.brand: a non-negligible asset in the customer experience

The customer experience is constantly evolving on the basis of innovative technologies, the development of new uses, and customer expectations and responsiveness. This aspect is therefore naturally at the core of brands’ digital and marketing strategies and is based on various means of action. A brand TLD won’t revolutionise the customer experience, but it is interesting to look at how one can be coordinated with all of the actions put in place in order to reinforce and support this experience.

An indication of a benchmark and trusted digital space

Only 24% of French people trust the Internet as a source of information¹. Moreover, 7 out of 10 French people feel that the personal data they give out online are not sufficiently protected². Security and confidence are key to motivating any form of engagement with a brand and play a vital role in the customer experience.

A .brand TLD provides a meaningful answer to these challenges. A TLD in its name allows a brand to build an authentic digital territory that it controls from A to Z. This complete control is invaluable at a time when users are beginning to see the limits of major platforms. The content, information and services available to visitors are instantly identifiable thanks to the common denominator provided by a custom domain, which is an indicator of a reliable proprietary space. A custom TLD also helps create a trusted space, which benefits customers and prospects and encourages engagement.

Infinite new forms and offshoots to maintain a customer focus and raise the brand’s profile

A .brand allows for infinite new forms and offshoots that can boost both the customer experience and the brand. Simply put, a brand can use their TLD to showcase its different products and services or its latest promotions without worrying about availability issues and while at the same time advertising the brand. The image.canon service for users of Canon cameras is a case in point.

Other possibilities to go one step further. For example, a brand can introduce geo-localised variations with their dot brand to promote its content and services targeting a specific region, city or community. This helps personalise the customer experience and develop close relations with communities by providing a more select and more targeted service with regard to user needs.

Lastly, the use of a custom TLD can be particularly interesting for brands whose distribution model is based on franchising or affiliation. Partner networks do not always have a consistent online presence, a situation that penalises customers first and foremost, as they do not all have the same level of information and online services, but also brands, as it dilutes their image and scope. Instead of being entirely in keeping with the customer experience in store or in an agency, allowing for relationships to be forged and maintained, the online experience is often hindered by this lack of consistency and control. A custom TLD is an opportunity to take back control of this space and to underpin an ambitious, customer-centric digital strategy that makes a lasting difference.

^{1 –  *Kantar media trust barometer for La Croix: https://www.la-croix.com/Economie/Barometre-medias-2022-confiance-Francais-bas-2022-01-20-1201195923} 

^{2 – Odoxa and Oracle survey “Online protection of personal data: a crisis of confidence in France”: http://www.odoxa.fr/sondage/8838-2/}