In December of 2019, I was about to pull the trigger on the $5k club coaching program. My biz girlfriend highly recommended it, but I was over investing in my business and not getting ANY results. I was investing in other coaches, copywriters, FB ads, and everything else with little to no results and I was OVER IT.
I know what it’s like to make these investments in your business, and it’s nothing to take lightly. And registering your trademark is no different.
By the end of this post, you’ll get a glimpse of what happens when you invest in your trademark, and how it advances your business.
1.Positive trademarks generate customer loyalty
Why? Because these companies have INCREDIBLE customer service. Any time I go to these companies, I know I’ll feel a certain way after I leave.
They’ve built their trademarks on goodwill. But those aren’t the only ways that you can build brand loyalty with your trademarks.
One way to do this is to produce quality products consistently, so that your customer can’t imagine going to anyone else. A company that has done a great job of this is Subaru. They have a cult like following and their customers repeatedly buy their cars.
When you have a registered trademark, you can protect your brand from infringers who try to use your good name. Many times they are trying to confuse your customers so that the customers buy from them thinking it’s your business
2. You can expand into other product types and new markets
Are you only selling luxury or high ticket offerings?
Would you like to sell a lower tier offering so that you can expand your mark even more? Having a registered trademark and a brand that you’ve already established helps with expanding your products and market.
Most registered trademark owners have a certain type of consumer buying their product. It’s easier to increase your client/customer base because the brand has already established a reputation. So what does this look like?
A brand like Mercedes started producing a less pricier car so that people who’s budget was lower could still purchase their product.
But maybe you’re on the other side of this, and mostly sell lower tiers, and want to offer a higher tier product.
A company that’s been able to do this is Toyota through their Lexus brand. Toyota also has a loyal following, so when they came out with their luxury brand, they were able to expand their market to customers who had bigger budgets and loved the Toyota quality.
For my service based businesses, most of you have a high ticket offering, but you can expand your client base and allow people to test the water by offering lower ticket items before they invest in the big ones.
3. Investors are more likely to fund your business
Investors love trademark registration. They are risking their own money because they believe in your business. They want to ensure that their money isn’t going down the toilet.
Investors don’t want your competition swooping in and registering the trademark. They don’t want to risk their money going to a lawsuit because you didn’t do the due diligence to get a trademark search and file the trademark application. Investors want to be assured that their money will continue to grow and make money.
Investors don’t want your competition swooping in and registering the trademark. They don’t want to risk their money going to a lawsuit because you didn’t do the due diligence to get a trademark search and file the trademark… Click To Tweet
If you invest in your trademark, investors interpret it as you not believing in your business. If you’re not protecting your business’s future, why should they?
According to a 2018 study, Trademarks in Entrepreneurial Finance: Empirical Evidence from Venture Capital Investments in Private Firms and Venture-Backed IPOs, found that registering trademarks help with business health, venture capital investment, and even IPO success.
4. Registered trademarks increase in value over time
The longer your business is open, the more likely you’ll have business growth, and an increase in customers/clients. This means more people are becoming aware of your brand.
More brand awareness = More clients
More clients = More money
More money = Increase in value in your business
Consumers and investors look at your business as a whole, and your intellectual property portfolio is included. If you ever wanted to sell your business, the buyer will want to know the valuation of your company including your trademarks. That’s why it’s so important to invest in your trademark.
A company like HoneyPot had less value 10 years ago than it does today because there is more brand awareness. And now, just the name HoneyPot, brings value to the company.
5. Don’t use the trademark any more? Then sell it!
The best part about your investment is that it lasts as long as you’re still using it. You’ll have to “renew” it every 10 years through the USPTO website, but as long as you’re using the trademark as stated on the application, you should have no issue.
And you know what you can do if you decide you don’t want to use the trademark any more?
You can sell it!
Trademarks are running out, and some people are dying to use ONE NAME because of emotional ties. Now you’re getting a return on your investment from selling off your trademark that you no longer use because you own it.
When you invest in your trademark, the sky’s the limit. There are so many opportunities and advantages of registering your trademark, and you can get started today for free.
How?
By grabbing the trademark process roadmap! This roadmap is a step by step guide that discusses what to expect when going through the trademark registration process. It also includes common mistakes that I see with trademarks and filing your trademark applications.