Continuing from this post, The web visitor is undergoing change in the way (s)he visits and revisits websites. The consumers on the web have taken to the various forms of bookmarking, rss feeds etc in such a huge way that the trend suggests that the domain name is being typed less often than before, and moving forward could reduce even more.
Take Netvibes for example, it adds to the options by allowing you to personalize the web. It is about having the web where you want it, the way you want it. It lets individuals assemble all in one place their favorite websites, blogs, email accounts, social networks, search engines, instant messengers, photos, videos, podcasts, widgets, and everything else you enjoy on the Web.
Whats more, they allow you to rename feeds, which means you might just end up naming a blog/website in a manner that the creator did not intend.
So websites are being customized, does this mean that domain names will be customized?
Let me draw a parallel with telephone numbers. There was a time when landline numbers had to be written in a diary or etched in memory. There were no fancy mobile phones with unlimited storage memory.
You had to remember the phone number of a person if you had to chat with him/her. The phone number was the only way you could be reached. If you had an easy number, people could remember it and hence reach you when they needed you. Hence everyone wanted a number which went 12345678.
The website is similar to the telephone number. Most of the type in traffic needs to remember the portal name in its actual form, if they want to visit a website. The domain name is similar to the erstwhile telephone number. If you don't know it, you won't be able to reach the portal (the portal is similar to the person).
Now I store the number of people I would like to stay in touch with, in a format and name I choose. His phone number could be complicated but it does not affect me. I have names of companies stored in a way I can understand and access easily. The names are typically related to a benefit I associate with them. So I need a bill register for my startup cafe, I call the person "Bill register Andy" - His company is called Total Retail Solutions but I couldn't care less.
Websites are increasingly being stored in a customized manner using one of the many forms already described above. Going forward, is there a possibility that the importance of a domain name will be reduced to inducing the first few visits. Once the visitor is convinced of the websites utility, he might just choose to save it with a name he is comfortable with.
To give you an example, I visit a page with a long and convoluted name (many /'s and .net attached to it) everyday at work to get past Websense, and I don't think it would have made a huge difference to my visiting pattern if it were called http://www.circumventor.com.
The site is just too useful, and I will visit it irrespective of what its called. All I do is type the first 2 letters and this is one of the first few sites suggested by my browser navigation bar. I have also saved it as a bookmark on my browser and on delicious as, yup you guessed right "Circumventor".
Now I am sure it would make life easier if its domain name were easy too, but the lack of it does not affect my visiting pattern as I have already custom saved it.
So How does this affect my site?
Coming back to what you should do to get your website up and running. The fundamental principles of marketing any other product or service are as important for a website. Awareness, Interest, Aiding the decision to try/buy, Product trial and Satisfaction are the mantras of any brand building exercise.
A good domain name will certainly ease traffic building, but with the web visitor becoming increasingly more powerful do not assume that your website will be remembered by the name rather than the benefit associated with your content.
Let ego stand aside for a moment, don't force your visitor to remember your website by its name. Let them customize it. Make it easy for the consumer to revisit your site by giving opportunities to bookmark your site, get RSS feeds and adopt other mechanisms in future which will enable the consumer to custom save and custom view your site.
Can there be more changes expected?
The future for browsers could well be to introduce a feature which allows you to custom save your website in the browser navigation bar. This will allow you to type "Innovative Marketing" and not my actual domain name to get on to my blog.
We might even have an online browser (like virtual desktops are in place), so that you can easily access your frequently used websites, from any location, with a name that you choose to associate with them and a navigation tool bar that allows you to brand the websites and not depend on their domain name.
Hence what your domain name is called can progressively become irrelevant to the all powerful web user. He might just choose to brand you more than you can brand yourself.
I have updated this post, thanks to the feedback that I have received (Thanks to everyone for stopping by). Your thoughts are invited...
December 05, 2007
Is there hope for the imperfect domain name
November 20, 2007
Does marketing feed into strategy? Or is it the other way around?
I was on Seth Godin's blog and noticed his post on Thinking about
Domains and just one line in an otherwise perfect, struck a discordant note.
"One last bit of backward thinking: if you're looking to start an online business, consider finding a great domain and build the business around it, not the other way around."
The key thought behind the post was to emphasize the importance of domain names. Though I don't dispute their importance, it is a stretch to suggest that online businesses should revolve around available domain names ie. search for available domain names and then build businesses around them.
How can one decide business strategy on the basis of marketing elements? Conventional theory suggests that Strategy feeds into Marketing and not the other way around. So I might decide to be in the online auction space and decide to call myself ebay, but will I decide to be an online auction just on the availability of a domain name?
Just assuming businesses are a little more complicated than that.
Nonetheless it is acceptable that entrepreneurs who are exploring opportunities at starting up in the online space, book domain names prior to finalizing their plan (or even start working on it). But booking domain names in the absence of a thought seems like shooting in the dark.
A website needs a lot of ingredients to be successful and the domain name is just one of them.
Let me reiterate, I am not undermining the importance of the domain name. It is equivalent to the brand name of a product in the offline space. Unlike brands in the offline space where the "first moment of truth" could be through packaging, ambience or even tasting the product, an online portal depends on its domain name (it has to be typed or clicked before the portal can be experienced in any way).
