1. Telephony Today Spring 2013
SPECIAL PRODUCT ISSUE
What’s in a name:
How products’ names
come into being
Same Market - New Products
Different Strategies:
Competition within of 2013
Telecommunications
The
Relationship
between
Companies &
Products

2. In This Issue What’s in a name?
Naming Beyond the Physical Tips for Naming
First, a name is the promise of an experience. It has
What’s in a name? Competition Branding to help consumers simplify their choices. If a name → Avoid acronyms & overly complex jargon
The Naming Process Competitor Products Levels of Branding cannot quickly relate the resellers to the key attributes
Tips for Naming Technology Competitor Tactics Epygi & Their Product that the product has to offer, then they have little → Utilize names with symbolism and meaning
incentive to promote that product. It comes down to
simplicity, reliability, and accessibility. It is important → Easy to read, easy to say, and visually appealing
to create names that transcend the physical benefits
of the product to create an experience with which
with exclusive Potential Brand Components! the reseller can identify. It may be as small as giving There are a few more tips when naming a products
“Quadro” a clear meaning or by continuing to use the and or product line. Keep in mind, that there are no
relatable digits within names. These triggers should set rules in naming because it is both a creative and
relate back within their minds as to how the prod- personal expression for a company.
uct will be used and the experiences it provides their Firstly, acronyms are not the best choice, un-
customers. less they have very clear and understandable meaning.
Second, a name is a fusion of the emotional attri- While acronyms are often used in naming, but it is
Naming Technology butes and the functionality of the product. important to know when and how to do so. The in-
What’s in a Name? Third, it is the relationship between the product tended meaning should be something important, like
“If you make it impossible for people to talk about, and the reseller that is highly important. While it may the product’s shining attributes, for example.
you make it impossible for them to buy it.” seem obvious, the reseller should be at the forefront of It is also vital that the name is easy to read and say,
“Name” Is a significant point in our current endeavor. the naming process because they are the ones interact- especially within Epygi’s international and cross-cul-
(noun): a word used in logic While many technological products use combi- ing most with the product. ◆ tural market.❧
to designate an entity nations of numbers, letters, and symbols within the
name to indicate characteristics and attributes of the More on Naming Technology
product, if these combinations are too complex or
While this may be a definition of name, a name is “The best-named tech products demonstrate that
meaningless, then our target audience, the reseller.
more than a label. A name is a personality. A name is customers don’t buy products because they’re “tech”-
is missed. This concept is critical in this industry. A
an experience. A name is unique. Names bring with -they buy products that promise something of val-
name that expresses attributes while not being too
them their collected culture and emotional meaning. ue.” The name holds the bond between the reseller
confusing or too complex is key.
Connotation relates to the image and perception that and the product. The way people associate their needs
words and phrases gather. This can be translated into and experiences with a product is linked to the name
the use of brands and product names. It is important of the products as well as that of the company. When
to use words that fall in line with your ideal product discussing Epygi, this means that resellers have formed
or brand image or create new product names that can a bond with Epygi and your products. Naming tech-
then accumulate their own meaning. ◆ nology really isn’t that much different from “regular”
product naming. It is actually shown that overempha-
sizing the technological aspects can be harmful and
off-putting. This can be balanced by focusing more
on attributes and qualities rather than trying to sound
“high-tech.”
2 • Telephony Today Spring 2013 • 3

3. Same Market - Different Strategies Competition within Telecommunications
Main players:
Allworx, 3xc, Fonality, Digium, Aastra, Cisco. Marketing communications
We are looking at how they name their products How the brand is conveyed by end users
and how these products are portrayed in the market- Since marketing communications is how the brand
place. We found that within naming, people like All- is conveyed to end users, big dogs like Cisco are able
worx and Fonality have a simple consistency that can to form that relationship through a bigger marketing
resonate with the reseller and end user. Allworx brand budget. But they may not necessarily be attracting
name is mentioned in every product, and Fonality Cisco consumers. A lot of smaller businesses might
uses the word cloud repeatedly. recognize Cisco from this product placement but they
may be Epygi users.
Next, it is important to look at how these brands How Epygi fits into the marketplace is another Software updates
utilize the marketplace. Our team broke it down into Awards important perspective. This is the Epygi experience in Resellers liked how Epygi’s were integrated into the
five key points: Allworx has their awards displayed on their web- comparison to others. The following are three notable product vs. as an add on.
site. Epygi does this as well, and it’s a nice way to areas of market comparison.
reiterate to any resellers and end users that these are
Marketing Communications products they can be trusted. More memory
The focus group commented on how happy they
Awards Descriptions were that the 2x2 had more memory
Allworx uses adjectives like “dedicated” to describe Software updates
Descriptions their products. They also use words like “new” and
“announcing” to show that they are fresh and innova- More memory
Duality Knowledge of the product
tive. Knowledge of the product Reseller’s experience can be determined by the
Social Media end users because of how they will be able to answer
Duality questions and more. (One man even switched from
Fonality uses a simple approach for the end user as recommending Cisco products to Epygi because he
well as including a technical description for the re- understood their product better.) ❧
seller. Fonality is able to explain the product to some-
one who is not familiar with VoIP whatsoever. They
also offer a technical version for those who are.
Social Media
Utilized by almost every brand but varies in ap-
proach, Social media can serve as a platform to answer
resellers/end users questions. We see that you have
done so already with twitter. Here are some examples
of how the competition is taking advantage of that. ◆
4 • Telephony Today Spring 2013 • 5

