“They Don’t Get It” and The Emperor’s Fresh Clothes

Domainers must put facts and numbers behind blanket statements.

In the domain name industry, many people lambaste firms that don’t buy generic, category-killer domain names and say “they just don’t get it”. Some firms, such as Advertise.com and Real Estate Disposition Corporation clearly analyzed the business case and decided it was worth spending significant money to get a great domain name.

But it’s naive to say that firms that don’t have a great domain name like this don’t get it.

I frequently hear people, who try to sell a domain name to end users without success, say “they just don’t get it.”

Ahem. Maybe you don’t get it.

You can’t go around saying domain name xyz is worth millions to a particular firm. You need to back it up with facts.

It reminds me of the fable The Emperor’s Fresh Clothes. The emperor is told that only people who “get it” will see his great fresh clothes, when really he is not wearing any. The same thing happened at Enron, when people who didn’t “get it” were laughed out of the room.

“You’re questioning the business model?” they’d say. “Then you just don’t get it.”

The same thing goes for domain names. If a firm isn’t buying your domain name, then you haven’t made a good enough case for it. Have you created a detailed, numbers-driven analysis of how this will help them? Have you provided case studies from other firms that have purchased big dollar domains?

Next time you’re frustrated that a firm doesn’t seem to get it, ask yourself if perhaps you are the one who doesn’t get it.