Branding serves to influence a customer’s perception. Doesn’t Mrs. Butterworth’s syrup just taste buttery and gooood? If you bought a Betty Crocker cake mix, wouldn’t you expect it to be moist and pleasing to the palate? That’s branding.
Your company name is your brand. It is also your intellectual property. It’s good to understand the value of your intellectual property. You sign your signature on checks and important documents. It identifies you as you. Your company name is the same. If someone is trying to mimic you in order to capitalize on your advertising/marketing budget or on your established name brand, you may have legal recourse.
It never hurts to register the company name you’ve chosen. That carries a lot of weight in a court case should someone challenge your ownership of the name. A good friend of mine came into his family’s salvage business as part of the fourth generation to manage the business. He asked his father if he’d ever registered the name they’d been using for 70 years. His father hadn’t, and gave his son permission to do so. The brand name that preceding generations had established is now protected from others seeking to challenge the family’s ownership of it. Proof of ownership of such a powerful brand name added considerable value when the family decided to sell their salvage company to Ford.
You work hard to establish an imprint in the collective consciousness of your customer base as well as in the public mind at large. It’s your intellectual property. Preserve it. Protect it.
As you grow and add locations, it’s a good idea to register your business name with the national trademark office. Trademarks are like patents. A proven history of use is important and necessary. The sooner you register your trademark, the better off you’ll be in protecting your brand name. Don’t wait until you’re a millionaire. Do it early on; then when you achieve significant success, no one will be able to rock your boat–at least in regard to your trademark or brand name.
Remember only you can make business great!
Ron Sturgeon, Mr. Mission Possible, has been a successful business owner for more than 35 years. As a small business consultant, he can deliver wisdom and advice gleaned from an enviable business career that started when he opened a VW repair business as a homeless 17-year-old and culminated in the sale of several businesses he built to Fortune 500 companies.Ron has helped bankers, lawyers, insurance agents, restaurant owners, and body shop owners, as well as countless salvage yard owners to become more successful business people. He is an expert in helping small business owners set the right business strategies, implement pay-for- performance, and find new customers on the web.
As a consultant, Ron shares his expertise in strategic planning, capitalization, compensation, growing market share, and more in his signature plainspoken style, providing field-proven, and high-profit best practices well ahead of the business news curve. Ron is the author of nine books, including How to Salvage More Millions from Your Small Business.
To inquire about consulting or keynote speaking, contact Ron at 817-834-3625, ext. 232, rons@MrMissionPossible.com, 5940 Eden, Haltom City, TX 76117.