Business to business companies that sell raw materials, simple components or services face a marketing problem - how to give their products recognisable benefits which differentiate them from competitors. A popular tactic is to cut prices in the belief that this is the principal motivation influencing buyers; there being little to choose between other features such as quality, delivery and service. The unfortunate result may be a price war, as competitors retaliate in an attempt to maintain market share. It is B2B International’s contention that to sell non-differentiated products chiefly on a price platform, is both economically disastrous and unnecessary.
This article from the Sunday Times ‘Superbrands’ supplement seeks to show that companies who want their name to stand for something must be ready to reinvent it for new markets.
In an increasingly competitive marketplace, branding is what gets a business noticed, recognised, then noticed time and time again. And as it drives sales, so it drives the bottom line. Today branding has come to involve more than a company logo, packaging and marketing. But even if the elements have expanded, its aim has not. Patrick Barwise, professor of management and marketing at London Business School, says: “Branding is, and always has been about creating a good reputation.�
Malcolm Hunter, international head of communication strategy at Carat, a media agency, puts it this way. Branding, he says, is a bit like communal story telling. Today it is difficult to conceive an engaging tale about a brand when there is so much competition. It is difficult to find a suitable audience when they are gathered around so many forms of media. Even when this audience is found, it is difficult to get them to listen when they are distracted by so many other sources, including objective ones such as websites that review product performance.
Brands are operating in an environment where only the strongest survive. So, to avoid brand Darwinism, what’s to be done? Tim Duffy, chief executive of the advertising agency M&C Saatchi, offers some advice.
To conceive an engaging tale, “distil in a few words what you want your brands to be associated with in the mind of the consumer or business. The brand messages that have the most impact are the simplest and clearest�.
Google, mindful its pre-eminence as an internet search engine is under threat from ambitious competitors, adapts its logo to suit particular occasions, such as the World Cup. As Duffy says, the creativity behind the logo is apparently sufficiently ingenious to get people talking about it. They then get more people talking by emailing them a link to the site. It could be a valuable way of maintaining branding position.
As well as having a good “brand story�, says Duffy, “identifying the times during the day, or night, when the will be the most interested in your message and least distracted by everything else around them�.
Even though recent surveys show people are more likely to buy a new product from an existing brand than a new entrant to the market, other research shows there is no room for complacency. In 1975 the international advertising agency DDB found up to 86% of people remained loyal to well-known brands. Today this figure has dropped to 55%.
Michael Peters, of the brand consultancy Identica, says a brand’s current perception and desired future perception need to be identified. Then its constituent parts – its name, logo, packaging and marketing strategy – must be analysed and adapted. Finally, the newly modified parts have to be implemented and given time to take effect. Peters warns that reinvigorating a brand can be a complicated, long and expensive process. “But,� he adds, “doing nothing is not an option. If a brand is not reviewed and revitalised, it will die. To regain and maintain its life force, a tired brand needs sufficient and intelligent attention�. He cites the example of Marks & Spencer: “I don’t think we have seen a brand turnaround quite like it. It has gone from being seen as arrogant and unappealing, to something rather special. It changed everything from product range and in-store experience, to the way it trains its staff and its customer service.� Underlying sale rose 8.2% in the first quarter of this year and the company is experimenting by selling non-M&S goods such as iPods. “People trust M&S and we’re stretching the brand�, says Steve Sharp, its executive director of marketing.
Who do you call to revive your brand? Professor Doug Holt, author of How Brands Become Icons, says “Different brands need to be managed in different ways, by different people with different skills.�
There are no longer just design firms for logo and packaging, advertising agencies for ad campaigns and market researchers offering advice on buying behaviour. Now there are “new media� agencies explaining how to harness information technology, consumer consultancies explaining why people shop the way they do and trend forecasters divining new buying patterns.
In the end, he says, the decision has to be based on a good understanding of what a company wants to achieve.
