1. Identify your target market

2. Understand the demographics and preferences of your target market

After identifying your target market, do your own research. Know your target market well. Keep in mind the following questions when doing your research:
- What needs or desires of your target market will your product or service satisfy?
- Does it align with the income level of your target market, their lifestyle, purchasing behaviour, and geographical regions in which you are located?
3. Identify your competitors
It is not enough that you know your target market well. You also need to identify who your competitors are in the niche that you’re starting. When doing your research into your competitors, take note of the following:
- Who are your competitors?
- How can you differentiate your offering from existing products or services providers?

4. Find your similarity with your competitors

5. Find the points of difference between you and your competitors
In contrast, you must also find out how different you are from your competitors. When contrasting yourself with your competitors, you may use the following questions to guide you:
- How do you compare to your competitors?
- Are your products and services at a lower cost?
- Are your products and services of better quality?
- Do you have more location convenience?

6. Identify substitutes for your products and services

7. Identify the advantages of your products and services over the substitutes

8. Identify the circumstances where your target market will choose others over you

9. Put some work into your brand
Be creative and unique when selecting brand elements. A brand name must not be descriptive of products or services. Make them appealing to your target market and ensure to differentiate them from the brands of competitors. Some brand elements you may consider are:
- Brand Name
- Logo
- Symbol
- Character
- Slogan
- Jingles
- Packaging

10. Identify your brand hierarchy

11. Perform a trade mark search
It can be costly for your business to use a brand name and later have a third party take infringement action against you. A trade mark search at a very early stage of your business can prevent this from happening. Your trade mark search should be guided by the following questions:
- Is the proposed brand still available?
- Does somebody else own the proposed brand?

12. File for trade mark protection

13. Consider the possibility of exporting overseas

14. Plan your overseas brand

15. Find out what your brand name means in a foreign language
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16. Consider translating or transliterating your brand name into a foreign language
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17. File for a trade mark outside of Australia
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18. Use effective marketing communication to build up brand equity
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Let your brand be seen. This is the only way for people to get to know your business and its offerings. Some examples of media you may use are:
- Mass media advertising (TV, radio, newspapers, magazines)
- Utilise web sites and online communication (company websites, social media)
- Outdoor advertising (billboards, posters, cinema)
- Human communication (face to face personal communications in retail stores)
- Trade consumer promotions
- Sponsorship of events and public relations
- Marketing product placement in movies, TV, or entertainment software
19. Consider potential brand extensions with business expansion
As you expand your product offerings, consider extending your brand to represent the additional products that you’re offering. For example, the carbonated beverages of Coca Cola has already extended to Sprite and Fanta. In their category expansion, Minute Maid and Oldwalla are additional brands for the company representing additional products in a different category of beverages.
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20. File for a trade mark for your extended brands
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Your brand can make or break you. You, as a brand owner, have a duty to protect your brand. And the only way you can do this is by applying for a registered trade mark. Baxter IP’s experienced trade mark attorneys are always on standby to help you with protecting your brand. If you think that we can help, feel free to reach out to us.