6.03.2010: Protecting Your Past

By Lori Rhoades

Is your organization going through a name change? Here's something to think about. Although it is important to protect the new name and promote it in an appropriate fashion, it is just as important to keep an eye on what's happening with the old name. Just because you have moved on to a new name doesn't mean your customers and the general public have. They will continue to search/rave/rant under that name for a period of time. So, keep your Google Alerts set to notify you of any activity relating to it.

Another area to watch and maintain control over is your domain name. It is beneficial to retain ownership of the domain name matching the company's discontinued name for an extended period of time, if not indefinitely. Once a domain name goes back onto the market, anyone can purchase it. You have absolutely no control over the transaction. You might ask, "Why does this matter?" Let me tell you a story. A regional affiliate of a well-known national organization that promotes the empowerment of girls changed their name when a few of the regions merged. With this name change came a new domain name. Their registration of the old domain name expired and unfortunately a company that promotes vintage pornography bought it. So anyone who had the original domain bookmarked or conducted a search for the organization using the original name was then sent to the pornographic site, which obviously did not match the mission of the original organization.

This example may seem a bit harsh, but it is a true story and not that uncommon. The best solution is to keep the original domain and have it forwarded to the new one. Not only does this keep you safe from the antics of others, it will also be seen as courtesy you extend to your customers.