4. Effective Branding Epygi & Epygi Products
Epygi & Quadro
An added value of the brand Epygi is that the products
When we googled the name Quadro, Epygi ap- are manufactured in the US. Although Epygi is a local
peared. company in which resellers in the DFW area can have
Epygi is Quadro and Quadro is Epygi direct access to, Epygi holds an international impor-
The use of the number 4 is very dominant in almost tance with a tech support team tailored specifically for
all Epygi products and the different products allow resellers. Even though they are located in Armenia,
global collaborations at minimal costs to small sized they can speak English fluently. Epygi is seen posi-
businesses. tively from a service perspective and the equipment is
seen as reliable with great value.◆
Building the company as a brand:
In order to build the brand, we feel the need to con- Epygi Focus Group
The expected level satisfies a specific target’s min-
vince resellers Epygi is what they want to sell. Epygi
Effective branding imum purchase conditions such as the availability,
has done a tremendous job in marketing it’s products In the reseller focus group, we asked what three
functioning capabilities and pricing. When a person is
worldwide already but we feel, because Epygi relies words come to mind when hearing the name Epygi,
To become a successful brand, there needs to be an faced with competing brands in a new product field,
on resellers to communicate their products to the end and these were some of our findings
identifiable product, service, person, or place, aug- they feel risk and most likely will purchase a brand
users, Epygi should make the buying process a risk .
mented in such a way that the buyer or user perceives that is well known because they are unsure whether
reducer by understanding the reseller’s perception by “Reliability,”
relevant, unique added values that match their needs that particular brand will work or not. To make buying
presenting and developing the brand in a way that
most closely. Epygi products a risk reducer, they need to understand “Local presence,”
reseller’s feel minimal risks when suggesting Epygi
the buyer’s perception by presenting and developing “Service,”
to end users. Because Epygi offers product enhance-
For a brand to be seen as something that has added the brand in a way that buyers feel minimal risks.
value, it should consist of 4 levels: generic, expected
ments, it is a better company and the brand and prod- “American made,”
uct rely on each other to become successful. The fact “Foreign service,”
augmented and potential.
that resellers have a strong relationship with the brand
“Small company” ❧
and can easily contact someone like Kelly, who will
The generic level is the commodity form that meets With increased experience, buyers and users may
go above and beyond simple transactions, sets Epygi
the basic needs of the buyer or user. In relations to become more sophisticated in the product so the
apart from their competitors.
Epygi, because the products are less expensive com- brand would need to be augmented by adding values
pared to larger brands such as Cisco, Epygi provides a to satisfy functional and non-functional needs. In
product that is comparable to the bigger brand name order to create awareness to the brand Epygi, a sugges-
competitors at a less expensive price. tion would be to offer incentives to resellers for pro-
moting and selling the product to end-users.
Potential is the last stage and with the brand evolv-
ing, by coming out with new possibilities such as
customizable portals to fit each users needs or perhaps
enhancing the product already established by adding
a memory card slot as mentioned by an interviewee
during the focus group. ◆
6 • Telephony Today Spring 2013 • 7

5. Potential Brand Components Resources for Further Information
Quadro4L+
The name is established already, and the plus brings with it the updates
and extensions.
Quadro M 200
Seeing as this product may be filling roles of the Quadro4L through the
Quadro M32x, this name stems from these existing names combined with
our previously stated insights. The number “200” is utilized in order to
hone in on the additional attributes, specifically the increase number of
phones and users.
We would like to thank you for your time today and during this process. Also,
thank you for this challenge. We would appreciate any questions or comments.
QM 200
Bridging the gap between the Quadro 2x2 and the QX1000 through using
naming tactics. The “Q” continues to relate to the name Quadro as well as Trevor Thompson: tathompson@smu.edu
the “Q” within the QX1000. The “M” originates from the “M” in the cur- Sophie Vongsombath: svongsombath@smu.edu
rent mid-user range products and can symbolize the medium user market. Adella Winder: awinder@smu.edu
8 • Telephony Today Spring 2013 • 9