Successful Brand Management: Moving from a Product-Centric Focus to a Customer-Centric Business Model by Susanne Kushner at SVPMA Monthly Event May 2002

1. Successful Brand
Management:
Moving from a Product-Centric
to a Customer-Centric
Business Model
Suzanne Kushner
Director of Marketing Communications
Mainsoft Corp.
Suzannekushner@hotmail.com

2. Top 3 Things to Remember
When “Branding”
1. Think of Branding as a way of doing
business, not just a Marketing function
2. Look for ways to improve your Total
Customer Experience more often
3. Service – good or bad – may have the
greatest impact on your product or
company’s brand image

3. Why is branding so important to
high-tech companies?
Product commoditization
Consumers have more choices than ever
Harder to offer strong value
propositions, differentiation in
technology products
Strong brands can command premium
prices
 (Historically) Strong brands have driven
strong stock prices

4. The face of a commodity!

5. What’s a brand worth?
10 engineers asked to read a brochure and
select a product
NO BRAND LISTED IN BROCHURE
• Brand A 18.6%
• Brand B 29.8%
• Brand C 26.2%
• Brand D 16.7%
• Brand E 1.5%
• Brand F 2.9%
Source: “Driving Brand Value: Using Integrated Marketing to Manage Profitable
Shareholder Relationships” by Tom Duncan

6. What’s a brand worth?
10 engineers asked to read a brochure and
select a product
BRANDS IDENTIFIED IN THE BROCHURE
• HP 18.6% 63.2%
• Brand B 29.8% 12.5%
• Brand C 26.2% 7%
• Brand D 16.7% 5.6%
• Brand E 1.5% 4.3%
• Brand F 2.9% 2.9%
Source: “Driving Brand Value: Using Integrated Marketing to Manage Profitable
Shareholder Relationships” by Tom Duncan

7. Do most High-Tech
companies have a branding
strategy that
really works?

8. Most aren’t sure!
• Most high-tech companies are run by
people who don’t know what good
brand management involves
• Most branding is left to Marketing to
create logos and run ad campaigns
XXX

9. To “brand” their products, here’s
what they’re doing:
• Trying to gain mindshare via
advertising and mass media
• Creating pretty logos!
• Creating interesting taglines

10. Branding Idea Du Juor!
Name a Ballpark!
• PacBell Park - San Francisco
• CMGI Park - Boston - $76 million/10 years
• Qualcomm Park - San Diego
• 3Com Park - San Francisco
• Network Associates Park -Oakland, Calif
• Campbell Field -Camden, N.J.
• Cinergy Field - Cincinnati
• Enron Corp. - Houston Astros - $100 million/30 years
• Comerica Park - Detroit - $86 million/30 years
• FedEx Park- Washington- $205million/27 years

11. High-tech branding is different
• Product lifecycles are short
• Innovation and change-driven industry so
“secondary” brands don’t have a real impact:
 Sears:Kenmore/Craftsman
 GM: Chevrolet, Pontiac
• Often concentrate on brand of company, not
product
• Most high-tech brands must grapple with
global complexity; trademarking
internationally is expensive

12. Biggest challenge for most high
tech companies:
• Not one-voice, one-look, or lack of
pretty logos - these are tactical,
logistical
• Creating and nourishing long-term
customer relationships
XXX

13. What is a brand?
A brand represents a
relationship customers have
come to know and value
- Regis McKenna

14. What is a relationship?
What’s the company/product
promising and what’s the
company/product
delivering?

15. So…sounds simple, but
Making and keeping a
promise - consistently -
can be a powerful source
of competitive advantage

16. Technology buyers are skeptical
• Conditioned to expect unreliable products
• Burned by old and new companies
promising too much
• Don’t think a company has their best
interest in mind
• Low expectations for good service
msf

18. In high tech, the interpretation of
“branding” is:
Sell the promise but it’s OK to
deliver only 40% of the time!

19. For many companies, the brand IS
the company
• Nordstrom
• Volvo
• SW Airlines
• Tiffany
• Kellogg
• HP
• Intel
• Microsoft
• Google

