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Everything you need to know about brand protection cost
Brand Protection
6 mins

Everything you need to know about brand protection cost

Table of Contents:

    Different brand protection providers have different pricing models and rates, but there will always be a cost. That said, it’s important to remember what’s in it for you. If removing infringements means you could boost your direct-to-consumer revenue and direct more customers to authorized dealers, what’s that worth to your company? 

    A brand protection program should pay for itself many times over in customer retention, recovered revenue, and increased reputation. 

    Comparing prices is essential when choosing a brand protection provider. A fair brand protection cost should bring you a return on investment, whilst there might be hidden fees from the cheap options. Learn in this article what services you will pay for and top tips for choosing the best pricing plan. 

    Summary

    • What a brand protection plan should cover
    • How to choose the right pricing plan
    • What makes Red Points different from other providers
    • How to measure the return on investment
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    What should a brand protection plan cover?

    When you shop from different providers for a brand protection solution, it’s important to compare apples to apples. In other words, be aware of each service the package includes and the kinds of results you can expect with each service. For example, two providers may offer algorithmic scanning, and image recognition of Instagram for counterfeits, one relying on analyst hours, and the other using cutting-edge technology 24/7. You’d get more protection for your dollar with the second option.

    To conduct a price comparison, let’s first take a look at the parts that a brand protection plan must include. Whatever the level of infringement you have, the plan should always cover the following aspects. 

    Takedown of the infringements

    This is the bread and butter of brand protection. Removing infringements can include sending cease and desist letters, filing IP complaints on marketplaces like eBay and Amazon, or notifying domain registrars of scams and counterfeit online shops. A good brand protection solution will take care of the actual takedowns for you.

    Trademark/patent protection

    Patent and trademark protection doesn’t end in the filing process. Your agent or tech service should make sure that only authorized sellers distribute your products by using keyword searches based on your IPR protection in order to cover both brand abuse and patent abuse. 

    Marketplace monitoring 

    Today, infringers are using as many channels as they can to reach buyers. The service you use should monitor for infringements across different marketplaces, even if you don’t list your products on all of them. 

    Just because your products are only available from your own site and Amazon doesn’t mean people aren’t selling fakes on Alibaba, Wish.com, Facebook, Walmart.com, and more.

    Multi-language protection

    Just like counterfeiters can sell fakes on other platforms, they can sell them in other jurisdictions with different languages. If you only check for counterfeits with keywords in the languages that your company uses, you could miss many fake or unauthorized sellers who focus on other locations. Multi-language protection helps keep your brand protected around the globe. 

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    Extra perks

    Some providers go the extra mile and offer services that add value to your brand protection plan. They end up helping you protect your brand and revenue in a fast, scalable, cost-efficient way. When choosing between two providers, it can be a good idea to go with the one that’s more future-proof and prepared for the ecommerce landscape of tomorrow. 

    These are some of the additional benefits Red Points offers to its customers. 

    Custom approach

    The best programs will automatically sort and highlight incidents based on priority level. This can be useful, especially when faced with a high number of infringements. An advanced system can let you know which infringements pose the highest level of risk (2) at the time so you can fast-track the most important links first (1). 

    Automation levels

    A good service provider is able to enforce infringements based on your priority levels. This means the program will take down those infringements that cause a bigger impact on your business. These can be links from a specific marketplace, price range, particular product, etc.  

    Tech-enabled service

    Some providers automate counterfeit search with technologies like bot-powered search, machine learning, and image recognition. In this way, they sharpen the detection of counterfeit products. Also, each of these techniques can have deeper levels of application. With the help of machine learning tools, such as keyword generation and image recognition, we are able to process the information retrieved across over 5,000 online marketplaces, websites, and social networks to detect fakes, piracy or sellers online and allow our customers to take enforcement actions. 

    Customizable dashboards

    No matter how much data a system delivers, it’s important to be able to read and interpret the data efficiently. If you have to spend an hour going back and forth through multiple menus to get what you need, that’s not good. For this reason, the best brand protection system offers you the option of customizing your dashboard to view the data you need, set filters, and save them easily.

    Choosing the pricing model wisely

    While many companies can make use of a brand protection program, not all require the same type or level of service. It’s important to consider how a provider charges for the program and what’s included in the cost. Do you pay for takedowns after a certain point? Can you protect multiple trademarks at once? Do you need to pay extra for different types of infringements? 

