Too often new businesses or corporate divisions are more concerned with focus groups, Branding design of logos, and the general "feel" they want to project to the consumer without looking at practical aspects of getting their message to that same target market.

There have been many times that companies have gone through all the steps to determine their Brand name and then come to us for marketing on the web, only to find that the domain names that would convey their determined brand name are not available.  This throws a huge spanner in the works for companies that have invested a major amount of financial and time resources into determining their brand and many of them have already ordered marketing signage etc.

It is vital that companies use a free tool to determine what domain variations are available and bring this step in the branding process to the core brainstorming and strategy sessions.  There are many tools to choose from but here is one that I have used from time to time:  http://www.planetdomain.com.au/

Companies that integrate the domain name research can save themselves many hours and financial resources for the future by determining if the available options are available rather than trying to pay extortion to someone who has "parked" the domain in anticipation of someone needing it in the future.  While laws are starting to catch up to prevent someone from causing financial detriment to a business by not allowing certain domains to be used, it is much easier to not have to unring any branding bells by doing your full due diligence.