The Right {or Wrong} Trademark Can Make {or Break} Your eCommerce Brand
Whether we realize it or not, we all encounter trademarks daily. Actually, scratch that..more like hourly.
Trademarks are a simple and concise method of communicating information about a brand. The information communicated centers around the desirable qualities and characteristics of the brand.
Your trademark “sings” the song of your brand. {You’ve probably already heard me say that a time or two!}
Some of the highest performing brands today don’t just sell products – they sell a lifestyle. A key example of this is the health and wellness industry. A consumer is not just buying a pair of yoga pants – he or she is buying a healthy lifestyle. Businesses within this industry develop strong branding and trademarks that clearly, concisely, and effectively communicate to buyers that they are purchasing a lifestyle of physical wellbeing. {Hello, prAna, Lululemon, and my favorite, my client Eagle Rock WERKSHOP!}
Over time, trademarks come to encompass far more than their original marketing messages. Company reputation becomes a key factor as more and more consumers gain experience with a product bearing a trademark. This can have a profound effect on the value of a trademark – for good or bad {and that’s up to you, as the brand owner!}
Branding strategies should be designed to support and promote a retailer’s desired perception of a product. When a retailer fails to develop trademarks that align with this goal, the result can be especially detrimental.
Poor trademark creation practices are likely to completely impede a retailer’s ability to attract a strong customer base, and more specifically, the customer base they desire. A business lacking a regular stream of loyal customers will struggle to survive in any market – let alone the current market, which is highly competitive, particularly in the online retail world.
The Qualities of Good (and Bad) Trademarks
To help marketing teams make good branding decisions, a well-developed trademark is:
- Simple
- Distinctive {unique}
- Meaningful
- Well-associated with a retailer’s product class {but NOT descriptive of said product class}
- Capable of eliciting a robust mental image
- Designed to evoke an emotional reaction {hopefully, a smile!}
Based on these stated qualities of a good trademark, we can infer the qualities of a bad trademark. A private label with a poor trademark selection strategy is likely to have a trademark that is:
- Overly-complicated {e.g., challenging to share verbally}
- Difficult to distinguish from other retailers’ branding {might as well be on the lookout for a cease and desist letter}
- Lacking in meaning or significance to consumers {watch out for those trendy marks full of consonants}
- Difficult to search for using voice on Alexa and other voice searching platforms {this is gonna be a biggie in the future}
- Unable to elicit strong mental images {a la borrrring}
- Incapable of creating an emotional response
The Importance of Trademarks for Private Label Businesses
In the age of Amazon, it is imperative that private label businesses develop branding strategies that sell, and create trademarks that best represent and convey those strategies.
A strong trademark puts a private label business on a stable path toward the creation of a high-performing brand, and one that will grow in value over time.
This is also important for Amazon sellers. So listen up!
These retailers must be mindful of how they can build a strong brand name that will persist over time without having to rely on the existence of an external platform like Amazon. {Amazon isn’t here to help you police and enforce your brand. Don’t depend on Amazon. Diversify.}
The Marketing Value of Trademarks
A compelling trademark is the critical starting point for private label businesses looking for avenues of driving sales and maximizing their market share.
An effective trademark establishes a business in the mind of the target consumer.
This establishment then serves to stimulate critical consumer behaviors:
- purchases of the business’ products,
- communication about the brand’s value with others, and
- return customers.
In the modern age of social media, consumer communication about a brand can be invaluable. Developing a strong brand name that consumers can easily communicate about online and in-person creates a fertile environment for positive consumer perception. This allows potential consumers to have a deeper initial experience with a brand, which will ideally drive new sales to the retailer, as well as bring back repeat customers.
The Legal Ramifications of Trademarks
From a legal perspective, a trademark is a powerful protective force for a retailer. Establishing a legal trademark protects a retailer from other parties infringing on the brand. This is known as trademark infringement, which is defined under US law as, “the unauthorized use of a trademark or service mark on or in connection with goods and/or services in a manner that is likely to cause confusion, deception, or mistake about the source of the goods and/or services.”
The law allows a trademark owner to file a lawsuit if the owner believes another party is infringing on the trademark. In cases where the court finds that trademark infringement has occurred, the trademark owner may be entitled to:
- A court order demanding that the infringing party stop using the trademark
- A court order that requires the infringing party must destroy or forfeit any infringing articles
- A court order requiring the infringing party to pay the attorneys’ fees of the trademark owner
- Financial compensation for any profits the infringing party made as a result of the infringement
- Financial compensation for any damages
- Financial reimbursement for the costs of filing the lawsuit
These laws are designed to protect businesses and their brands, as well as consumers! Businesses who are striving for market success should be aware of these protections and how they can utilize them to maintain the quality of their branding strategies and increase the value in their trademarks over time ~ super important!
Apres’ Ski
The modern eCommerce age has provided private label sellers with an extensive platform for conducting business.
A well-developed trademark is an essential element for a business to distinguish itself from the crowd, establish itself within the minds of consumers, and grow itself into a reputable ~ and profitable ~ industry leader.
Establishing a strong trademark ~ from both the legal and the marketing perspective ~ and a well-planned branding strategy lays a solid foundation for success within the online retail sector.
Do you need help with trademark creation?
I understand that finding the nexus of a great trademark ~ from both the legal perspective and the marketing perspective ~ can seem elusive. But guess what? I can help you.