First of all, does your name have any negative connotations? If it does, it definitely is worth it to consider using another name. Even the catchiest names can go horribly bad if the name carries a secondary, even if less obvious, negative meaning.
Secondly, is an appropriate web address available for your name? In this age of internet and web dominated society, you would be missing out on a lot of chances to make a sale if you do not have a web site for your product or service. You may need to make changes to your product's name if you can't find an available domain name.
Thirdly, does your name sound well in everyday conversation. It is not wise to choose a complex name that is prone to tongue twisters. You also shouldn't choose a name which is embarrassing to say. If you do choose an embarrassing name, your customers will not feel like saying it that often and word of mouth marketing will suffer. This is unfortunate since word of mouth costs absolutely nothing!
Names of new internet startups, especially Web 2.0 companies, are especially important. They will have no offline equivalent and will need to rely entirely on web marketing if you want to get your site well-known. It is even harder for new internet startups to choose a name. Not only do you have to have a memorable, good-sounding name, you have to be sure that the domain name is available. Names that are short and catchy sounding are tough to get domains for, since most of the pronounceable 4-letter and shorter names are already taken.
Choosing a good name for your product or service is an important but often overlooked task. Do not simply go with what sounds the best at first. Research, do some experiments, and get people's impressions of the name before settling on your final decision.
John Xavier is a freelance writer. Find out more information on good and bad product and service names at the Bad Product Names blog.