Branding is one of the most significant aspects of a successful business as it allows you to distinguish yourself from competitors in the market. Branding can involve your business generally, and/or the specific goods or services your business offers. A “brand” is the overall unique perception and recognition that consumers associate with a particular company, product, or service. This perception can be influenced by many things, including:
- Trademarks (words, logos, symbols, colors, sounds) associated with the company, product, or service;
- Packaging for a product;
- Creative works (e.g. user manuals, website design, marketing materials, etc.) associated with the company, product, or service;
- Uniforms worn by employees;
- The look and feel of your place of business; and/or
- The design of the product itself.
Branding is critical because it encourages customer loyalty, indicates a high level of quality, and is a source of goodwill and increased value for your business.
Risks of Not Branding Your Business
Without effective branding, your business and your goods or services are just a generic offering that provides no recognition and does not encourage customer loyalty or repeat business. This often results in one-time transactions, a diminished likelihood of repeat sales, and a reduction in the overall value of your business.
Benefits of Branding Your Business
With the proper branding, consumers come to associate you and your merchandise or services with a particular level of quality. Such “brand association” fosters customer loyalty, encouraging repeat business and boosting referrals. Establishing a brand is an effective way for building a business reputation, enhancing customer awareness and loyalty, increasing the value of your business, establishing credibility and trust with customers, and increasing the effectiveness of marketing efforts.
Establishing a Business Brand
Before you decide on your business brand, you must be certain that it is available for your use. It is vital to reach out to an intellectual property (IP) attorney to research the availability of the brand, as this research can be very nuanced and intricate. If clearance is given from experienced IP counsel, you can feel more confident in dedicating the time, effort, and resources to establish your brand. Establishing your brand may involve securing one or more rights, including:
- Registering a company name with the with the secretary of state;
- Obtaining a trademark registration in your state as well as with the United States Patent and Trademark Office;
- Securing copyright protection for your creative materials;
- Entering business contracts with suppliers, licensees, or distributors to control the branding of the products or services,
- Registering an internet domain name, and
- Attaining a design patent on a product design.
The more of these rights you establish, the better equipped you will be to protect your brand from infringement by others. It is important to engage an experienced intellectual property lawyer who can assist in determining which of these brand-building protections apply to your brand, and can assist in securing the broadest protections possible.
Brand Protection
Once you have established and secured rights in your brand, you now must protect it so that competitors cannot improperly use it and benefit from your goodwill.
The first step in protecting a brand is using it. If you do not use or control the use of your brand, especially for a trademark, you may lose the right to exclude others from using it.
The next step is to monitor the use of your brand (or similar brands) by others. This may include monitoring competitors’ business activities, monitoring trademark applications filed with the USPTO for similar trademarks, keeping abreast of the relevant industry and trends, etc. A trademark watch can be established for this purpose.
The third step is to enforce your rights against infringers. If you do not stop brand infringement, your rights in the brand may be lost with respect to this and other infringing parties. If you find yourself a victim of brand infringement, it is advisable to hire a lawyer to contact the infringing party. Through the counsel of an attorney, a demand to cease the infringement should be made, settlements for any damages caused by the infringement should be negotiated, and if necessary, a lawsuit should be filed.
In summary, establishing and implementing strong branding creates an impactful connection between you and the consumer. This connection not only enables you as a business owner to charge a premium for your goods or services, but it directly contributes to increased profits and the overall value of your business.
If you want to establish a brand, have questions about branding, or if you want to seek counsel from our Intellectual Property practice group, please reach out to request a consultation or call us at 216-696-1422.
