Implementing an Online Brand Protection programme: questions you need to ask

Protect your brand in 2015 with the right tools

If you thought brand competition was intense in the real world, you can only imagine what it's like in the free-for-all digital marketplace. Sales online are constantly rising northward, and as someone who expends a lot of energy, time and money in building relationships with your customers, while heightening visibility and increasing rand awareness to grow your brand's bottom line, this post is for you.

Your days can't possibly get any busier. You might be a one-person show. You might have a staff. In either case, while you read this post, you might think your work and of those around you might be heading into overtime. It doesn't have to be that way.

Below are some questions you should consider asking regarding the ever-growing online threats your brand faces. By choosing to implement a brand protection tool, you will be sure to realize a greater ROI. How you answer the following will provide you with a good direction to reach that goal.

Question 1. Do you know how your brand is abused on an ongoing basis?

The threats your brand faces include everything from counterfeiting to stealing your traffic to slander to phishing. Let's take a look at some of these common threats and the danger they pose to your online brand.

• Counterfeiting

In today's dynamic online world, shoppers are offered counterfeit items almost non-stop. Everything from the Prado bag to that Rollex watch are featured on professional looking websites, built to fool the savvy (and not so savvy) consumer. With the ongoing release of over 1400 new gTLDs (Generic Top Level Domains), this has made brand protection even more difficult.

It wouldn't take much for example for an online counterfeiter to pack a PPC ad with branded keywords to direct people to a BuyNike.Sale URL, offering professional looking counterfeit Nike Air Jordan's. This not only damages an authentic brand's reputation but also steals from their bottom line.

Online auction giant Ebay, while they have taken steps in recent years to reduce counterfeit goods sold through the platform, recently was investigated and found to have over 250 counterfeit goods openly sold on the site. Read this very recent press release to learn more about the investigation and Ebay's response.

For some more visual imagery on the proliferation of online counterfeiting check out this post.

• Traffic Theft

There are thousands of websites out there that are professionally designed to lure and trick customers that they are being offered the real thing. Using SEO tactics and as I mentioned violating PPC ads they divert an authentic brand's traffic to their bogus sites in the hope of people being fooled to buy from them and hence, stealing from a brand's bottom line.

However, these tactics can be measured with some effort, and brands can come to a roundabout figure of how much in sales are being lost to this diversion of traffic. This analysis will empower you to identify the sites responsible for stealing your traffic and arrive at a dollar figure regarding the money your brand loses due to this shady practice.

Furthermore, you will be able to gauge how much your ROI will benefit from implementing a brand protection tool.

• Slander

The lightning speed reach of the internet coupled with its' anonymity is a threat to brands. Bad reviews for examples can be posted on blogs, forums and using tweets and proliferate around the web in merely seconds. Outside of using a Brand Protection tool, the highly popular practice of Online Reputation Management (ORM) is being embraced by brands large and small.

• Personal Information Theft

Online scams such as phishing are making a comeback with CyberThieves sending surfers to phony digital destinations such as banking sites and stealing their account information and passwords. Banks aren't the only targets, with retailers and industries where other sensitive information is held, also being targeted.

Read the article below which is just one example of a huge brand being violated in a phishing scandal - Hackers may pick up phishing bait in Home Depot breach

Clearly, Home Depot as large a retailer as it is, is prone to such attacks and are no doubt doing something about it. When phishing scams happen, the authentic holders of these sites suffer damage to their reputation, even if it isn’t their fault. In the mind of those affected, it is.

If your brand is facing these threats, ensure that the tool you choose answers the challenges they present.

Question 2. What can you do to identify brand infringement online?

You can hire a staff to manually identify those infringing upon your brand and trademark round the clock via setting up Google Alerts and checking Ebay and Amazon for counterfeiters selling copies of your goods online.

While this may be a good solution in the short term, it could prove to be expensive in the long term. Furthermore, there are so many nooks and crannies on the web that can be hidden from searches, that the chances that a violating site can be missed are highly probable.

Checking the liability of domains that are similar to yours and monitoring those is also an option. However, with so many variations used by typosquatters and the like, this is also not a full-proof option, especially if done manually.

Be aggressive when fighting infringement. Create a process that enables you to send a letter to companies that are violating your trademark. Provide details about your concerns and how you see resolving the infringement. If you see no response from the alleged violator, a more formal cease and desist letter should be sent. At the same time, consult with your attorney to see what they recommend.

Question 3. Why is it crucial to prioritize online risks before dealing with them?

The risks threatening your brand are so plentiful and diverse, that it is impossible to combat all of them at once. You need to identify the risks involved and be able to prioritize them. The quicker you do this, the quicker you'll be able to combat them and realize a greater brand ROI.

Question 4. Can you protect your brand in-house?

Last but not least, we have this question. Sure. You can do it in house. Though you might need some extra real estate to house personnel, not to mention a budget to hire professionals to monitor the web all day. And all night.

There are very few pros for this strategy. While throwing manpower at certain things in business works, in the context of implementing a sound brand protection strategy is one where it just doesn't. There are just too many places to monitor. An automated Brand Protection tool can prove to be just what you need in fighting these threats.

Making a Decision

Asking yourself the above questions will greatly support you when assessing if you need a brand protection tool and also which kind. Based on what I have seen, chances are you do need to implement one, and based on the answers to these questions, it will help you in selecting one that meets your needs, both in practicality and budget wise.

Please feel free to chime in using the comments section below with your thoughts and experience regarding the level of threats affecting your brand. How have you been dealing with them? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks to Alex Gutman for sharing his thoughts and opinions in this blog post. Alex is BrandShield’s Evangelist. He has been using computers and the internet since 1985. With a deep-rooted knowledge of technology, marketing and a passion for writing, he seeks to educate the masses on how they can protect and invigorate brand. You can connect on Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ or Twitter.