What is Name Strategy?	1.0/5.0 (3 votes total) Rate: Select 1 - Terrible 2 - Poor 3 - Average 4 - Good 5 - Outstanding
Joe Davison April 14, 2008

Name strategy answers the question, "What is the best way to leverage a domain name asset?"

This is a question that is extremely important in determining the value of a domain. Accordingly, name strategy is an integral component of the decision process that takes place as a company acquires domain names or simply wishes to achieve the highest possible valuation for existing name assets.

As Internet namespace markets mature, we see name assets becoming more deeply integrated with, and reliant on, complementary spheres of influence.

What Spheres Influence Name Strategy?

Name Strategy can be broken down into three spheres:

• Internet Marketing - Branding, positioning, SEO, public relations
  
  
• Internet Business - Revenue modeling, distribution channels, operations management
  
  
• Internet Technology - Software, hardware, languages and platforms (”development”)

Of course, there are more components to each of the spheres than I’ve listed here.

Determining the appropriate strategy for maximizing the value of domain assets is a multi-faceted skill that requires a broad understanding of several disparate spheres of knowledge.

To the extent that the integration deepens between these elements, we will see substantial increases in the value of domain names. In short, to a company adept at operating within these spheres, a prime domain name is worth vastly more than it is to an everyday domain speculator or reseller.

Add to this the leverage that is coming into the market in the form of domain financing and leasing, and the stage is set for a global explosion in the value of domain names.

The Coming Shake-Up

This explosion will not be coming without a complementary market shake-up — where weak holders will be displaced by stronger, better positioned ones.

What does this mean for today’s domain name investors? It means that in order to maximize the value of your portfolio, and indeed to merely maintain a position where you can hold onto your portfolio for all it’s worth, you need to take a hard look at your name strategy. You need to become the better positioned company. For domain investors with serious names, this is serious business.

Trust Value vs. Brand Value vs. Traffic Value

The bottom line is this:

Trust value is greater than brand value, and brand value is greater than traffic value when it comes to name assets.

I’ll get more into what I mean by “trust value” (and why it’s absurd to value a domain name based on its traffic value) in a later post.

But for now, the important point is that as these greater forms of value begin to be expressed in the current market prices of domain name assets, we will begin to see the emergence of entirely new market dynamics. We’re already starting to see these changes, but it’s just the beginning.

Domain “Development”

Many domain investors speak about “development”. Unfortunately, there seems to be a widespread misunderstanding as to what this means. It’s not a matter of just “development”. Development is just one thing, one component of a necessary strategic whole. Development is useless without a comprehensive strategy for market entrance, growth, and eventual exit (or ongoing operations management).

On this blog I intend to continue to discuss exactly this: what the strategic pieces are, and how to put them together to yield a comprehensive name strategy that will keep you ahead of the game as this market throttles forward.

Conclusion

Why discuss this? Because it’s exactly what I’m doing myself, as I build and position my own company, Electron Interactive (Electron.com) to take advantage of the vast of opportunity in the Internet space moving forward.

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