question "End User" Perceptions

[ThatNameGuy]

BrandPro - invalid - NamePro??? What name resonates most with end users? "Brand", "Domain" or "Name"? I know from my experience many business people don't really know what a domain is, however they know what a brand, and a name are.

I believe this is why most domains, 98 of 100 are hoarded and stay on the shelf. Any way you cut it, that's deplorable

Regardless of the definition of "Brand", and the belief an "end user" relates to it more than "Domain", don't you think a marketplace for domain names would best be identified using the term "Brand" like; BrandableBrands.com

Any other thoughts, views or opinions? Thanks

 

[Steven McEvoy]

http://brandonomics.com/

Need to say more?

my EYESS!!!

 

[xynames]

Brandables, over all:
Unless the word has something really to do with whatever the end user is doing or selling, In my book the biggest problem with brandables is that one is often as good as another.

 

[ThatNameGuy]

but trying to shoehorn it into something it’s not is a mistake.

And building some sort of visual presentation for each domain stating what the domain could be used for could backfire if the usage presented is narrow in scope. Maybe you offer images to illustrate what a great domain this would be to sell washing machines when the potential end user wanted the name for a tech start up, and now you’ve turned him off.

These “visual aids” are more needed for garbage brandables that wouldn’t sell otherwise versus top exact match domains that for the most part speak and stand on their own.

And by the way That Name Guy / Bulloney, you’ve been musing at NP about the need for “visual aids” to help domain sales for years now it seems, and yet I don’t think you even have basic For Sale landing pages with a Contact Us form for your domains let alone any of the complicated build outs you’ve been talking about.

Well it hasn't been years XYNames, but you're right in that I haven't developed or outsourced my domains YET for showcasing to the public. I know now I'm pretty good at the name side of this business...all I need is a technical partner who can compliment the strengths I bring to the table. Unfortunately Mr/Ms right hasn't showed up yet, but I have the staying power to wait 'til it happens.

I'd be willing to give away names like ArkBrands.com and/or PopsBrands and PopsDomains to a startup or anyone interested in partnering with a humble narcissist like me. I can afford to be patient 'tll the right partner comes around. In the mean time, I have plenty to keep me busy developing 9Time™, re-branding Hampton Roads and keeping up appearances

 

[ThatNameGuy]

It is sad that people know what Facebook (IMO today's AOL) is but dont realize that facebook.com is the domain name. But that is how it goes. There is a generation or two of people who still do not know what a domain name is.

I just had a garage door repaired and the guy (I'd say mid-40s) asked me "So, what is it that you do??". Among other things I mentioned that I buy/sell invest in domain names and he asked me "whats a domain name?" So that started the typical reply and you could see the wheels turning in his brain. He just never thought about it I guess and when he discussed it he seemed very intrigued and interested (unless he was a good actor!) LOL.

But yes, probably more people than no know what facebook and social media is than they know what brands and domains are.

AGAME...you are spot on about the lack of knowledge about this industry. I've been saying that ad nausseum much to the chagrin of my critics ever since I arrived on the NP scene. That's exactly why I see so much in the way of opportunity especially in the way of "outbound" marketing/sales of domain names. My belief is, if you educate them, they will buy.

You may notice that I just yesterday reg'd PopsBrands.com and PopsDomains.com. "Pops" is such an endearing word, I was pretty surprised they were both available to hand reg. I've already picked up some pretty "catchy" names associated with first word "Pops" followed by a second keyword that work for the restaurant industry, the financial services industry, the transportation industry, and the sports and travel industries.

Thanks AGAME for contributing

 

[branding]

The only thing I can say is these two domains sure beat the hell out of BrandBucket and BrandPa. I wonder if they might want to re-brand

All things aside, you're serious about that?

I like 'pops brands' (not necessarily the domain). They convey an authentic message.

 

[branding]

I need is a technical partner who can compliment the strengths I bring to the table

Out of curiosity (being honest here) what kind of technical partner are you looking for? There are plenty of affordable devs available these days.

 

[ThatNameGuy]

All things aside, you're serious about that?

I like 'pops brands' (not necessarily the domain). They convey an authentic message.

Thank you...i only purchased PopsDomains in order to "add value" to PopsBrands. I see it adding value in a few ways, and since it was just hand reg'd for $8.50, i thought why not?

 

[ThatNameGuy]

Out of curiosity (being honest here) what kind of technical partner are you looking for? There are plenty of affordable devs available these days.

Being honest as well, i would be looking at "partnering" in some capacity with a developer type who sees value in my brands/domains, and value in me personally. I've been close a couple of times, but neither time have we consummated our relationship Also, i don't have the excess $$$ to invest in a developer, but I'm happy to share the proceeds that come out of such a relationship. Does this make sense?