    A trustworthy provider should also be able to consult you on the type of service you really need. If you just want to protect one or two product designs, it might not make sense to go into a full-scale program. Instead of selling you something you don’t need, the provider should help you choose the right plan for the current stage of your business. 

    Cheaper doesn’t mean better

    Some providers might offer you a cheap bargain, but beware of hidden fees. Also, a cheaper service may rely on manual detection, which is not an effective brand protection strategy in today’s digital world. The downside of manual detection is that it can only act on limited takedowns. As a result, you cannot find everything at once and there’s always an extra charge for more takedowns. Brands end up playing whack-a-mole with counterfeiters. If you don’t have a big budget for brand protection, consider tackling the most impactful listings first, and make a plan with your provider to take it from there.

    What makes Red Points different from the others

    Red Points is the fastest growing Revenue Recovery service on the market. The platform protects trademarks, designs, content, products, domains, and more for over 1,000 companies in 60 different verticals. Here’s what sets Red Points apart.

    • Flat monthly fee with unlimited takedowns

    Our pricing is 100% transparent. We have real technology on the job, which means the platform is working 24/7 (and accessible 24/7). All processes are automated and limitless. That means we don’t charge depending on labor hours, and you won’t be surprised by an unexplained upcharge at the end of a period.  

    • Suits your unique business needs 

    All brand protection and impersonation plans provided by Red Points are scalable and can be customized solutions based on your needs. With full automation technology, Red Points can service more clients with lower costs than anyone else in the industry. Our team of engineers is also the largest in the industry, and 1000+ clients of ours benefit from that.

    • All in one platform 

    Red Points is a one-stop shop for protecting your brand, products, and content online. With one platform, you can stop all kinds of infringements including counterfeits, replicas, copyright violations, brand abuse, impersonation, gray market, and domain spoofing. Multiple plans and custom packages let you start with whatever level of protection works for you. 

    • Zero gap migration 

    Red Points is the only technology platform that seamlessly connects with your existing business intelligence tools, providing you with complete visibility of potential infringements and enabling you to focus on what’s truly important from day one. 

    • Accurate data

    Forget about irrelevant information. We have achieved a 90% accuracy rate in confirming infringements by using our rule engines and image recognition technologies. That means when our customers validate an alert and proceed to the takedown, 9 out of 10 times it’s confirmed to be an infringement.

    • Industry expertise

    Our team, which is made up of the most qualified professionals in the industry, can provide you with strategic advice as you work to protect your digital revenue. Our platform allows you to access information about trends, geographic locations, and the most infringed assets, allowing you to make informed decisions.  

    • Revenue Recovery Program

    In addition to our existing offering, Red Points offers a unique program to help your business recover revenue otherwise lost to bad actors. We do so by scanning global marketplaces to identify foreign counterfeiters shipping into the US, collecting evidence, and taking legal action to help you recover $120K on average within 3 to 6 months. You can apply for free and shut down counterfeiters’ accounts permanently without any upfront payment or extra costs for you: all work is done on a contingency basis.

    This program is only available to Red Points’ clients. 

    How to measure the return on investment

    It is hard to assess exactly how big a counterfeiting problem is, and yet, its negative effect is undeniable. Having infringers on the internet means that your sales are diverted to the bad guys and thus it causes loss of revenue, reputation, and investment.

    That’s where monitoring across marketplaces, platforms, and social media apps comes in. The Red Points platform includes a real-time dashboard that gives you the full picture of your brand protection and how much a brand might be losing. The performance dashboard gives the health of your brand at a glance. You can view key stats and share insight with your stakeholders to report on the progress. 

    The platform also includes full data export features with an API connection. If you are in charge of your company’s brand protection, you can get reports directly from the platform. You can also connect other apps through the API to seamlessly synchronize your business intelligence. 

    Not only can you see the number of infringements enforced and the success rate, but Red Points’ platforms allows you to see the economic impact of these takedowns and understand the total value of the removed infringements.

    What’s next

    Now you know a bit more about what a brand protection software should include and how to choose the right type of pricing and plan. Curious to learn more? Request a demo to connect with one of our Brand Protection experts to see the best option suited to your needs. 

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