Having the category defining domain name for your field or industry can put you many steps ahead of your competitors, but in order to have a successful business, you need more than just the domain name. A solid business plan is important for any company who wishes to do business on their category defining domain name.
A prime and relevant example of this was exhibited on DNW yesterday. In December of 2008, The Parent Company and nine of its subsidiaries, trading on NASDAQ under the quote “KIDS” filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. According to DNW, the company owned some category defining and/or premium domain names, including Toys.com, ePregnancy.com, Birthdays.com, Hobbies.com, and eParties.com. Apparently owning these great domain names wasn’t enough to survive.
A category defining domain name can help enhance a company’s presence online, but it can only do so much. If a company brings on employees, office space, inventory, technology, debt, and other overhead, they can fail just as any brick and mortar company. There are plenty of brick and mortar businesses in great locations failing every day for a variety of reasons, and a business with a great domain name can succomb to market conditions.
Owning an industry or category defining domain name can make a good business better, but it isn’t a panacea.
It is just a small piece of the puzzle at the end of the day… It helps “compliment’ a biz here and there but it doesn’t make or break it.
A good business does not need a category killer generic domain but it can surely benefit from it long term.
Best,
Mike