Original Post: When Should Domain Names Match Company Names?
by Karen E. Klein | May 11, 2012
“With so many startup companies building their business models around Web traffic and online sales, you might think domain names would be the top priority for a startup. But branding and naming experts disagree, particularly if yours will be a business-to-business company rather than a business that sells directly to consumers.”
My Quick Take:
What does your domain name say about your company? And does it serve your consumers?
With nearly every domain name already taken, it can seem daunting for a start-up to match their company name with a dot-com website. Quite honestly, it just might not be possible. But it’s important to closely align your brand name to your domain name — yet not at the cost of the brand name. Here, Karen E. Klein gives great tips about knowing how to creatively snatch up a sensible dot-com name, while perhaps waiting for your preferred domain name to become financially feasible.
In my opinion, if you’re B2C, it’s a lot more important to closely align brand and domain names, because there is not as much direct-sales technique involved. B2B can breathe easy and become a little bit more creative.
What about you? How did you secure a domain name that makes sense with your brand?
Original Post: The Promise and the Reality
by Chris Brogan | April 3, 2012
“What are the promises you’re making, and what is the reality of what is delivered?”
My Quick Take:
Chris poses a simple yet brilliant question. It’s so important to create marketing messages that properly align with what your business or product represents and actually does. I remember there was a brief time when TD Bank had a marketing campaign about their “creativity.” As a customer, I was scratching my head over this word choice, knowing that I didn’t really want my bank to be “creative,” but “convenient.” Their current branding — as being “America’s most convenient bank” — resonates with me and aligns more appropriately with what they deliver.
This is a great reminder to ask ourselves if we’re properly aligning our messages with our offerings.
Original Post: It Takes Courage
by Brian Solis | April 13, 2012
“…to bring about change does not take technology, it takes courage.”
My Quick Take:
Courage is definitely key to staying relevant and successful, and it goes hand-in-hand with adapting. Sometimes you’ll be going in one direction and suddenly realize the importance to change directions – and FAST. In order to adapt, you’ll need to have that courage — because we all know how scary it is to leave your chartered course. But today, it’s all about adaptation — about being willing to take risks and learn something new.
When have you had to muster up courage in your business plans? When have you had to adapt in a changing business world? How did things play out?
Original Post: Etch-a-Sketch newsjacking opportunity falls into Ohio Arts lap
by David Meerman Scott | March 23, 2012
“Sometimes, the Newsjacking gods shine on you and present an opportunity that is so perfect that you can’t help but jump in. [...] The only mistake the company is making is that they have not created any original content to take advantage of the sudden media interest.”
My Quick Take:
What a great slice-of-life post to remind us of some real-world business implications. I never considered these missed opportunities of Etch-a-Sketch, and it makes me wonder how many times we miss the chance to capitalize on our own opportunities — whether it be in the news or in passing conversation. How can we remain better aware of these opportunities before they pass us by? I honestly think one way is continuing to remain aware of other company’s PR successes and failures, and that means being consistent in reading blogs and the news.
What other ways do you think we can remain “in the know” with our (unforeseen) marketing opportunities?
Original Post: Social media is about social science not technology
by Brian Solis | March 14, 2012
“There is no good reason or explanation for why we are not engaging or learning from customers. As it stands today unfortunately, the chart above says everything about how businesses see and value customer relationships. This.must.change.”
My Quick Take:
Have you looked at the companies that are doing this well? I think of two off the top of my head – Keurig, who use their customer’s insights to drive their product development, and Starbucks, who have an easy, promoted way for customers to offer suggestions to the company (called MyStarbucksIdea). And then, of course, there’s the infamous example of the company (*coughNetflixcough*) that assumed something about their customers to great peril.
The bottom line is that we see the results of companies who are successfully engaging their customers, and the results of the companies who are not.
Which result do you want?
Original Post: Don’t Take a Bad Deal
by Chris Brogan | March 1, 2012
“I would rather not compromise my business for any short term benefit, because it never translates into a better product in the longer term. I learned that I must stick to my plan, lest I deliver a less-than-quality experience to my buyer.”
My Quick Take:
“Don’t take a bad deal.” This is a great reminder – and one I’ve given a lot of thought to, just worded in a different way. I like to say it’s important to “know thy customer,” which includes knowing who is not your customer. For example, if you’re marketing your product to emphasize the quality over the price, an overly price-conscious customer is not your target, and mis-aligning with such a customer could lead to a bad deal. It’s important to know who you’re reaching out for in order to get the best deal – or, in other words, the better-aligned prospect.
Image by jnsabino via Flickr
I wrote about the Boeing 787 Dreamliner in my book Value Prop. So, it’s exciting to see the day when it went for “big idea” to reality.
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Original Post from: SearchEngineWatch.com
February 13, 2011 | by: Mark Jackson
“As much as things have changed in SEO, especially over the past two years, some things remain a constant. Content in all of its forms is what will drive you to success….‘We’d need to create a helluva lot of unique, resourceful, quality content to show the search engines that your site is worthy of rank.’” (more…)
My Quick Take:
SEO is certainly important to attract lots of visitors to your website, but the purpose isn’t merely to get them to your landing page, racking up as many one-time clicks as possible– it’s to attract the right visitors, direct them to something of value to them on your site, and keep them coming back.
I appreciate your emphasis on thinking about your audience– what are they looking for? What questions are they asking the search engine? –as well as considering what content works best on which platform, and how the audience is interacting with the content. Great insights!
