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Order the new MDM Special Report: Business Planning for Distributors
What Drives Business, Branding or Marketing?
By David Gordon
Construction Distribution once ran an article on how to build a brand and posed four “brand-defining” questions. They are:
1. What are the tangible characteristics of your product and/or services?
2. How do customers benefit by doing business with your brand?
3. What emotional benefits result from using your products / services? How does this make the customer feel about your brand?
4. What does “value” mean to your customer?
These questions focus on understanding the customer’s needs (be they distributors or end-users), not perceiving what “you” feel the customer should need. In speaking to one manufacturer, “Branding is one of the outgrowths of a strong marketing or strategic planning direction. A marketing plan will be full of action steps that will also develop the brand of the company.”
Who are some manufacturers that are good “branders”? (defined as the customer requests their product) – according to an informal survey of distributors: Leviton, Lutron, Wiremold, Erico/Caddy, Crouse-Hinds, Panduit and Hubbell Wiring Devices to name a few.
Does this mean that others are bad? Not necessarily, it just means that other companies did not capture mind share with distributors I spoke with (a branding issue?). But in the words of one manufacturer, “…as a whole the industry would get a 5 on a scale of 1- 10. Everyone does name identification but beyond that there are only a few who understand and practice brand marketing.”
Bottom Line
For manufacturers who believe that they offer a competitive difference to distributors and end-users, reevaluate your marketing strategy. Does it integrate distribution? Do you effectively communicate to your customers? Who do you feel are your customers? Do you have vehicles in place to develop two-way communications with every audience base? Are you getting the ROI from your rebate programs?
For distributors consider:
1. how you can measurably differentiate your company from your competition
2. invest in understanding your customers’ desires
2. invest in understanding your customers’ desires
3. develop strategic marketing plans
4. identify those manufacturers who will support you in multiple ways.
5. measure the overall value of a manufacturer to your business (perhaps a manufacturer support index?)
Remember, branding is not just logos on line cards and t-shirts. Branding is about defining yourself, determining the customer experience and promoting your values.
Through effective channel marketing strategies, distributors and manufacturers can together grow their businesses, and in an economy where everyone is looking for the upturn, statistics, and history, show that those companies that maintain, or increase, their marketing efforts typically come out of a downturn sooner and experience significantly higher market growth.
David Gordon is principal of Channel Marketing Group, Raleigh, NC, a marketing consulting firm specializing in channel marketing strategies for distributors and manufacturers. He can be reached at 919- 488-8635 or by email at dgordon@channelmkt.com.
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