Shows Need to Adapt to Domainers, Not the Other Way Around
So what’s wrong with domain conferences? A lot. For one thing, they look, feel and smell the same way they did two, four, six years ago: the same template, the same ballrooms, the same panels, the same, the same, the same.
But really, what’s the issue? It’s simple: no real domainers. Shows are now comprised almost entirely of vendors selling their wares to each other, the familiar screen names and faces have faded from the scene – unable to muster the energy to eat more conference food, see another panel or even attend another ‘sausage-fest’ domain party.
Even I have grown weary of this broken record. It used to be a good tune, now its Lionel Ritchie belting out ‘Dancing on the Ceiling.’
So the relevant question becomes: how do we get the domainer back? They are the core of the industry and without them, new domainers don’t get the help/connections they need and old-schoolers don’t sell because of a lack of new buyer pools. Both sides lose out on profitable connections.
I think to answer this important question requires looking at what still works or has evolved with the times to better serve domainer’s needs.
For real value, it’s about networking. Domainers have always made their deals not via panels or seminars but up in hotel rooms, the lobby, at the pool and in dance clubs. A lot of it forged in friendships that emerged before the partnership. We have always been competitors so we started out at arm’s length from each other until our friendships and trust solidified.
Unlike almost any other industry, this industry is ‘business’ but it’s also ‘personal’, mostly because the original core was not made up of multi-national corporations but individual, single domainers.
And that means removing conferences from the traditional template of most industries and bringing it down to a personal level. That implies, for example, creating networking opportunities instead of meals and seminars – we want to relax by the pool, not sit in another ‘ballroom’. Create activities that encourage personal connections and help the tight and overworked domainer unwind and relax.
Another still viable aspect of the shows is the high-level keynote-speakers like Steve Forbes and Barbara Corcoran. Again, this is about individual experiences – we can learn most from each other’s stories. And unlike seminars or even panels, it offers substance on a custom level by people who are not trying to sell you anything.
And finally, it’s about the auctions which, with their online systems, actually deter attendance by domainers – better to bid online than raise a paddle and make yourself known. But cutting the system is not the answer. The onus is actually on the market to create new, well-funded buyers – again, lacking because the last generation has not worked to create a new generation. And to date, auctions have done an awful job of trying to attract buyers outside the usual industry veins, the ‘mainstream’ as it were.
As noted in the previous article, Domains as Investment Hedge, this down time is a great opportunity to entice new buyers into the market by introducing the idea of domains as investment to the average Main Street investor - live auctions provide a familiar and credible venue.
This is all particularly valid at a time when average people are looking, desperately, for alternatives to traditional systems and gold becomes an overpriced commodity. Domains are global, the Internet is relatively safe and domains have already weathered multiple down slides. It’s like betting on the future, not the past or its shaky credit-based foundations.
To achieve this would require a dedicated, industry-wide PR campaign to mold perception. This should be in conjunction with a series of city-by-city seminars – as used to great effect in real estate investment. Set up a few domain investment centers for the public, create literature and give them the assistance they need to see good returns –should not be too hard to get a 5%-10% return for investors.
Sure, domainers are used to and even expect much higher returns, but the average person would be more than satisfied with far lower numbers – given their current, sad options.
In the end, success of the industry resides in its ability to expand beyond traditional borders and create fresh demand - while adjusting to bring the tried and true domainer back into the fold.
It benefits us all, so get to work and get it done…before it’s too late - for the old and the new.
M. Fiol is a long-time domain name holder, regular industry news contributor and DomainConsultant.com analyst. He also owns and runs HappyBirthday.com among others.
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