There is a new idea born every day. Startups, entrepreneurs and innovative individuals dream up new products, services or even a new spin on an old idea. Unfortunately, the idea is just the beginning. There are issues of naming the business, securing funding, intellectual property, etc that must be addressed as well. Oftentimes in all the rush to get to market, the domain name is a forgotten component. Some startups don’t want to spend funding on an “expensive” domain name, often ignoring the value and legitimacy it could bring to the business. Instead, they might buy a domain that is not an exact match for their business name or service that is being offered. This presents many problems. Firstly, it gives the consumer one more thing they have to remember. A new business needs to stand out from the competition and the noise to reach the customer. If the target audience has to remember the business name, the services offered, AND an un-memorable domain name, the risk of being drowned out in a sea of competitors is high. A domain name should make it easy for the customer to find what they are looking for and be memorable enough to find it again and again.
For example, let’s say a mattress and bedding startup decides to name their business Great Rest. This implies that the products or offerings the business is selling will result in great rest for the customer. Good enough. Now the company has to decide on a domain name. They search the domain registrar for GreatRest (com), only to find that, “Sorry, that domain is taken…” So, instead of contacting the owner of the domain name to try to acquire it, they opt for the $15 domain name, YouNeedSomeGreatRest (com.) Does this mean the business will not be successful? Absolutely not. Does it make it more difficult for the customer to remember the name of their online store? Probably so. The customer who wants to find them online, just might type in GreatRest.com. After all, that’s the name of the business, right? The business Great Rest is now losing website traffic and potential sales to the owner of GreatRest.com! I don’t know about you, but it hurts my feelings to lose customers to another business. Plus, that $15 domain name, although inexpensive, also gives them one heck of a long email address! Joe@YouNeedSomeGreatRest (com) Imagine having to give out that address to potential customers and business associates!
Another option would be to pick a domain that describes one of the services offered. This way at least the business domain name is associated with the products and/or services provided. Mattresses.com is not likely to have a price tag that is feasible. But, other options might include BeddingSupplies.com or BuyMattresses.com. These are still close enough to the offerings and memorable enough to be sustainable in a marketing/branding campaign.
These are by no means the only reasons to buy a great domain name, but hopefully they will give startups and entrepreneurs a little bit to sleep on.
