Unfortunately, GoDaddy’s navigation and site usability is a nightmare. And I grow tired of the constant ‘would-you-like-fries-with-that’ sales approach. Plus, I’m not a big fan of corporations with politically conservative leanings.

In 2009, the Go Daddy Group spent $538,000 on lobbying. In 2008, the Group contributed $37,200 to the Republican Party (vs. $250 to the Democratic Party). Source: OpenSecrets.org.

While I’m all for individuals making their own political choices, I do not like paying vendors to use my money to further their personal agendas.

I’ll keep looking for a truly neutral domain registrar (where’s the Working Assets progressive registrar that donates to nonprofits?). Meanwhile, clients can register new domain names at my Registry Rocket account (a service of eNom, based locally in Bellevue, Washington).

I recommend purchasing/renewing domains for two years to help with search engine optimization.

The Digital Eve listserv recently compiled some other recommended domain registrars – including:  Dotster and Hover.

For information about GoDaddy’s poor customer service, visit nodaddy.com.

This week, PUMP (Portland United Mountain Pedalers) unveiled a new name and logo for the mountain bike advocacy organization. The new name, Northwest Trail Alliance, sounds flat and uninspiring compared to PUMP.

The new logo, however, is what’s really unoriginal. When you borrow another organization’s logo, that’s not called rebranding. Let’s call it copybranding.

Seattle’s Backcountry Bicycle Trails Club recently rebranded and chose a controversial name– Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance. Did Kris Schamp (former marketing specialist for Bike Gallery) unconsciously, or consciously, misappropriate the logo (below) that BBTC had used for over ten years?

The recently retired BBTC logo was created by Ross Cattelan, a long-time BBTC supporter and professional graphic designer. After I developed a concept with another designer, Ross added depth to the imagery and he created a new color palette that was used across all BBTC marketing materials (until last year when BBTC evolved to Evergreen).

Legally, Northwest Trail Alliance is not in danger of trademark violation. Its new design deviates significantly enough from the BBTC logo that it is probably not “confusingly similar.”

When determining infringement, the Court considers the following elements:

1. Strength of the mark
2. Proximity of the goods
3. Similarity of the marks
4. Evidence of actual confusion
5. Marketing channels used
6. Type of goods and the degree of care likely to be exercised by the purchaser
7. Defendant’s intent in selecting the mark
8. Likelihood of expansion of the product lines

A little market research and common courtesy can help ward off trademark suits.

My former landlord just sent me a rental deposit refund drawn on his bank, Bank of America. Because the check was made out to me and my girlfriend, who don’t own a joint account, I visited the local West Seattle BOA branch on Alaska to cash the check.

I was informed there would be a $6 “convenience charge” for me to cash the check. That’s not very convenient; that’s outrageous.

Two employees intervened that this fee is typical. Well, it is NOT typical. I called my financial institution, Verity Credit Union, which confirmed that, indeed, they would cash any check drawn from Verity for a non-Verity customer…for NO FEE!

Of course, I was already in a bad mood since the morning-shift teller turned me away at the drive-thru because I was riding a bicycle (the drive-thru opens one hour earlier than the branch, but apparently is open only to car-driving BOA customers). Sorry bicyclists and pedestrians.

Bank of America drives away customers while serving drivers only.

Customer: Do you carry the Ottawa Cycling Map?
Clerk: Joe Mamma.

Customer: Do you know where we could find the Ottawa Cycling Map?
Clerk: Joe Mamma.

Customer: Do you have any mountain bike trail guides for Ottawa?
Clerk: Joe Mamma.

Customer: Where do mountain bikers ride around Ottawa?
Clerk: Joe Mamma.

Curt answers convey a flippant tone to customers. This nonchalant behavior is rabid among teen- and other inexperienced sales personnel, particularly in the retail sector. Your local bike shop (LBS) included. Use every customer contact as an opportunity to develop rapport by using effective dialog. Ask lots of questions. Dig under the surface to find what the customer really wants.

If you ever need advice about marketing or sales efforts, don’t worry. You’ll never hear a “Joe Mamma” response from me. Meanwhile, for a more motherly experience, check out Maman at the National Gallery of Canada.