RE: UKNM: .com vs .co.uk - UK consumer understanding?

[Stewart Dean]

> -----Original Message-----

>

From: Sean Phelan [seanmultimap [dot] com (mailto:seanmultimap [dot] com)]

> Sent: Wednesday, March 29, 2000 11:41 AM

>

To: uk-netmarketingchinwag [dot] com

> Subject: Re: UKNM: .com vs .co.uk - UK consumer understanding?

>

> Actually I think it is a good move (I just wrote "I think it

> is cool", but

> maybe that is too juvenile even for UKNM :-> ).

>

> Lots of other companies are putting ".com" on the end of

> their name in order

> to bump up their share prices, without actually going through

> the business

> transformation, supply chain consolidation, online order

> entry, fulfilment

> stuff and everything else required to be a REAL internet company.

>

> But I think Iceland is doing this stuff; I think they "get

> it" about what

> it means to move beyond bricks and mortar.

>


Okaaay - maybe it may appear cool but in the US companies are starting to

_drop_ the .coms from their names.


Personally I would advice changing their name but mearly add the .co.uk to

their shop names.


Iceland is the key brand and although iceland.com is a portal for Iceland

(predictably enough) there will be a time when .co.uk will be old fashioned

(maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow but some day and for the rest of their

working life). They could just drop the .co.uk.


> But I think that turning a company like

> Iceland, with its thousands of low-tech, non techie employees, into an

> internet company is a LOT harder than building one from

> scratch. I admire

> the people who are trying and I think that the name change

> probably makes

> their job a bit easier.  If nothing else, it shows that the company is

> totally committed to what they are doing.


Gotta disagree with you on that one as well. If you have an existing brand

and awareness and support network it is easier to build a _successful_

online presence. Getting a .com on line is easier - but being successful?

You need to ensure you have the business in shape far beyond the facard of


the web site to ensure success when the whole .com thing deflates, that's

provided you've got you visitors up to what you where forecasting. Clicks

and mortar is the way to go and amazon already has half that mix in place

and a fair slice of the other. The Amazons of the world will get physical

presence to strengthen their brands and products like Kozmo and Urbanfetch

rely on real life guys n girls on bikes to make their thing happen.


When they say the states are two years ahead I used to thing bloody arrogant

yanks but in many ways it's true. E-business is turning into the business

and just because you have a .com or even .co.uk is helps but is not the 'get

rich free' card it once was.


The first losers are turning up (CD-Now possibly) and things are going to

get pretty real for some of the big online brands soon (well in the next

year or so).


>

Stewart Dean - SDeanscient [dot] com

> Customer Experience UK

> Scient*: The eBusiness Systems Innovator*

>

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