I’ve never been a salesman. Yeah…I got my start by selling radio advertising years ago, when ‘ad salesmen’ ranked right up there with ‘used car salesmen’. I think it was that stigma that made me hate sales.
I have always been more of a relationship-oriented guy when it came to business. The fast-talking sales approach never mirrored my personality, so I focused on getting to know people and trying to be successful by helping others succeed. Everyone wins.
With that in mind, I think of these business transactions commonly referred to as ‘sales’ as more of ‘partnerships’.
It’s pretty sad to think that the marketing process still draws that instant eyebrow raise. Ya know…the way your parent’s eyebrows perked up when you were telling them something they knew wasn’t true. Like, “I dunno how my sister’s braces got caught in the carpet.”
But…those eyebrow raises are still prevalent and deservedly so.
Case in point…the Domain Expiration Scare Tactic.
BrandVision Marketing strives to be as full-service as possible in order to take the heavy lifting of marketing management off the client’s plate. With that said, yes…we offer a full-range of digital and internet marketing services. This includes domain registration.
Earlier this week, a client reached out after receiving a threatening message about their domain expiring. It is a credit union and their domain is actually up for renewal next month. It’s set to automatically renew through our system, so they are all taken care of…no worries. However, this communication they received definitely had a different message. It was filled out as a contact form on their website and I’ve attached their message below:
| Your Name | Joe Miller |
| Your E-mail Address | info@domainregistrationcorp.com |
| Your Message | TERMINATION OF DOMAIN Invoice#: 491343 Date: 22 Feb 2021 IMMEDIATE ATTENTION REGARDING YOUR DOMAIN IS ABSOLUTLY NECESSARY TERMINATION OF YOUR DOMAIN WILL BE COMPLETED WITHIN 24 HOURS Your payment for the renewal of your domain has not received yet We have tried to reach you by phone several times, to inform you regarding the TERMINATION of your domain CLICK HERE FOR SECURE ONLINE PAYMENT: https://domainregister.ga IF WE DO NOT RECEIVE YOUR PAYMENT WITHIN 24 HOURS, YOUR DOMAIN WILL BE TERMINATED! CLICK HERE FOR SECURE ONLINE PAYMENT: https://domainregister.ga YOUR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY IN ORDER TO KEEP YOUR DOMAIN The submission notification will EXPIRE WITHIN 24 HOURS after reception of this email |
Now, their are several interesting things about this marketing message. One, almost nothing in it is true. The client’s domain was not set to be terminated within 24-hours. Eyebrows raised.
Of course, they haven’t received payment because the client doesn’t use these goofballs to ‘house’ their domain. Eyebrows raised.
No attention was truly necessary and nothing was going to expire within 24-hours. Eyebrows raised.
But, perhaps the most humorous part of this ‘marketing’ message is this: their contact email (info@domainregistrationcorp.com). That domain is not even registered…to anyone! Eyebrows now bouncing up and down in hysterical laughter.
The reality here is simple: this is a sad attempt to scare a business into actually switching the registration of their domain with this unethical rogue marketing vandal. These people…probably not even a legitimate company…is working from a list of soon to expire domains and voila!
It’s kinda scary that it might actually work with some people.
Which is exactly why so many marketing messages today…and, yes…the marketing people behind them…are still greeted with those raised eyebrows.
By Scott Trueblood, of BrandVision Marketing. BrandVision Marketing is a full-service marketing agency based in Knoxville, TN.
BrandVision Insights 