debate Avoid national rivalry and prejudice via .com?

[Rippa]

Do .com domains always trump ccTLDs? Eric Lyon has been carefully compiling an analysis of over 150 first-level Country-Code Top-Level Domains available to global investors, and Elliot Silver titled a recent blog post ".Com Doesn’t Matter in Some Countries" But do ccTLDs have inherent weaknesses in being associated with an individual country? Just now there's a serious spat between Japan & China, with a measure of boycott. Surely a Japanese firm doing business as .jp within Chinese markets might be disadvantaged compared to that using .com (or .cn) ... this suggests there are also benefits to doing business under a corporate name not immediately indicating where you are headquartered. Should a small-but-ambitious new venture brand for the ebb & flow of national rivalry and acrimony?

 

[Eric Lyon]

Do .com domains always trump ccTLDs? Eric Lyon has been carefully compiling an analysis of over 150 first-level Country-Code Top-Level Domains available to global investors

Thanks for the shout-out, those were fun to do. Working on gTLD's now: https://www.namepros.com/forums/gtld-discussion.217/

Elliot Silver titled a recent blog post ".Com Doesn’t Matter in Some Countries"

Thanks for the reference of @EJS blog post. that was a good read as well.

But do ccTLDs have inherent weaknesses in being associated with an individual country?

Not all regions can be bundled up together and it really depends on the local marketing push and governments stance on their ccTLD usage. Which is why many have restrictions preventing anyone from registering one that's not a resident or legally filed business entity in their country. These are the ones that are probably encouraging ccTLD over gTLD usage for local trust and economic reasons.

As ccTLD's open up and lax on registration policy, allowing other nationalists to register/invest in them, it creates more revenue potential, but also comes with potential conflicting risks of abuse (Foreign and domestic).

Just now there's a serious spat between Japan & China, with a measure of boycott. Surely a Japanese firm doing business as .jp within Chinese markets might be disadvantaged compared to that using .com (or .cn) ... this suggests there are also benefits to doing business under a corporate name not immediately indicating where you are headquartered.

Political and international conflicts tend to cause some disturbance on a local level when conflicts break out. that's just par for the course though. hundreds of industries are effected when conflict happens, not just domain extensions. Sure, their could be repercussions on a ccTLD operating within the boundaries of a nation they in conflict with, leading to (But not limited to) devaluation, loss of trust, IP/ISP bans, extensions blocked from local network access, additional digital tax (Similar to tariffs), DDOS and other cyber related attacks on businesses using a specific ccTLD of a country in conflict, etc...

Does that mean one shouldn't grab a ccTLD in a country where they have a business presence or thinking about expanding into one of their markets, for fear of the unknown future state of conflict? Not at all. This is just chalked up as yet another risk/cost of doing business, on a global scale.

Granted, ccTLD's aren't for everyone. You really need a solid game plan and understanding of the region you may be investing into, for resale, development, business expansion, marketing, etc... You'll especially want to be a bit fluent in their local language and familiar with their legal system, in regards to what might effect your (or your clients) business by developing a brand on their regions ccTLD (Governed by their policies).

The fine print is important.

One thing to keep in mind, is that someone who lives in say, Houston, Texas, is more likely to do business with someone else in Houston, Texas, still likely to do business with someone in other parts of Texas, slightly less likely to do business with someone in another U.S. state, and even less likely to do business with someone outside the U.S....

As we start to add more distance for countries further away, active conflicts between countries, higher rates of scams in some regions, etc... the likelihood of doing business gets less and less.

Now, flip that scenario around with just about any country, locally (from the inside out) and the likelihood of doing business scale will look similar.

Trust being the primary motivating factor.

I think all TLDs have potential in their own way and in different regions, but with restrictions and caveats.

Due diligence in research is essential before investing into anything in life. Domains are no different in that respect,

That's just my opinion though. Everyone does things differently and has a different view.

