Domain names are vital assets for brands around the world, big and small. But who manages a brand's domain name strategy is an interesting question.
Not all companies are “big” and have the resources of a dedicated marketing specialist. Most small businesses only employ under 50 people, with mid-sized companies employing around 50-250 people. Many small businesses likely have 25 or fewer employees and oftentimes, of the 25, only a handful are likely “office” people.
You can only be an expert in so many things, and small business owners often wear many hats, but is one of those hats being a domain name specialist? Marketing/Branding specialist with a domain name side specialty? Not likely!
Is it up to the IT department to handle the domain names and the strategy behind them? “My web guy” takes care of that?
Just because someone is in “IT” doesn’t mean they are domain name experts. Every company's leaders should know and understand domain valuation, the branding reasons behind specific uses of domain names, the purpose of generic domain names, and why some companies are spending 8 figures to acquire certain domain names.
I personally live and breathe only domain names every single day. It’s all that I do. I know what other companies are doing with domain names. I know where companies put focus, what they are using for branding, marketing, and system domains.
I can research what your competition is doing. I can often get early insights, based on newly registered or acquired domains. I know where you are misstepping and could use some improvements. Do you?
Does any of this matter to you? It should!
We are in a digital age. Things are different now. It’s changing quickly and “online” is the key focus. This is a good thing for most companies. Global expansion of your goods and services is actually pretty simple now. Like, really simple. But it’s also crowded and getting more crowded every day. Interestingly, this all focused around domain names.
Do you have a domain name expert on your payroll?
Branding online is just as important as having a half-page ad in the Yellow Pages was. It’s just as important as your half-page ad was in the newspaper.
Do you leave your domain name strategy to your “IT” guy, your “web guy” or "a friend" even?
Think about this please, it’s really important.
I wish I were writing this article to announce a specialty service offered by Uni but that’s not the case currently. I'm writing this article for all the businesses around the world to at least think about your company’s domain name strategy — who handles it, what domains you own and manage, and how to improve the effectiveness of your approach.
