When it comes to brand building, we come across consumer brands such as Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Parachute, Maggi, Cadbury, etc. Now think about these names, when we talk about big business houses in India, three names invariably come up, Tata, Birla, and Reliance. These three are also in the consumer business today but they all started as manufacturers and today they are a well-known brand. This is because, from the beginning they understood the importance of brand, and this is must if a big game is to be played. Despite having many such successful names in-front of us, a mindset the manufacturing industry has developed is that we don’t need branding and marketing. Our business is built on relationship, service, and cost. Many manufacturing and industrial companies do not feel that they need to worry about branding. Some still prefer to rely on word-of-mouth and referrals to attract new business, and thus feel that branding is not important to their business.
This has always been needed, but today if you want to grow your business a brand is a must. This is because manufacturing and industrial markets are extremely crowded, with different companies offering many of the same products, services, and capabilities. A solid, recognizable, and memorable brand can help you stand out from the crowd and gain more customers. Other reasons why branding is needed are; branding lets people know who you are and what you do. Effective branding will give you name recognition as well as recognition of your capabilities. Building your brand can make your company name synonymous with your product or service. For example, if we talk about manufacturing industry, Intel chip for computer processing and Colgate for toothpaste in consumer business.
Successful branding will connect your customers emotionally with your company and thereby establish credibility for your brand. People want to work with a stable and long-term brand and through branding you guarantee that you are not a small or fly-by-night company. Attractive and sophisticated branding creates the impression that you are a legitimate company with a relevant product or service offering. Branding can be very helpful in differentiating yourself from competitors. As a manufacturer, it is possible that you are offering a similar product or service as your competitors do. At such times, it is essential that you do not let yourself look like your competitors. Your brand colours, logo, mission statement and most importantly your brand story or positioning must be well thought out to differentiate you from the competition. We may think that all these things are important even for a consumer brand, so what is different here.
The basic principles for a brand will always be the same but it’s how you use it for yourself that matters. As seen above, cost or pricing plays a major role in this manufacturing industry. At such times, brands help to find and build new segments along with new customers for business growth. Because you have built a brand, this will give you easy entry into new segments and give you an opportunity to trade above the price.
You will be able to trade with more margin. Another thing is that the sales cycle in this industry is relatively longer for closing deals and many people are involved in decision making, at such times a brand helps them in their decision making because the brand builds trust.
Now the question will be how to brand and market. To start with as mentioned above, make the positioning of brand. Determine your target audience. You can sell goods to anyone but while building a brand you must strategically define the segments and customers that will give you clarity for the business. This allows you to avoid being in the same race as your competitors because you know where, to whom and how you have to sell.
The most important aspect of promotion is your website. This will serve as an important communication tool as your customers will get information about you through your website. So, spend time building the website, put the necessary details i.e., what your customers will expect when they visit your website, put those details on the home page up-front. Study SEO and create a website based on it. Make it easy navigation and less time to open it. Most importantly, make it look like you are not just a big brand but a truly successful brand. Also increase your presence on social media. Instead of making thirty posts in thirty days or posting good morning and festival wishes, give the required information about your brand and product. Create videos, demo videos, share customer experiences (testimonials), talk about your factory and certifications.
The most important thing is that you claim a Thought-leadership in your industry. Your industry or nature of business is all about offering expertise/skills, so it is imperative that you behave accordingly. For this, tell people how you solved your customers’ problems. Share your case studies with people, talk about any patents or special certifications you have, write articles in your industry / trade magazines and as a blog on your website. Present the research paper at an industry forum. Thus, present and position yourself as a leader. This will make people see your brand differently. As we know, product information is essential in this industry; so get your brochures and various literature created by a good designer that creates a great brand impression. Send periodic e-mails that inform your customers about you and the market, they also need to know what’s new and will remember you if you help them.
Personal relationships are important in this industry, it is a reality that business closure will be based on price, but if it is supported by a brand, your relationship will be strengthened professionally, and your deal will not be dependent only on the price.
This article was originally published in Mumbai Samachar – a leading Gujarati-language daily newspaper published in India. This article has been written by Mr. Sameer Joshi, Founding Partner – Sam & Andy.