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Breaking into GTM

Does our name actually matter? We keep arguing about it and I cannot tell if it is important or a distraction.

The name matters much less than the words next to it. Nobody bought Slack because of the word Slack, they bought it because the line underneath said what it replaced. You need a name that is easy to say, spell and search, that is legally clear in the markets you sell in, and that will not trap you when you add a second product. The decision that actually deserves your week is the category word you put after the name, because that word tells a buyer who you compete with, what you should cost and what features you are expected to have. Get the name good enough, then spend the real time on the category.

Go deeper

5 resources, 1 India-specific, 5 link-checked.

📄 Article
✓ Link checked Free Beginner

Explains why the category word next to your name does more work than the name itself: call yourself email and you inherit email's competitors, price and expected features. This is the argument for spending your effort on the descriptor.

Don't let Customers Decide What Your Product Is

From aprildunford.com by April Dunford 8 min read

  • Most companies never position at all, which means customers position the product for them.
  • Customers are experts on their own pain, not on your product, so they slot you into the nearest category they know.
  • A winner in one category is a loser in another, on identical features.
  • If your best capability is irrelevant inside the category the buyer assumed, it is simply invisible.
Open aprildunford.com
📄 Article
✓ Link checked Free Beginner

A practical checklist for the mechanical parts of naming: trademark and domain screening, pronounceability, cultural checks across markets, and not picking a name so specific that your next product cannot live under it.

How to Pick a Name For Your Startup: An In-Depth guide

From Stripe 14 min read

  • Run a trademark search in your own country's database (the USPTO in the US) before you commit to a name.
  • Check the domain too, ideally the .com or a close variation, since recognition still follows it.
  • Optimise for pronunciation, consistent spelling, and brevity over cleverness.
  • Avoid names that lock you to one product, service, or geography, since the business will move.
Open stripe.com
📄 Article
✓ Link checked Free Intermediate

Dunford's rule that you build for the champion rather than for every persona in the account settles the buyer versus user argument faster than any framework. It also stops teams building four sets of messaging they will never maintain.

A Guide to Positioning with Multiple Products, Segments and Personas

From aprildunford.substack.com by April Dunford 14 min read

  • April Dunford's view: multiple target segments rarely need separate positioning, because the differentiated capabilities are the same.
  • A single-product company does not need distinct company positioning and product positioning.
  • Position for the champion, since the champion is the only person who can make a deal happen while everyone else can kill it.
  • The simpler the positioning, the stronger it is and the easier it is for the team to make it real in the market.
Open aprildunford.substack.com
📄 Article
✓ Link checked India Free Beginner

Walks an Indian SaaS team from positioning through story, style guide and proof, with Keka and Chargebee as worked examples rather than American ones. Useful for seeing where brand work sits relative to the positioning decision.

Indian SaaS Startups' Guide To Brand Marketing

From Inc42 by Komal Ahuja 10 min read

  • Buyers are four times more likely to trust brands driven by a clear purpose or cause.
  • Chargebee leans on visible social proof: over 500 G2 reviews at an average 4.6 rating.
  • Keka built its brand with no advertising spend at all.
  • Six building blocks: audience and market fit, purpose and story, brand experience, style guide, content, and social proof.
Open inc42.com

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