 

[Rippa]

Within Sweden we certainly see that extra increment of trust with .se domains. But there's a parallel friction or hesitancy with neighbors and sometimes rivals .fi (Finland), .no (Norway), and .dk (Denmark). Perhaps that differential can somehow be measured? It also exists among Korea (.kr), China (.cn) & Japan (.jp), and surely political events can cause true anger or boycott to arise.

When the .com is available for a few thousand dollars it may be wise to choose that path from the start... (?)

 

[Aleksi]

Do .com domains always trump ccTLDs?

I would keep things simple.

If your plan is to serve local and international customers, get a .com. However, if you are launching a local business, such as a coffee shop, then get a ccTLD.

ccTLDs are also generally safer in a case of domain theft. You can contact the local authority in your own language and usually things will get sorted out quickly. As for the .com domains, in the worst-case scenario, you will have to file a UDRP with the help of a lawyer to get your domain back.

Within Sweden we certainly see that extra increment of trust with .se domains. But there's a parallel friction or hesitancy with neighbors and sometimes rivals .fi (Finland), .no (Norway), and .dk (Denmark). Perhaps that differential can somehow be measured? It also exists among Korea (.kr), China (.cn) & Japan (.jp), and surely political events can cause true anger or boycott to arise.

When the .com is available for a few thousand dollars it may be wise to choose that path from the start... (?)

Companies usually solve this "friction problem" by using the ccTLDs for all relevant regions (e.g. power .se, .fi, .no, .dk) or using a .com for all markets (e.g. ikea .com).

 

[Rippa]

...if you are launching a local business, such as a coffee shop, then get a ccTLD.

The only local coffee shop I frequent is an oddity named Franklin https://www.franklincafe.se Oddly, they are franchised to a firm originally Greek https://www.franklin.gr/en/ Maybe Franklin.com would always have been 'a bridge too far' ... I've no idea why they originally chose the name Franklin and not something Greek (such as Grekko.com) Anyhow, any small business faces challenges to succeed, but if successful, perhaps they CAN franchise globally

ccTLDs are also generally safer in a case of domain theft.

Great point I never considered.

Companies usually solve this "friction problem" by using the ccTLDs for all relevant regions (e.g. power .se, .fi, .no, .dk) or using a .com for all markets (e.g. ikea .com).

Power (Nordic electronics giant, POWER International AS) is a good example in some sense as they renamed in 2017. If you were guiding them, would you have suggested aiming for this present somewhat fragmented Power brand online format in Nordic markets? (power.se and power.no etc) or suggest selecting another base brand? Among Nordic consumers, few probably recognize it's Norwegian-owned. Rather than declaring that good or bad, it's interesting... whereas Ikea strongly trades on being Swedish.

 

[Aleksi]

Ok, so you're talking about a problem that can't be fixed just by slapping a .com on the end of the brand. You can’t get Clas Ohlson to sound non-Swedish no matter what you do.

But there is a distinct advantage for Swedish brands because Swedish and English are related languages. This makes it possible to create a brand name that resonates well with both Swedish and English-speaking audiences. For this reason, securing a .com domain early on can be a smart choice during the founding phase.

In contrast, Finnish companies can have a category killer local brand, but often face the challenge of needing to rebrand for global markets, as Finnish names typically do not work well in the English world. Therefore, acquiring a .com domain usually only becomes necessary later, when doing a global rebrand. A good example of this is Verkkokauppa .com, even a .se domain wouldn't save that name in the Swedish market. That's why Verkkokauppa .com uses the Verk .com domain as its global brand.

As for your question about Power rebranding, at least here in Finland it was a complete success. The stores transformed from Expert's 80s-style museums into modern home electronics stores. The brand name is excellent. The term "Power" is very familiar for the locals, as everyone in Finland, from children to grandfathers, is used to pressing the "power button". Power.com domain would undoubtedly be the best fit for the brand. However, I believe acquiring it is not necessary unless they plan to expand into the United States, which seems very unlikely.