What is a "brand"?
Some manufacturing managers say branding does not work well for their companies, because branding is just the feel-good, stuff-and-fluff of consumer marketing; or they say you can't build brand preference because industrial manufacturing is a spec-driven business. This may be the case if you are the manufacturer of wholly commoditized products and services, and the relationship you have with your customers is nearly zero, entirely owned at the sales rep or distributor level.
However, every manufacturing leader we have worked with has welcomed our insights to their companies' sources of value and to their greater potential in the marketplace; and they have come to see branding for what it is.
Branding is the process that defines the company's value, so branding is central to any integrated marketing communication program. When understood in this simple light, branding and marketing are inseparable to manufacturing leaders who must build internal value definition and external value recognition in the modern industrial world.
How can you build an industrial brand?
It has been said that a brand is a promise kept: If your promise matters to a customer, and you keep this promise over time, then your customer builds an emotional connection with your brand, equating to greater value recognition. A brand is comprised of two parts: Brand Identity and Brand Image. Brand Identity is what your organization stands for and promises to the market (we are in the business of X and our promise is Y). Brand Image is what a customer or prospect believes about your company.
Progressive brand marketing defines what makes your company unique and establishes this understanding within the organization. It then articulates your value relevant to the wants and needs of your customers. By aligning your organization around your brand identity and communicating your promise in ways that engage your customers, your organization can consistently deliver on its promise and build an emotional connection with those customers.
Make marketing an organizational activity.
Branding is not a department down the hall and neither is marketing or sales. All customer-facing employees must be integral to the branding and marketing process. Our approach is to first establish your company's brand identity (value definition), and then create integrated marketing communications to build brand preference (value recognition). In addition to gaining an aligned organization, increased momentum and higher sales, another important outcome is your sales people will finally understand the purpose of marketing and no longer regard it as a cost center down the hall.
Articulate your distinct value.
An industrial manufacturer typically spends tens of thousands of dollars annually on "marcom" tactics hoping to create and/or maintain a "presence" in the marketplace. Alternatively, our branding and marketing process will grow the business. We do this by strategically cultivating brand preference within select market segments. By understanding customer problems more clearly, communications are developed on strategies that clearly articulate your company's sources of value and help build value recognition, grow sales and market share.
Separate and grow your business.
If your industrial manufacturing company is ready to enter its next stage of growth, let's talk. If you and your leadership team suspect that simply creating another round of "marcom" expenditures will only continue to sell the company short, let's talk.
Centrifuge is seeking to team up with industrial manufacturers who have higher expectations for growth, are determined to establish a winning culture, want to close the gap between internal value definition and external value recognition, are resolved to separate the company from competitors, and who are committed to seeing the company and its people grow, together.
Contact Centrifuge today.
