The value of a domain
July 29th, 2008 11:06 AM By WCG Staff

The value of a domain

Depending whom you ask, you will receive a variety of answers that may range from complex calculations of ad revenue to unique visitors from particular geo locations. Essentially there is not right and wrong answer, the price of a domain that may be worth $10 to one entity, maybe worth $100000 to another.

The essentials are rather simple and logical, the mere branding or name recognition can translate in huge amount of traffic or sales, or it can harm a new brand. The real question is as how a domain can and will be used to improve ROI. 

We all have seen or read about huge domain sales, that have created millions of dollars sales, but we also have seen domain speculators fail to monetize their domains. The bottom line is rather obvious, in which the value of a domain may entirely depend on a particular niche and possibilities. The wild card is however, the most recent action by ICAAN. Will the authorization of new vanity domains with all new top level extensions be a game changer? Will it increase the value of traditional domains or diminish their value.

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That remains to be seen. 

Peril of adviser gone bad
June 19th, 2008 09:18 AM By WCG Staff

In the ever changing global environment with steep local, regional and international competition, it is hardly a mystery that most successful companies value their executive teams.  However, it is still difficult for small businesses to enjoy the same level of advice and expertise because of lack of human capital management capacity.

Essentially, the most widely encountered issue for small businesses is within the monumental task of hiring and retaining an executive. The hiring by it selves is not as problematic as recognizing and cultivating talent.  In our opinion, the biggest factor in such decisions ends up being related to loyalty. It is not difficult to get lost in the sea of professional and personal connections, whereby the goal becomes fuzzier and personal accountability, efficiency and effectiveness take a second row to personal likings.

In spite of the simplified statement above, such loyalty issues can cost business owners a tremendous headache and lower bottom line. One of the most common circumstances occurs when unqualified personnel work their way up, not by actual achievements, rather than just extended time of employment.

The results are rather astonishingly flawed. Personnel in mid management and even upper management, end up being unqualified at best and a liability at worst ; hindering internal and external growth , upsetting the internal balance , creating resentment from internal and external entities , as well as hindering overall growth.

Ultimately, it is hardly a new issue. Small and mid size businesses simply lack the proper resources to be consistent in hiring, promoting and terminating executive employees, compared to their larger counterpart. However, the tell tales are not as complicated. As a small business owner, ask yourself some simple questions: when was the last time we brought a third party to evaluate our internal efforts in terms of effectiveness and efficiency? When was the last time our executives attended some trade shows? When did our executives attend a farther education course? Have any of our executives been published? Are they at least trying? How do our executives keep up with the latest in our industry? Etc.

Note of caution: just because a business owner thinks highly of an executive team member, it does not mean that the particular person is actually competent. Nor does it mean that the particular executive is worth his / her money. It simply means that he or she has been noticed. It doesn’t mean more; it doesn’t mean less.

In the coming days and weeks, we will explore the details of how to spot an executive that is more harmful to the organization than anything else.

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Long Way to long
April 16th, 2008 11:13 AM By WCG Staff

Long. Way to long.

Something very interesting happened to one of our experiments today. Let’s take a step backwards: three years ago we wanted to experiment with effectiveness and efficiency of banners. We decided to use one of our projects that is entirely organic in nature to see if anyone of our general visitors would find a spelling error in our banner.

Now, three years and 4 million unique visitors later, our experiment has come to a conclusion. We received an email from Mr. David Zach ( Futurist) pointing out the spelling error. Apparently during a speaking engagement he named one of our sites and was consequently advised of the error.

It seems strange that some 4 million people would overlook such an error. On the other hand, one could argue that it is virtually certain that a minimal percentage of those visitors found or saw the error but didn’t contact us. In either case, there is something negative and positive to be said about both possibilities.

In the coming days and weeks we will publish the details of this study including methodology, data collection and analysis as well as our final findings in terms of most recognized Eye tracking studies.

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Business Cycle
August 18th, 2007 08:49 AM By Staff

Marketing and advertising in prism of Business Cycle

The most recent economic roller coaster and its impact on medium and small businesses are not quite obvious however; sporadic and panic driven actions by small business owners are starting to show an impact. The most obvious decisions to cut advertising and marketing budget to meet year end profits is the most flowed decisions that can be observed.

As a general rule it is vital to recall some of the most fundamental rules of business. Advertising and marketing are the corner stones of any solid business that plans to maintain and expand its market shares. Cost cutting and or fat trimming in order to achieve short term budget requirements in exchange for long term loss of market shares is by far one of the most devastating decisions that can be made.

It is not to say that budget adjustments in marketing and advertising section may not be done, rather than achieving a balance that assures long term business market shares and survival. It is our opinion that specially in economic down turn in general markets, it is vital not only to maintain advertising and marketing budgets, but if possible at all an increase in those spending should be undertaken.

The same, however, does not apply to economic down turn in specific markets and industries. If particular downward trends in specific industry is noticed, overall reductions and budget adjustments is vital and will ensure proper financial liquidity and cash flow that may assist in long term survival.

None of the above strategies would generally apply to publicly traded companies or very large organizations. Those points are rather generalist theories based on most common business and economic environment for small and medium size business. But again, even very large organizations have similar concerns that need long term as well as short term strategies.

To reiterate the above strategies, it is important to remember that the mere budget increase or maintenance of advertising and marketing funds does not assure any level of success. Any consideration to spend marketing and advertising funds should be subject to detailed scrutiny for efficiency, effectiveness and return on investment. 

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