Jeff Bennett's Blog

My daughter has outgrown her clogs and today was the day we were destined to get the new pair of Sanita Clogs.  A little easier said than done from my experience though.

This morning we “Googled” the term Sanita Clogs and came to a very nice corporate web site.  Up in the right hand corner was a link “Where To Buy” which we clicked on.  Many options within ten and fifteen miles.

We visited two of these stores with no luck.  Rather than continuing to travel to each store I started placing calls.  No luck on five more stores.  On each visit and call I would ask:  ”Do you know who might sell Sanita Clogs for kids?”  Three times I  got a response that “that Clog store in Cambridge probably does.”

Interesting information…a pattern developing here.  I went back to the Sanita web site and a quick scan did not reveal a Cambridge Clogs, rather a store called Vintage Etc.  I called  and sure enough they answered the phone “Cambridge Clogs.”

I asked if they had our desired Sanita Clog, color and size and their response was “of course we have it.”  Wow.  This is obviously the place to go in the Boston area I thought.

So we hopped in the car and darted down to Cambridge to visit the Cambridge Clog Store.  Sure enough they not only had the clogs but actually they were waiting for us based on the call.  Wow!

I asked the lady who ran the shop about the “Vintage” and “Cambridge Clogs” monikers.  She deadpanned that they are “the” place for clogs and for years had become known as the “Cambridge Clog” store on an informal basis.  I told her that this is how we learned of her store through word-of-mouth. So she decided to rename her store “Cambridge Clogs.”

This would have been enough for me.  The Shopkeeper went onto explain that “Cambridge Clogs” was also a much better name for Google.   There are a lot of clog buyers in Cambridge…and surrounding metro area.  A generic and functional name allows them to break through the clutter and dominate the results when people “Google” for Cambridge Clogs.   She asked me in a matter of fact manner “don’t you agree?”

I said it absolutely made sense and I fully agree.  Indeed from my experiences @ NameMedia this is exactly the way it is.  I learned first hand the power and impact of generic names as we built our media business.  It costs a lot of money and effort to create awareness for nondescript names and brands.  It is hard to break through the clutter.  Brand building today has to take into account a lot of things and generic and descript names have proven to rise to the top in Google.  The Shopkeeper surely gave me an astute rationale for changing the shop name.

I only wished that I had a quicker reply to say:  ”Are you using RatePoint for customer feedback, email marketing and managing your reputation across the social media ecosystem?”  This is obviously a prospect.

When I went home I went to Google and searched on “Cambridge Clogs” and sure enough…they are the #1 rank in the algo results.  Not only that between their sites and mentions they essentially were every link on page one.  I bet you that this post will join all of the Cambridge Clogs content on that first Google page as well.  This is the power of a descriptive brand, great linking and fresh content.

What is even more interesting is that they did all of this without owning the domain…which I think they should acquire.  If not all of this great work could go to the owner of that domain.

What a Smart Clog Shop.  We had a great buying experience.  Lesson learned here for all shops and businesses regarding their moniker or brand.  I recommend Cambridge Clogs to all who are in the market for clogs in the Boston area.  We will surely go back again when we need to upgrade in size.