Thanks

 

[ThatNameGuy]

The internet is now 50 years old and highly intelligent business people still don't understand what a "domain" is and still don't understand the value of a "domain".

Isn't that strange ?


Well, I guess they will learn rather quickly when nobody visits their physical retail-store, their physical company, their physical bank, their physical organisation, etc. anymore.

But many of them are not internet-savvy, so they will never learn.
But they are experts with using Facebook and WhatsApp.

"Visit us on Facebook"

Well said Larion...this is the EXACT reason why I believe a HUGE opportunity exists to educate consumers about this industry, and the reason why I started this thread. This is also the reason why I believe a HUGE opportunity exists to employ "outbound" sales strategies using the keyword "Brand" indifference to "Domain".

This is also the reason why I choose to register my domains at Go Daddy instead of at Epik, or any other registry for that matter. Like the keyword "Brand" is way more recognizable than "Domain", so is the name "Go Daddy" far more recognizable than "Epik" ....i would guess that 90% of the people I talk with about the domains know of Go Daddy and less than 1% of the the people I talk with have ever heard of Epik. Make sense?

Finally Larion, don't you find it interesting that I attract so much attention from the so called professional domainers here on NP when I identify problems and recommend solutions to improve the deplorable sell through rate of a paltry 1-2% of ones portfolio? Thanks for sharing!

 

[branding]

Thank you...i only purchased PopsDomains in order to "add value" to PopsBrands. I see it adding value in a few ways, and since it was just hand reg'd for $8.50, i thought why not?

Yeah why not. Since you can obviously spare the cash. Good for you.

I was actually referring to you stating these names are better than brandbucket/brandpa. Maybe I should've been more clear but the pops names come nowhere near that.

 

[branding]

Being honest as well, i would be looking at "partnering" in some capacity with a developer type who sees value in my brands/domains, and value in me personally. I've been close a couple of times, but neither time have we consummated our relationship Also, i don't have the excess $$$ to invest in a developer, but I'm happy to share the proceeds that come out of such a relationship. Does this make sense?

Thanks

I see. Well, the hardest thing in finding a partner for you is that it's unclear what your endgame/goal is. Just looking from my perspective.

Do you want to build out turnkey brands, domain included? Do you want to just sell domains? Are you looking to get a foot in the door at marketing agencies? Branding agencies?

Maybe it's time for you to just write up a business plan. In my experience once you start writing down what you want and need you get a much better insight on what it is that you're trying to achieve.

Some honest advice.

 

[ThatNameGuy]

I see. Well, the hardest thing in finding a partner for you is that it's unclear what your endgame/goal is. Just looking from my perspective.

Do you want to build out turnkey brands, domain included? Do you want to just sell domains? Are you looking to get a foot in the door at marketing agencies? Branding agencies?

Maybe it's time for you to just write up a business plan. In my experience once you start writing down what you want and need you get a much better insight on what it is that you're trying to achieve.

Some honest advice.

Thanks Dirk...i was just asked a similar question about endgame/goal by another NP member to which I answered, it's to educate and expose the "end user" business world to the brand/domain industry. I'm not sure if you can tell Dirk, but I'm having a lot of fun doing what I'm doing, and I'm a believer that if I'm having fun the $$$ will follow.

Yes is the answer to "just selling domains", and Yes is the answer to "building turnkey brands to include the domain." While I don't know what will happen, another NP member just reached out to me either because they felt sorry for me, or they thought they saw something in me that I just so happen to see in myself. Call it braggadocious or narcissism, but I'll leave it to others to be the judge of that

Finally, I was just able to give you a deserved "like" after six months of being restricted. It feels great to be out of the penalty box, and I promise to be more careful in the future about how I treat others. And as an fyi, here is a sample of some of the logo work someone has done for me. It's this sort of thing a new tech/development partner can help me with for my landing pages etc. Thx

 

[ThatNameGuy]

my EYESS!!!

Just not sure what you meant by "my EYESS!!!" when looking at Brandonomics website? Personally I thought the site was rather crappy, but what do I know, I reg'd Brandenomics.com

 

[Steven McEvoy]

Just not sure what you meant by "my EYESS!!!" when looking at Brandonomics website? Personally I thought the site was rather crappy, but what do I know, I reg'd Brandenomics.com

It looks awful! I cant look at the website with getting a migraine. Who ever design that website should be ashamed of themselves...

 

[lock]

I deleted my brand keyword domains years ago missed out poor speculation had lost faith in some ideas.
I have FreeRebrand
PhantomBranding ( white label products )

 

[Joe N]

Also, i don't have the excess $$$ to invest in a developer, but I'm happy to share the proceeds that come out of such a relationship.

Rich, if you stopped registering names for a week or two, I think you'd probably save enough money to just pay someone to do the administrative work of listing your names for sale on a few marketplaces.

