To all brands out there, watch out for the sucks.com domains
Posted by Manuela Barreto @ September 8th, 2008 in New Media Tips
An interesting study involving notable Fortune 500 companies brought about a singular discovery which revealed that a full third of the companies studied have deliberately purchased website domains with a slightly different intent to that of providing a positive image.
These particular domains are purposely created in order to criticize and corrupt brands along with their corresponding websites.
The study claims that 35% of renowned companies have purchased _____sucks.com domains like, for example, wal-martsucks.com.
Other companies like Xerox, weren’t shy at all about this negative domain wave and went beyond purchasing just a single domain name. Apart from the obvious xeroxsucks.com, it bought out another 20 unpleasant domain names of this kind, such as, xeroxstinks.com and ihatexerox.com.
Dell for instance, has not been kept awake at night by these malicious deeds. MyDellSux.com and DellisEvil.com have not yet been bought by the computer maker, which states it is not at all interested in buying domains of this kind.
If you can avoid silly doings like these spoil your brand, it would be more convenient to eradicate them before they fall into the hands of those who have every intention of using it to dampen your company’s image.
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Comments
The Lovable Rogue
September 25th, 2008
I consider the purchasing of negative domain names to be an unviable strategy for long term protection of brand equity. Besides the obvious cost implications of purchasing the domain names of customers with genuine grievances, simply purchasing domain names does not resolve the central cause for the site’s creation (if other than for monetary gain).
By approaching domain owners and identifying their concerns, the organisation is significantly better prepared to recognise product or service deficiencies. Clearly, any steps taken to resolve the deficiency will produce more positive outcomes than simply buying the domain name. Further, much recent research has shown that by appropriately addressing an individual’s concerns, negative electronic word of mouth can in fact be converted into positive electronic word of mouth. As these individuals become more positive about the organisation, it becomes increasingyl likely that they will close the site of their own accord. Simultaneously, they may feel suitably driven to create positive electronic content.
It should be acknowledged that individuals driven to create such negative sites have clearly been influenced by the organisation’s practices. The creation of these sites represents an attempt to communicate an experience with anyone willing to listen. These opinions are as accessible to organisations as they are to the general public. The organisation simply needs to recognise the sites and adopt an appropriate strategy for addressing concerns.