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Selecting an appropriate domain name is important in building a business online presence. Some say, you should check if the URL is available before you even decide on a name for your business. But if you are already in business, chances are you already have a website and a brand. Earlier this year, nearly 1,400 of these new domain tags—called new generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs) started to become available for purchase to the public. Now some small business owners may be considering changing their entire business name to take on a new website, but before taking on new tags like .guru .wedding, .expert and .wow, realize that making a switch to a less recognized domain at this stage in your business could be costly.
Supporters of domain expansion claim it is increasing competition, and helping new small businesses acquire website names more specifically tailored to their business. But this dramatic increase in gTLDs may cause problems—like trademark infringement, cybercrime and cybersquatting. These legal headaches are expensive and most small businesses are not financially prepared to handle them.
If you are thinking about rebranding your small business online, think it through carefully. Just because your specialty tag is available, it doesn’t mean you should toss away all the brand equity in your current business name. If your business brand has built trust with your customers, you should be cautious about changing the name of your business. Here are four issues you should consider before changing your small business online identity.
- Create three reasons to change the business name. Small business owners tend to have bright shiny object syndrome about new trends. Don’t change your online brand just because a new URL is available or because you are ready for a change. Get clear about why you are going to create all the expense and work of rebranding your business. Develop three different reasons for why you are changing your business brand. Your business name has brand equity, customer recognition, and that should be a major consideration.
- Count the costs. There’s a hefty price tag that comes with a name change and rebranding effort. You must consider the cost of changing signage, stationery, packaging, business cards, sales collateral and consider the fact that you’ll have to build a new website, rebuild all your traffic, and keep the old one going for at least a year, so that your loyal customers can find you and be redirected to your new website.
- Test the new name. Before you just whip out your credit card and buy a new website vanity tag, try it out first. You need to solicit feedback from your staff and loyal customers. Select a sample of your best customers and vendors and run your new name by them. Don’t fall in love with your own idea, make sure your customers like it, and that it is memorable. After all, you want a name that will attract business. Be sure to ask if you new brand will capture the brand equity in your current name.
- Legally check out a new name. Don’t just buy a new website domain, make sure you can legally use it first. The last thing you want to do is purchase a new brand only to find out later that you have created a copyright infringement by using another business’ registered trademark. Start with a basic internet search to see if anyone else is using something even close to your would-be brand, and then contract your legal resource for a due diligence check. If you are using a name that a Fortune 500 company might see as a copyright issue, you could have an expensive legal problem. It might be best to keep the old name and just rebrand your small business by saying the company is under new management.
A wise mentor once told me, “A good idea, is a good idea three weeks from now.” Don’t be in a rush to buy internet real estate. Think through a potential rebranding effort carefully. As a small business, typically you have limited resources, so choose wisely whether taking on a new website and all that comes with is really worth your time and money right now.Don’t just have one conversation with customers about your new brand, go back several times to see if they even remember your new brand name.That should help you determine if you should proceed with a name change. If you find that you still want to experiment with new gTLDs, start by keeping your existing website and redirect new domain name to your established .com domain name.
Have you considered buying one of the new domain tags?
Disclosure: Melinda F. Emerson, the publisher of Succeedasyownboss.com was compensated to write and publish this article.
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