| Whether you sell to consumers, contractors or big | | | | coordinate your advertising, Web site, brochures, |
| corporations, your customers are bombarded with | | | | distributor training and motivation, employee |
| messages every day. In this environment, companies | | | | communications, word-of-mouth and telemarketing |
| cannot assume that prospects, or even long-time | | | | scripts. Then you need to translate all of this into a |
| customers, know all about them. Companies must find | | | | campaign focused on specific, targeted customer |
| a message that strongly communicates their added | | | | groups or segments. |
| value. In many cases, they must also manage a | | | | We talked earlier about customer needs. What can a |
| portfolio of brands sold through a variety of distribution | | | | company do if it has a diverse set of customers with |
| channels. To help companies develop winning | | | | different needs? |
| strategies that meet the needs of multiple customer | | | | In the world of branding, we often talk about brand |
| segments, Smart Business spoke with Bob Segal, a | | | | architecture. This concept addresses how many |
| Principal at Frank Lynn & Associates Inc. and the | | | | brands a company requires and the relationship among |
| leader of the firm's Brand Strategy Practice. | | | | those brands. My default position is, the fewer brands |
| What does it mean for a brand to communicate | | | | the better. Using a single brand costs less, is easier to |
| added value? | | | | manage internally and easier to understand externally. |
| More than 60 years ago, psychologist Abraham | | | | However, your question is astute because many |
| Maslow described consumers' needs using a pyramid | | | | markets today are fragmented. We have a client that |
| with basic needs such as food or sleep at the base | | | | sells nail guns to consumers, contractors and industrial |
| and higher-level needs such as acquiring knowledge, | | | | users. Each of those groups is composed of multiple |
| being creative or contributing to society at the top. We | | | | subsets. In a perfect world, you would stretch your |
| have developed a similar approach on the | | | | single brand to cover all those groups. In reality, finding |
| business-to-business side, emphasizing higher-level | | | | a single compelling message for such diverse groups is |
| needs like improving customers' productivity, reducing | | | | difficult. Many companies often develop new brands |
| their life-cycle costs or helping them develop new | | | | when a single brand simply won't due. Toyota's launch |
| products. For consumers or corporations, adding value | | | | of the Lexus brand is a classic example. |
| means linking your brand with these higher-level needs. | | | | How does a company with multiple brands coherently |
| Is it enough to merely link your brand with these | | | | communicate different messages to different |
| higher-level needs? | | | | markets? |
| A successful brand position must satisfy three | | | | The answer is complex, but one key is to carefully |
| conditions: it must be unique, compelling and credible. | | | | coordinate which brands are sold through which |
| Linking your brand with a compelling customer need in | | | | distribution channels. In my Toyota/Lexus example, |
| a unique way is a good start. However, many | | | | Toyota recognized the premium or luxury message it |
| companies falter in the implementation phase when | | | | wanted to communicate with its Lexus brand would |
| credibility is proven or refuted. | | | | be undercut by the middle-class nature of its existing |
| Can you give us an example? | | | | dealerships. To carry the Lexus brand, Toyota required |
| For one of our business-to-business clients, we | | | | its dealers to establish separate Lexus-branded |
| developed a position that emphasized how the | | | | dealerships that oozed the luxury image. |
| company works closely with its customers to reduce | | | | Can't companies just outsource their brand work to |
| costs and production setup time. The client used a | | | | advertising or public relations agencies? |
| variety of internal media to educate its employees | | | | Some agencies do stellar work. However, many |
| about setup time reduction in its own manufacturing | | | | agencies--particularly those that work for smaller |
| facilities, created employee-client cost-reduction teams, | | | | companies--are often more comfortable designing |
| and even created a setup time-reduction institute on its | | | | brochures or writing press releases than developing |
| Web site. | | | | overall brand strategies. Brand strategy reflects a |
| Even if you have a unique, compelling and credible | | | | company's overall mission and the vision of the CEO. |
| position, how do you get the message out in such a | | | | While advisers can help, the true success of any |
| 'noisy' environment? | | | | brand strategy is the creation of an idea that uniquely |
| The key to getting your company's message heard is | | | | and credibly solves key customers' compelling |
| developing an integrated marketing effort. You need to | | | | problems. |