The question that begs to be answered is a larger one actually and I thank Seth for instigating this thought. According to this report, more than 47 million .com domain names have been booked already. Hence its highly probable that you are unable to find your ideal domain name.
So, Is the absence of a great domain name the end of the road for your business? Or do trends suggest that there is hope still.
Give me some time to research some trends before I answer that one, the last time I tried to answer it with insufficient research, I faced some serious flak from the blogger community. I apologise to every one of them. In my overenthusiastic attempt to try and see if imperfect domain names will work, and initial research suggesting that it was indeed possible, I wrongly concluded that domain names could be becoming irrelevant. I couldn't have been more wrong and I am thankful to everyone who pointed it out. The domain name is one of the many ingredients for success. A good name always aids success.
I have since taken that post off this blog since I don't believe in it anymore. I am hoping that the next few posts will correct some of the wrong.
So please hold on until my next post. I hope to throw larger clarity on this issue.
November 02, 2007
Coolhotmail.com - Why it could kill Gmail (And why it won't)
What is CoolHotmail?
CoolHotmail.com is a site where you can get a unique email id which truly reflects your personality. The email ids could be anything ranging from ishwar@underpaid.co.in to ishwar@ufoff.com. (Visit the site for a complete list - some of them are pretty good). It is currently launched in India and many ids are very India specific.
On the face of it, this seems like a good strategy against Gmail and Yahoo. Hotmail could have recaptured the lost email space with this piece of innovative marketing. An almost perfect understanding of the concept of "Cool" and yet not at all. Let me elaborate.
Concept of Cool
Lets first understand the concept of cool from the visual below.
When are you cool?
To state it simply, its when you are different. How can you be different is the next logical question. Simple answer again is when you assert your individuality through what you say, what you do or what you have / possess.
Is being different good enough? You not only have to be different, but also belong to a relatively niche club. "I listen to rock, not boy bands" is the easiest example. An even better example would be a Harley Davidson owner - I bet he feels way cooler than the rest.
Then there are the cool guys who wouldn't touch an ipod with a 3 foot barge pole. The only reason is that the whole world has one, they like the creative mp3 players and would go against the world to defend their purchase (they defend pretty well and they are a lot cooler)
I have to add that there is a thin line between being cool and being "just different". Not everything that is different makes people want to imitate or aspire for. "Cool" is something everyone wants to be.
Fundamental Philosophies for a Cool Brand
- The brand has to promise something different
- Has to give scope for people to assert individuality and yet belong
- Remain exclusive by making the brand inaccessible (like a Harley that is priced so high that by default it is inaccessible)
- The easiest way to have a cool brand is when the category itself is so well segmented that its exclusive for everyone. Though not a perfect example, lets consider music genres. Since there are a zillion categories, its easy for everyone to be different, belong to a niche club and feel cool at the same time. This can be sustained by periodic new introductions and for a sustained period of time.
So you want to Cash in on a cool brand?
- Be accessible in all forms - available & financially viable.
- Make it available and yet seem exclusive. Gmail has used this to good advantage by making registration seem exclusive as it is subject to an invite from an existing member. This will delay the shift in perception from cool to uncool (only delay not stop)
- Crunch speed of adoption from innovators to laggards by enhancing awareness, word of mouth and PR. This makes everyone seem like they are getting onto something new & different. But the difference between innovators and laggards should not more than 6 months. This principle has been used by Apple on their ipod and iphone series very effectively.
Why could CoolHotmail have been the next big thing?
Its got all the ingredients of a cool brand
- Expresses individuality and yet gives the opportunity to belong to a niche club
A number of segments and options for everyone on the same platform to feel they are different, even if they create a mail id at different points in time
In a sense its like the music genre example I stated earlier, so many options that everyone gets individuality and belongs all in the same breath
Of course its fundamentally different from other offerings in the market
- Decent viral - Check it out
Why CoolHotmail will fail?
I hate to say it, but the single most important reason is they called it "Cool". Anything which is called cool can never be cool.
- 5 GB of space seems less when other mail options have unlimited space
- Lastly the website features are not different and certainly not great. None of the cool gmail features that we are accustomed to. Nothing to write home about.
- Too many non targeted ads overtly intruding my space
What do you think? Can hotmail regain lost supremacy?
Update to this post!!
Alexa Rank : 1325 ranked site in India. 3 month reach has dropped by 47%. The anonymous comment left on this post doesn't smell of authenticity.
August 16, 2007
Brand Name Promotion - Cool "Stunts"
Just checked out some cool promotion gimmicks at entrepreneur. "Sign Spinners" as they are called, involve using acrobats and balancing artists to twirl sign boards around their fingers. These stunt men are typically located on high traffic junctions and twirl signboards around their fingers. It is a display of great skill.
Reports have it that it has had some serious car stopping effects, and is bound to generate tremendous buzz value for the first brands to attempt it. Its very low cost and involves getting permissions (from the government - All the best!!) at some key vantage points but no major additional expenses.
Of course the message being communicated should be minimalistic and I see only a brand name communication as possible. It automatically has a great fit with website traffic generation & communication of discount offers. Theme message communication looks difficult. There should be more ways to use this medium - Maybe two spinners, also doing a juggling act...
