Where Marketing Meets Domains

December 16, 2015

Welcome to Alphabet Domains Live Online Marketing Class … Where Marketing Meets Domains. Where Marketing Meets Domains is quite a subject and a powerful and empowering one.

Marketing is a term used to describe the means of communication between the company and the consumer, buyers or clients–customers. The three keywords are marketing, communication and customers or consumers.

Now with the other keyword … domains, marketing, communication and customers … we’re going to call this the DMCC Program.  This DMCC Program is the “life blood” of every company.  Success or failure depends on their DMCC Program … or lack thereof.

A model example of the marriage of domains and marketing or DMCC Program is the story of Nike Shoes.  Actually, it goes back to a time when Nike did not exist … when Blue Ribbon Sports was the rage selling a Japanese brand of shoes.

Blue Ribbon Sports was a company run by Phil Knight (owner of Nike). Wanting to take his company to the next level, he needed something different (we call this re-branding) to make the leap. He started with the creation of a logo to use for (DMCC Program) marketing his yet to be named new shoe company.

At the time Phil Knight was teaching (as an assistant professor in accounting) at Portland State University. A woman name Carolyn Davidson was a student at Portland State University and a chance meeting with Phil lead to a deal … A deal for her to create the logo he needed to launch his new yet unnamed company.

This 1971 meeting lead to Phil offering her $2 an hour for the gig (about $14 per hour today). Knight asked Davidson to design a “stripe” (slang term at the time for a logo for a shoe). He wanted it to give the impression of motion. She finished it but Phi Knight wasn’t excited about it, but accepted it and paid her $35 for the design or logo.

Then an associate suggested, with logo in hand, he call the new company Nike (close to Knight) and there began what we call Nike “Swoosh”. The Nike “Swoosh” cost $35 and Phil Knight has an invoice to prove it!

Well fair is fair … but the story doesn’t end there. Later in the early 1980s Phil gave her 500 shares of the company stock. ($500K today). Once the company went public, Carolyn Davidson received the stock and Phil Knight gave a party in her honor, showing his appreciation.

The “do the right thing” attitude of Phil Knight is why today Nike can hand out lifetime contracts to players like Lebron James worth … Contracts worth many millions of dollars and much more to athletes and have their own in-house brands.

Now for the DMCC Program … Here we have seen the marketing, communication, customers (MCC) with Nike use of a $35 logo into billions of dollars. There is another alphabet, the letter “D” to add making it DMCC … Yes to have succeeded the way Nike has, he needed the “D” or domain name.

MCC without the D would have been a complete failure … Why?  Having sales people ride around showing shoes out of the trunk of cars wasn’t going to work. He needed a domain name to market to millions worldwide.

Here is Where Marketing Meets Domains! With Nike dot com people could shop online and buy the latest shoes. He could display the newest line. Nike can show the  “Swoosh” and embed it into the minds of little children. When they grow up they will shop online at Nike dot com.

Now with mobile, Nike can use his domain (D) to market (M) and communicate (C) with customers (C)  in their hands … what a program! Therefore, when Marketing Meets Domains you have the “perfect” combination for a DMCC Program … leading to unlimited profits and loyal customers.

This is only the beginning … and the real lesson here is getting the “best” domain name to market and/or communicate your message.

Let’s look at some domains that pass and some that fail the DMCC Program test. For the DMCC Program to work, people have to remember the domain!

When Jeff Johnson (who would later suggest the name “Nike” for the brand) made the suggestion, he may or may not have realize it’s power. Notice the original company was called Blue Ribbon Sports. Now Nike … Imagine trying to remember Blue Ribbon Sports dot com.

If a customer miss one letter in Blue Ribbon Sports, they will not have found it. Now try to remember Nike dot com! See the difference … Keep in mind, at the time that was not even a commonly used term, Nike … but it is today … and used billions of times everyday.

Sometimes, it’s by chance the “right” domain jumps out! Today, more than ever, people have to remember you/your domain in order for you to find the success desired.

There are a lot of domains in this room. Look at your main domain. Look at it as if this is the first time. Imagine a customer, will he/she?

Here’s a domain that is worthy of discussing.  – – – JunkCars dot com (1st three omitted). Now the owner wanted a dot com and all are gone. Now here is a company big enough to deal in junk cars building their world of junk cars around a $15 domain with “junk” in 4th place.

Why is this a problem? To get the word out they are going to have to “Build” a brand. Use billboards, TV ads, magazines, radio and newspapers.

What we often say is, “Why build a brand, just buy it!”  in fact , take a minute and Google, WhyBuildABrandJustBuyIt … this is an Alphabet Brand … spelled out.

When you just buy the brand (D) you save Marketing cost (M) spend less time Communicating (C) with Customers (C) … The perfect DMCC Program. Marketing Meets Domains!

JunkCars dot com was gone in 1998. For $15 or less you can get some version of this domain _ _ _ junkcars dot com … was the idea. Obviously, they wanted to have the words “Junk” and Cars” in the dot com. Unknown to them, putting 3 letters in front of “JunkCars” missed.

Any questions, ask Nike. They spend less money Marketing or Communicating with Customers because they have the right Domain. Customers know to just go to Nike dot com … because the DMCC Program is embedded into most of the world population.

Nike dot com was an instant “hit” and the rest is history … use the “wrong” domain and we become history.

Why? It’s the cost to build. The cost of a simple TV ad can cost up to $15,000 for less than a minute. Get the right Domain and that will be your ad budget for 5 years. Billboard ads cost from $500 in small markets to $15,000 a month in large markets…this multiplied times 12 equals $6K to $180K per year. It’s not sustainable for a small business.

When the “cheap” owner found out the “right” domain cost $15,000 he rejected it immediately. Then signed a monthly contract for $1,500 a month for a billboard ad. That was one billboard on one road. He’s at $18K now. Then signed another one for $18K on another road. Now it’s $36K for the year…for 2?

He could have spent 15K once and everyone would remember the domain and spread the word for him just like Nike! What he missed in the planning stages was the fact that the building, the trucks nor equipment is his identity, it’s the domain name.

Businesses tend to think the domain is the last thing … when in reality it’s the first thing. Secure the domain and then build the business. Always build the business around the domain name (D) and not the domain around the business.

Thinking of rebranding for 2016? Look at the domain first! Is it the “right” domain name or does it just sound good? Like the “chicken” came first then the “egg”, so a domain comes first then the business.

OK, some of you need to change and use another domain. Even if you are a domain company, if you need to change, do so, like Igloo dot com. You never have to stick to a domain that’s not getting it done! Get the best domain and build your business around it.

Then Your DMCC Program will work today, tomorrow and for years to come … just ask Nike!

We hope this class on Where Marketing Meets Domains was of benefit and can become a point for discussion with anyone wanting to rebrand.

We want to thank everyone for coming and as always, if you have any questions about domains, talk to any domain provider and they will help.

Are you wanting to change domains? If the domain is taken, consider the aftermarket, there are plenty of domains in the aftermarket. For more information on the aftermarket, please see our previous posts.

The morning DomainReport.xyz  will be on live in about 12 hours. See what domains were secured today.

Thanks again for attending, Alphabet Domains Live Online Marketing Class … Where Marketing Meets Domains … Good night everybody.