How to protect your company from counterfeiting
Today counterfeiting is a global business worth more than $750 billion. It is a growing menace that, if not curbed, can lead to irreversible damage to the industry, economy, and consumers. The tentacles of counterfeiters have penetrated deep into the supply chain of every industry, making it imperative for legitimate business owners to come up with stringent anti-counterfeiting policies and strategies. For any legitimate business owner there is a lot at stake, including reputation, image, revenue, security, consumer loyalty, and consumers’ health and safety. Therefore, any tolerance towards counterfeiters could spell doom for the company.
Risks of Counterfeiting
The act of counterfeiting affects all three of the main pillars of the distribution channel, i.e. manufacturers, sellers, and consumers. Let’s see how.
Consumers: All products undergo a rigorous testing and certification process in order to ensure they are safe for use. If the products do not conform to specific standards, then they are not certified. Since counterfeit products are not tested, they are not certified and hence consumers buying counterfeit products, knowingly or unknowingly, are definitely putting themselves and their family in great danger. Counterfeit toys, electrical appliances, perfumes, spare parts, and others have been found to cause lead poisoning, other serious health problems and in some cases even death.
Sellers: Most products come with a warranty for a specific period of time so that if the product encounters some problem during the guarantee period, it will be replaced free of charge. Since counterfeit products are just imitations of the original brands, they don’t carry any warranty. However, retailers who sell counterfeit products unknowingly realize their folly only when consumers approach them with warranty claims. Moreover, any injury to the consumer can put the retailer on the wrong side of the law.
Manufacturers: It is the manufacturers who suffer the most from the sale of counterfeit products. Imitations of their brands result not only in monetary losses but also a tarnished reputation. Any problems encountered by the seller or the consumer with regard to counterfeit products directly affects their brand image and consumer loyalty.
Measures for protecting the company from counterfeiting
- Counterfeit education
- Most people are unaware of the ill effects of purchasing counterfeit products, which applies to sellers as well as buyers. And those who know fail to identify the fake from the original. Since the most viable solution to curb counterfeiting is to bring down the demand for counterfeit products, manufacturers should find means to educate the public against counterfeit products. They should provide tips on the ways to distinguish the fakes from the originals. Articles and pamphlets are some of the ways of doing that.
- Holograms and serial numbers
- Hologram stickers and labels can provide manufacturers much needed protection, authentication, and security against counterfeiters. Holograms are difficult to reproduce and therefore it is the greatest weapon against product counterfeiting.
- Serial numbers are alphanumeric numbers which can be used for identification. These unique numbers can help sellers identify the fakes.
- Effective policies and strategies
- Anti-counterfeiting policies and strategies are either ineffective or are not used properly by government officers. This gives counterfeiters enough time to get away or lighter punishments if they are caught.
- Brand Protection Software
- Today’s buyers depend a lot on the internet when it comes to purchasing products. The internet is misused by counterfeiters who, through advertisements, lure customers into buying counterfeit products. With brand protection software, illegal activities can be easily monitored and strict action could be taken before it can cause any damage to a manufacturer’s reputation.
Since it is the manufacturers who suffer the most when counterfeiters are given a free pass, it is their responsibility to restrain the activities of the counterfeiters at any cost.
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