Global Insights Magazine Issue 2 – Edited by Aloft Group July 2012
e3 insights Leveraging Your Brand for Sales Growth
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Perspectives, Procedures and Profundities
2 3 4 6 Hey! Look at me… over here!
A historic debate put to rest
A powerful I “like” your brand needs a brand, but don’t powerful strategy want to commit
Differentiation in a crowded marketplace
Revelations about “which comes first”
Proven techniques for a winning game plan
A little Facebook perspective
HEY! LOOK AT ME... OVER HERE!
It’s crowded out there. And in today’s cluttered marketplace, if you don’t stand out, you stand down. No matter what your industry, you’re just one of many brands chasing after a number of finite prospects and potential dollars. Now more than ever, differentiating your organization from the crowd requires that you successfully develop and communicate your unique brand story. Once accomplished, bringing it to life across the appropriate channels not only extends your brand, it gives your sales force the ammunition they need to more effectively engage prospects, customers and strategic partners. Armed with a brand story only you can tell, your sales team has a competitive advantage no one else can overcome. As someone once said, It’s not your customers' job to remember you. It’s your obligation and responsibility to make sure they don’t have the chance to forget you. Delivering your unique brand story is the best way to ensure your brand will stand out and be remembered in the marketplace.
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A Historic Debate Put to Rest
Not long ago, British scientists settled the age-old question that has perplexed mankind for centuries: Which came first, the chicken or the egg? While conventional thought had usually landed on the side of the egg, Dr. Colin Freeman from Sheffield University’s Department of Engineering Materials recently delivered undeniable scientific proof revealing that, indeed, the chicken preceded the egg. Exactly why Dr. Sheffield had this amount of time on his hands, or why anyone would have funded such a study is still unclear. What is clear is that, in addition to being wildly interesting, this groundbreaking poultry revelation is an eloquent (perhaps not all that eloquent) segue into a much more important debate that has turned more than one company meeting into a melee: What comes first, your brand focus or your sales focus? The common internal disagreement usually goes something like this:
Sales Exec: “We don’t have time to engage in branding exercises… we have sales goals to meet!” Marketing Exec: “We can’t meet your sales goals if we don’t first get the brand story right!” Sales Exec: “That’s ridiculous…sales come first!!” Marketing Exec: “You’re an idiot! Sales Exec: “I’m an idiot? I’ll show you who’s an idiot….” Troubled by this all-too-common and unpleasant
brand becomes more than a logo or a color
scenario, experts have undertaken considerable research
palette carried out over your communications
over the last few years and have presented the following
materials. It will actually become your sales force’s
findings: like the chicken, it is your organization’s brand
ultimate weapon, delivering an advantage that no
story that should precede your sales objectives.
competitor will be able to leverage.
By answering questions like ... How and why are you
And now that we can finally put to rest any
different from your competition? Why should any prospect
disagreement regarding the chicken coming
choose you? Is your sales team telling a consistent
before the egg, scientists can now move on to
story? … you’ll develop and leverage a strong brand
the truly pressing issue of figuring out exactly why
image that’s an incomparable asset to your sales team.
he crossed the road.
When your internal functions are aligned, when you’ve differentiated your company from the competition, your
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A POWERFUL BRAND NEEDS A POWERFUL BRAND STRATEGY/// DO YOUR RESEARCH
1_research
Successful brand differentiation is no accident, and in-depth qualitative and quantitative research are key components of any good strategic planning process. You’ve got to know what your competitors are doing— and what kind of threat they pose to your brand, and you’ve got to know what potential customers are looking for. Through focus groups, interviews, surveys and more, you’ll be able to get into the minds of your customers, unearthing insights that open the doors to opportunity.
DEVELOP YOUR BRAND STORY/POSITIONING Your brand is your essence, your culture, your identity. Effectively communicating what’s unique about it is vital, but not always easy to accomplish. A great first step is to develop a brand matrix, which presents your organization’s points of differentiation (PODs) and points of parity (POPs). A POD conveys what’s truly unique about your brand. POPs aren’t unique to your brand, but showing four or five areas where you’re comparable to your competition is also important. Now clearly define how you deliver on each, illustrating what the benefits mean to your clients and prospects from their perspective.
2_brand story 4
Well-positioned, brand-connected organizations will remain ahead of their competitors, in good times and in bad, by providing a vision and product or service offering that is in lock step with customer values and needs. But developing a successful brand is no accident. It requires a solid, business-focused approach that carefully aligns brand strategy with internal operations. There are several key steps to developing a winning strategy, one that differentiates your brand from your competition. Here’s a quick look at some of them.
internal culture_3
ALIGN YOUR INTERNAL ORGANIZATION & CULTURE Though often overlooked, successful brands know they must connect with their internal customers as well as their external customers. Focusing on both will help build lifelong customer relationships that are enabled by employees who live the brand. Make sure your newly developed brand strategy aligns with your organizational design. Create internal strategies for delivering on your new positioning, and a tactical plan for getting your team on the same page.
