Sometimes calling an apple, “an apple” is one of the hardest milestones for a company to meet. After all, the Granny Smith/Macintosh/Red Delicious hybrid (commonly referred to as the “GSMR Delish”) is indeed just an apple to hungry consumers. It may be the best tasting and crunchiest apple, but to its audience it is still “an apple,” not a GSMR Delish.

It takes months and years for organizations to develop products and services that go to market. Employees often get so attached to a working name that it becomes its consumer name. The name makes complete sense for those who have seen it grow but may have little relevance to the audience it is meant to serve.

This is a common and it is not hard to see why. Company culture is often so strong that it finds it way into external communications. As part of an organization, employees become so immersed in the way a company speaks to itself that it becomes hard to think in the terms of the consumer. Nomenclature and phrases that seem ubiquitous are a communications pitfall to the public.

It is important to review the working and marketing names of products and services in various stages of their development. Test them with consumers and find the way to speak to the end user in a way that is relevant, important, memorable, and tangible.