 

[ThatNameGuy]

I deleted my brand keyword domains years ago missed out poor speculation had lost faith in some ideas.
I have FreeRebrand
PhantomBranding ( white label products )

Thanks for sharing....i have about a dozen domains with the keyword "brand", two of which I intend to develop for "outbound" marketing/sales of domains to the millions of businesses worldwide. And since I bought these domains from Go Daddy, I intend to use their name strategically in my marketing to add to my credibility. Make sense?

BrandWik.com

and

RebrandPros.com

 

[ThatNameGuy]

Rich, if you stopped registering names for a week or two, I think you'd probably save enough money to just pay someone to do the administrative work of listing your names for sale on a few marketplaces.

Honestly Joe...i don't know why you care so much You needn't worry about me...there's a techie/developer type with experience just waiting for an opportunity like I have to offer. I'm looking for someone to help me turn this industry on it's head

 

[Joe N]

Honestly Joe...i don't know why you care so much You needn't worry about me...there's a techie/developer type with experience just waiting for an opportunity like I have to offer. I'm looking for someone to help me turn this industry on it's head

I care about everyone on here, Rich. I know you're looking for a long-term partner, but this is separate.

I'm just talking about getting your names visible so you might have a chance to sell some passively while you work on the long-term plans.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

I am sort of on fence on this one. I understand the arguments re brands instead of names made by several people in this thread, and brands does have a nice ring to it.

That being said though, a brand is much more than a name, so perhaps people should not call it brands unless they offer the full range of branding related services? Not sure.

The other, and perhaps more significant, issue I have though is not all domains, by any means, are sold a brands. You only need to read the NameBio list every day to see how many are not being sold as brands. So by calling it brands is that defining you in the brandable type names only? Like we all know the kind of names the brandable marketplace sell, and don't sell.

Anyway thank you everone for discussion. And best wishes for your names, domains and brands.

Bob

 

[trelgor]

Brand. I just learned today that in the last 10 years the intellectual property part of the valuation of the most successful businesses have gone from 20/80 to 80/20. Most of that is the brand.

 

[ThatNameGuy]

I am sort of on fence on this one. I understand the arguments re brands instead of names made by several people in this thread, and brands does have a nice ring to it.

That being said though, a brand is much more than a name, so perhaps people should not call it brands unless they offer the full range of branding related services? Not sure.

The other, and perhaps more significant, issue I have though is not all domains, by any means, are sold a brands. You only need to read the NameBio list every day to see how many are not being sold as brands. So by calling it brands is that defining you in the brandable type names only? Like we all know the kind of names the brandable marketplace sell, and don't sell.

Anyway thank you everone for discussion. And best wishes for your names, domains and brands.

Bob

Bob...it's because "end users" and the general public are not familiar with the word/term "domain" that we felt it necessary to use the keyword "brand" to attract attention. Think of it in terms of a "loss leader" This is why I also plan to use the name "Go Daddy" as part of my "outbound" marketing strategy because I can guarantee that no one other than domainers have ever heard of Sedo, Uniregistry, Dan, Afternic and the list goes on. I want to be known as the brand pro who happens to sell url's aka domains. Make sense?

 

[Bob Hawkes]

It does make sense, and thank you for the explanation @ThatNameGuy, but wouldn't names be even more known than brands? I admit brands does sound better, I just worry a little bit that (based on my two quick reads of branding books) that it seems to me there is so much more than a name involved in a branding exercise. Nonetheless, I agree your explanation makes sense and thank you for providing it to me.
Bob

 

[trelgor]

It does make sense, and thank you for the explanation @ThatNameGuy, but wouldn't names be even more known than brands? I admit brands does sound better, I just worry a little bit that (based on my two quick reads of branding books) that it seems to me there is so much more than a name involved in a branding exercise. Nonetheless, I agree your explanation makes sense and thank you for providing it to me.
Bob

”Name” is too wide, IMO. ”Brand name” would be the least misleading, but that will always shorten down to ”Brand”. Few words we use offer an exact match with the subject.

 

[Joe N]

I am sort of on fence on this one. I understand the arguments re brands instead of names made by several people in this thread, and brands does have a nice ring to it.

That being said though, a brand is much more than a name, so perhaps people should not call it brands unless they offer the full range of branding related services? Not sure.

The other, and perhaps more significant, issue I have though is not all domains, by any means, are sold a brands. You only need to read the NameBio list every day to see how many are not being sold as brands. So by calling it brands is that defining you in the brandable type names only? Like we all know the kind of names the brandable marketplace sell, and don't sell.

Anyway thank you everone for discussion. And best wishes for your names, domains and brands.

Bob

You nailed it, Bob. I agree. A domain name is but one component that goes into developing a brand.