DEVELOP YOUR VISUAL IDENTITY & MESSAGING There’s a difference between talking at your customers and speaking with them. For competitive advantage, you’ve got to figure out how to do the latter effectively—and cost-effectively. Developing consistent, quality visuals and messaging will help, supporting and enhancing your brand as you move forward. Create a brand bible that spells out how assets should be treated visually, and a strong messaging platform that delivers across every channel, from print to digital, PR to social media and beyond.
visual identity_4 5
I “like” your brand, but don’t want to commit A little Facebook perspective As we stated previously, there’s a difference between
Mushrooms, Laughing When Someone Falls, or Dr.
“talking at” and “speaking with” your customers. And
Who's Arch Nemesis, Daleks, but is that person worth
while today’s new marketing landscape of blogs, social
anything to those pages? Not necessarily. He or she
networking, SEO, pay-per-click and a host of other digital
may have liked them at the spur of the moment or
media may seem confusing, the opportunities for you to
because a friend liked them, but it’s meaningless if
truly connect with your customers and extend your brand
there’s no continuous engagement.
in the right way, at exactly the right moment, are unprecedented.
On the other hand, let’s say a musician is a fan of several music pages and engages regularly. As a full member
It’s no secret that Facebook has become the social
of that community who comments, shares and posts
networking site of choice for many of today’s leading
often, inviting others to participate, etc., that person is of
brands, and understandably so, for it can be an incredibly
considerable value. Some of these Facebook pages may
effective tool. But using Facebook effectively requires a
not have a massive amount of fans, but they do have a lot
clear strategy and comprehension of the medium.
of fan engagement. And isn't the purpose of social media to open a two-way communication channel with
Let’s be friends
the audience?
Many organizations focus on the number of “friends” their page may have, and having a lot of friends is, on the face of
What's under the hood?
it, a good thing, right? Well, the truth is that the number of
Having a million fans without engaging them is like having a
Facebook fans your page may have is pretty much useless
Porsche with no engine sitting in your driveway; passersby
for anything other than bragging rights.
may be impressed, but a Porsche that won’t get you anywhere is little more than a yard ornament. The same
It’s not much of a challenge to get someone to “like” your
is true with Facebook fans: If you aren't actively working
page. People will fan you because they like you, because
to engage them, opening two-way communication or
a friend likes you, or just to announce to the world, "Hey
providing a meaningful experience for them, then how
I like [blank]." A person can be a fan of FB pages such as
much are they really worth?
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Sales Support The success story of DYNAMAX™ The most colorful corporate presentations and the most original product brochures are worth nothing if they are not popularly used or understood by the sales force.
MAGNA Powertrain
Kia Motors & MAGNA Powertrain
Push strategy
Pull strategy
DYNAMAX by MAGNA Powertrain is optionally presented together with Kia.
DYNAMAX by MAGNA Powertrain is presented together with Kia.
MAGNA Powertrain Sales
Kia + MAGNA Powertrain Marketing Cooperation
The success story of the fully active four-wheel drive DYNAMAX™ by Magna Powertrain, shows how to do it right. Unlike other all-wheel systems DYNAMAX has an intelligent control strategy and can adjust early to changing conditions. The all-wheel drive system has been initially deployed in the new Kia Sportage, and E3 member
Target group • Decision makers from OEMs worldwide • Opinion leaders in the technical sector
Target group • Kia dealers and Kia customers • Opinion leaders in the technical sector • Technical journalists
SPS MARKETING has been challenged with the task of developing a communication strategy that presents
Push / pull strategy: the communication strategy
DYNAMAX as a sub-brand under the Kia Sportage,
powertrain detaches itself from the vehicle shell, and is
and also significantly contributes to the promotion.
as such one step ahead from the rest of the vehicle. In
From 8 to 14% market share with targeted ingredient branding
addition to an appropriate product folder as well as a cates the advantages of DYNAMAX in conjunction with the
The Communication Strategy: The quality and perfor-
new Kia Sportage. Text and graphics modules have also
mance of the four-wheel drive system should on
been developed that Kia uses in its various communication
one hand be conveyed together with the new Kia
channels, as well as in public relations work.
mailing, an image film was also developed that communi-
Sportage through targeted ingredient branding with a pull strategy, and on the other hand the corporate
The results: With a five-digit Euro marketing budget, a
brand of the MAGNA Powertrain strengthened through
media response with a value amounting to well over
global communication.
€ 500,000 has been achieved that has entailed report coverage in 17 international print media such as The Wall
The creative main idea: DYNAMAX™ is the first all-wheel
Street Journal and AutoBild. MAGNA Powertrain has
drive that thinks ahead for the driver. Suitable to this end,
simultaneously increased its global market share in the
the product slogan “True AWD. Continuously thinking
AWD Segment from 8 to 14%. And due to the rapidly
forward” has been developed. In most communication
increasing demand from well-known automobile manufac-
media the idea is also a visually lived experience: The
turers, this unique success story is far from over ...
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This issue of E3 Global Insight
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