It’s not every day you get a one-star review for something you didn’t even do. But this is exactly what happened to us last week…
It started with a ping in our inbox.
“New review”: 
Cue instant chaos…
Our WhatsApp group chat lit up with the everyone moving into full fact-finding mode (at 11pm on a Friday when no one was even in the office).
We knew who the client was but what had we missed? Our CRM showed we contacted the client in May 24 about a pending renewal, the last call we had 2 weeks later confirmed the renewal had been done, and except for some general client outreach emails, we hadn’t been in touch since (strange).
We understand the importance of positive reviews, so a one-star review wasn’t just a hit to our reputation, it felt like a gut punch.
But here’s the twist… our client (and us by extension) had been victims of fraudsters.
Mystery Emails
The client had complained because he was getting bombarded by emails from a company trying to pretend that they were us. They used the same style, same branding, same tone and the worst thing is that they were chasing him about renewing the trademark which as we know, he had already renewed!
It wasn’t us at all.
Someone out there was pretending to be us.
In legal or trademark terms this is called “passing off” and the ironic twist is, passing off is exactly what we specialise in helping our own clients prevent!
Just like you, we cannot stop malicious copycats sending emails and letters in the post pretending to be us, but we can identify is somebody:
- Registers a similar company name
- Tries to apply for a similar trademark
- Appears on Google with similar Logos, Images or Naming
- Sets a social media account using a similar name or image
- Tries to sell similarly names products or products using our unique imagery on marketplaces like Amazon, TikTok Shop or Ebay
Why It Matters (and why we panicked)
Now here’s the thing about letters: if someone sends something through the post pretending to be you, there’s very little you can do to stop it in advance. We couldn’t see it. We didn’t even know it existed. The only reason we did find out was because of that one-star review blaming us for something we hadn’t done!
We feel fortunate that the client left the review because now we can make sure all our clients are aware of it. Luckily this client had already renewed so didn’t part with any money to the scammers and also when he realised it wasn’t us he was happy to take down the review immediately (so no harm done), and we believe that we handled the review in such a way that he has had a positive experience with us again and will come back to us in the future.
Now imagine if this had happened not by a letter, but online.
Think about someone pretending to be you on Google, Linkedin, Facebook, Amazon or any of the online platforms you us, now imagine that leads to you receiving a one-star review or multiple one-star reviews, what if it just affects general word of mouth about the brand you have worked hard to build?
It could turn into massive distraction of negative feedback and comments, refunds, or worst case, the complete collapse of customer trust in you. The damage to your reputation (and revenue) could be catastrophic.
So, what are the key learnings that we are taking away from this experience which you may want to consider implementing in your business?
- Ensure that you maintain regular contact with your clients.
In the days of efficiency and automation, we are all busier than ever and rely on email updates and social accounts to keep our clients informed. We have always aimed to maintain at least annual reviews over the phone with our clients to ensure the relationship and trust is maintained. - Make sure everybody is aware of active trademark monitoring services.
We now offer active monitoring to all our new customers from day one, as this is the only way that we can be sure to keep regular contact with information that matters.
What many people miss is that registering your trademark is only the first necessary step in protecting your Name, Image or Tagline.
The point of trademarks is so that you can stop others from misusing your brand, especially on digital platforms.
What is the point of having a trademark if you don’t stop others from using it?
A trademark gives you the power to take down fake sellers, imposters and listings that piggyback off your reputation.
Our Trademark Monitoring means we keep watch so you don’t have to and if you are so inclined, we can even help you monitor what your competitors may be up to with their brands (within reason).
The benefit? Peace of mind.
We now know first-hand the stress and frustration of having your name misused. For us, it was some dodgy emails and a one-star review that sent our office into panic. Lucky for us it didn’t lead to an influx of angry customers, and we haven’t suffered any financial losses, but without that client feedback it could have been very different.
We began registering trademarks in 2008, but we have been spotting trademark infringements and enforcing online takedowns since as far back as 2015.
So, if you don’t have a strategy to spot people passing off, whether you use our automated services (from as little as £19 per month) or just pay one of your team to spend a few hours vetting the web each month, as our story shows, passing off isn’t just something that happens to “other people”, it can happen to anyone… even the experts.
If you want a no-obligation chat about how trademark monitoring services can work for your business drop us an email or book a call with us today.