20. How do you create a brand?
OLD WAY
• Create a new category
• Displace a competitor
NEW WAY
• An active experience where the customer is
actively involved and feels empowered

21. Today, branding is about…
• Moving from product-centric focus to
customer-centric focus
• Realizing the ENTIRE customer
experience can be the most significant
driver to brand value
• Any contact with your organization
defines your brand

22. How do you build or enhance
your company’s brand?
OLD WAY
One-way communication: mass media
via TV, print, word-of-mouth, broadcast
NEW WAY
Two-way communication: All of above
PLUS we must create 1-to-1
relationships by communicating WITH
customers; create purposeful dialog

23. 5 R’s of “Purposeful” Dialog
1. Recourse – Customers want to avoid risk when buying a
product…
 - Make it easy for the customer to contact the
company if there is a problem
2. Recognition – Customers like to be personally recognized
 Address customers by name on solicitations
3. Responsiveness – Do more than provide an 800-number!
4. Respect – Dialog w. the customer when it makes sense for
them
5. Reinforcement – Reinforce your message w. mass media that
has a call to action!

24. Types of Brand Messages
1. Product Messages: Performance, price, distribution points:
Ex. Price sends a message! What would you think of a
Rolex watch for $15? Or a diamond ring in Kmart
packaging?
1. Service Messages: interactions your customers have w/your
company
Ex. Customer service reps, receptionist, delivery drivers -
these can have a SIGNIFICANT impact
1. Unplanned Messages: messages you can influence but can’t
control
Ex. news stories, word-of-mouth, special interest groups,
chat rooms employees
1. Planned Messages: (marcom)
Ex. Advertisements, Brochures, data sheets, datasheets

25. Which “source” is often the
most influential?
UNPLANNED MESSAGES!!!
• Typically have more of an impact than
marketing programs
• Sometimes you can influence them, but
you can’t always control them
• Are these confirming your “planned”
messages?

26. Do you need advertising/mass
media to build a brand?
Logos? Taglines?

27. Tip!
Marketing budgets are
determined by results!

28. What can advertising
(mass media) actually do?
• Create positive images; create
awareness
• Position brand
• Reach multiple stakeholders
• AGGREGATE AND QUALIFY
PROSPECTS – then move to 1-to-1

30. Print Ad 2

32. CAUTION!
• NON-ADVERTISING MESSAGES
can negate the most brilliant
creative work
• Building strong brand relationships
means LISTENING to and
RESPONDING to customers

33. This is all interesting, but
where does Product
Management/Marketing
fit in?

34. Sources of Brand Information
Competitive Field Sales
Inventory Data Information Feedback
PMM
Design and
All Customer Production
Touch Points Transaction Data
From Finance Schedules

35. How Product Management should
view branding…
Clearly understand the net worth of your
current customers
Know your customer touch points;
determine which you can (positively)
influence TODAY
Postpone Marketing activities if more
serious problems exist
Hire a branding agency – not an ad
agency

36. How companies should think
about branding
• Make your brand strategy a way of doing
business – not just a marketing function
• Shift emphasis from ACQUIRING
customers to RETAINING and GROWING
customers
• Communicate WITH rather than TO
customers
• Better manage customer expectations

37. Measure Your Brand Through a
Brand Audit
Components of Brand Audit
• TRUST – Does product do what it says it will do?
• CONSISTENCY – Is product performance and service
predictable? Are company policies and procedures consistent?
• ACCESSIBILTY – Is it easy to reach your company?
• RESPONSIVENESS – Are questions, inquiries and complaints
quickly and thoroughly handled
• COMMITMENT – To what extent is the company really
interested in customers?
• AFFINITY – Do customers identify with this brand? Do they
relate to other people who use it?
• LIKING – Do all stakeholders like to be associated with the
brand?

38. Top 3 Things to Remember When
“Branding”
1. Think of Branding as a way of doing
business, not just a Marketing function
2. Look for ways to improve your Total
Customer Experience more often
3. Service – good or bad – may have the
greatest impact on your product or
company’s brand image