Launching & Building a Brand For Dummies

Chapter 19

Dealing with Competition and Other Threats to Your Brand

IN THIS CHAPTER

Maintaining focus on the needs of your target market

Keeping tabs on the competition

Getting up to speed on trademark and patent protections

Regaining your footing in the midst of negative publicity

Part of your responsibility as a brand owner is to protect it from threats, both external and internal — from competitors, intellectual-property thieves, and negative publicity (typically the result of carelessness or dissent within an organization). Your approach needs to be both proactive and reactive; you must take steps to prevent bad things from happening and be prepared to respond when they do happen.

In this chapter, I provide guidance on how to protect your brand against the most common and serious threats from within and without.

Remaining Sensitive to the Changing Needs of Your Target Market

The biggest threat to your brand is complacency. Many brands achieve some degree of success and decide to rest on their laurels, forgetting that the world and their customers’ needs and preferences are changing ...