This week we talk all about branding strategy for manufacturers. Is it worth the time and effort? Chris Wirthwein shares his experience and answers the question with some 'yes' and some 'no'. In short, a strong manufacturer brand can be a huge advantage if approached from a customer centric approach. Listen and learn if you should pursue branding or just let it die.

Highlights:

• "Brand" is what you have and "branding" is what you do. Brand is a perception of your company. Branding is the things that you do that affect those perceptions. [4:20]
• Consider owned, earned and paid media for branding activities. Chris recommends emphasizing the owned type. [10:10]
• Interesting idea; what your sales people say to customers and prospective customers is owned media. Your employees could even be considered as owned media. [12:00]
• It's important to understand the difference between the corporate brand and the product brand. [14:50]

• Chris' book, The People Powered Brand, talks about the 5 foundations of a people powered brand: [18:20]

1. Consistency
2. Credibility
3. Desirability
4. Uniqueness
5. Do-ability

 

• Poor brand alignment can cause a lot of problems including recruitment of talent, the value of a company and profit. [21:20]
• Chris comes to the conclusion that branding strategy is not dead for B2B manufacturers. Branding is, indeed, an opportunity to gain competitive advantage. [30:50]