Explain the significance of brand management to a firm that has differentiated its product. Comment specifically on the importance of obtaining a trademark

What will be an ideal response?

The owner or manager of a firm that has been successful in differentiating its product knows that its success will lead other firms to copy the new or improved product. In a market with no barriers to entry this is inevitable. The firm can use brand management to postpone the time when its profits will vanish. Brand management can take the form of advertising and obtaining a trademark. A trademark is a legal means used to protect a product's name. But it is not enough for a firm to obtain the trademark; it must ensure that the trademarked name does not become so widely used that it becomes used for similar products that the firm does not produce. This is why Coca-Cola sends employees to restaurants and bars to make sure that another cola is not served when a customer asks "for a Coke." If such steps are not taken the trademark will eventually be ineffective.