As manufacturers such as Cisco and Pfizer know, it can take decades of delivering high-quality products and excellent service to build the type of brand equity that translates into customer loyalty and the reward of premium pricing.
But that hard-earned brand equity can be ruined overnight if poor quality, counterfeit goods with your company’s name on them start turning up in the market. The result is not only a devalued brand, but also lost revenue — lots of lost revenue. Counterfeit goods cost U.S. manufacturers about $250 billion annually, according to the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition trade group.
That’s where New Momentum comes in. The start-up company offers a SaaS-based tool that lets manufacturers search eBay and other Web sites in search of knock-off goods being sold under their label. Manufacturers, including Qualcomm, Cisco, and Pfizer, use the service to locate counterfeit goods and to track down sellers who threaten to undermine their indirect sales channels.
“The product pulls in information that can tell you what counterfeit products are being sold, where they’re being sold, and for how much they are being sold around the world,” says Mark Howlett, the company’s president and chief operating officer.