.Com Strategies Podcast where you will learn key insights into valuing, marketing, brokering and selling your domain names.
In today’s episode I talk about the acquisition of Carrot.com and why this is a great lesson for any startup that has not acquired their branded domain name.
POINT #1: Carrot.com
- Chris talks about the acquisition of Carrot.com and how it read like a thriller, with a hero who started off on his journey to help investors do lead generation.
- When the founder first started, he didn’t want to back himself into a hole with too specific of a domain name, so they went with the brand Customer Carrot.
- Over time though, he got tired of confusing his customers with different extensions like OnCarrot, and wanted to acquire Carrot.com to max out his branding capabilities.
POINT #2: The Transition from Hustler to Marketer…
- He had an epiphany at a company sponsored gathering, where all these people where telling him that they loved “OnCarrot.” Because that was his domain, even though they marketed themselves as Carrot, they were known as “OnCarrot.” This had to change, because this was a major branding conflict.
- This happened because the customer has to differentiate the different brands, and they associated the brand with the domain name because that is where their brand was. Even though the only place they were marketed as OnCarrot was their domain.
- Unfortunately, right after he had this epiphany, another startup came through and bought Carrot.com. They company soon went under though and he was able to do a lease on Carrot.com. The owner of the domain died, and the domain almost went to auction, but then the family renewed it, and he went and bought it for $600,000.
Point #3: What should you take away?
- Don’t stop until you have your brand secure: If you see the value of owning your exact match domain name, you should stop at nothing to get it, since it is an asset for you and your brand, not an expense.
- Be the Marketer: Don’t wait until the last minute to buy your domain, it could be too late. The quicker you go from hustler to marketer the better.
- You have to own your brand and your domain name! Don’t let your customers think you are something else because your brand and your domain do not align.
QUESTIONS OF THE DAY:
“What are you willing to do to secure your brand online? ”
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“ The quicker you change from Hustler to Marketer the better..”
