reverse order. You need to check with a cool head, before attachment.

The second is a name for the sake of creativity. A pun that will only be appreciated within the team, and the client cannot read, remember, or Google it. A name works not when it is witty, but when a person heard it on the phone and typed it into the search without an error. Creative that prevents people from finding you is anti-marketing. Mistakes also include trying to put the entire positioning into a name at once: the name is not obliged to explain the product, it is obliged not to interfere.

6. How one word in positioning drives conversions

Now about money and honestly about numbers. On projects where I rewrote the positioning on the landing page, replacing one semantic word in the first screen shifted the conversion more noticeably than weeks of edits in the campaigns. This is not an “office measurement”, but a range for my projects: in different niches, the increase in applications was approximately 10 to 30 percent, and this remained the case.

The logic here is not magical. Let's take an abstract example from a related niche: an online selection service. The headline is “platform for task management” versus “we find a contractor in an hour, not a week.” The first describes the category, the second hits the alternative - a long manual search - and immediately provides value. The second formulation is pulled straight from the chain of alternatives → value → segment, and it converts better because it speaks in the language of pain, not in the language of features.

The word works when it comes from positioning, and not from the copywriter’s head. That’s why I keep things in order: first the meaning, then the label, then the text. If the first screen is not catchy, I first look at the positioning, and only then at the offers and rates. How to connect positioning with a specific offer is a separate topic, I have an analysis about it GTM strategies, and how to collect a price from a value - in the material about pricing.

7. For whom value matters most: segment decides

The last piece of the framework that is most often skipped. There is value for everyone, but a narrow group feels it most acutely. This is where the positioning is focused, because these are the people who pay first and recommend loudest.

Finding such a segment is not a “portrait of the target audience on a slide,” but an understanding of whose pain is burning more intensely. Here it helps to break down the client’s path and his real task. I wrote about the route map in a material about customer journey map, and how to get to the bottom of the real work that a product does for a person - in the analysis JTBD for the marketer. When you know to whom the value is critical and what work you cover for him, the positioning formulation almost writes itself.

Conclusion

Positioning is not a mission, but a response to “what are you being chosen against and who matters most.” Done in a day: alternatives, properties, value, segment. The name is stuck on top when the meaning is already clear, and goes through a cold check of registries, domains, social networks and phonetics before you fall in love with it. Falling in love before checking and creativity for the sake of creativity kills more naming names than competitors’ lawyers.

And one correct word on the first screen moves applications more than a month of edits in the office. But only if this word is pulled out of positioning, and not invented in a vacuum.

If you have a product, but there is no clear answer “who we are against and for whom,” write to me on Telegram @dipustovalov or through form. At the initial consultation, we will break down your positioning along the chain of alternatives → value → segment and check whether the current name holds up. Starting consultation - 0 ₽.