The importance of branding in the industrial sector
Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2024 9:10 am
The power of a brand lies in the mind of the customer. It is a valuable intangible asset that must be managed with care and vision, so that its meaning is preserved , improved over time and customers form close bonds with it. In the following article we will talk about the importance of branding in the industrial sector.
The first thing to keep in mind is that a brand is more than just a sign, symbols, name, logos, etc. It is a psychological phenomenon with two main dimensions , which are very different from each other:
Brand awareness: Knowledge of products or services associated with the brand.
Brand image: All of its attributes (credibility, reliability, etc.) and benefits that the customer perceives . What makes it unique, different and capable of generating links with people.
Branding is the entire process of building that brand, capable of generating the two dimensions: awareness and image, and through them getting the general public to feel that they are part of it: belonging, devotion, etc.
Branding in the industrial sector: understanding your customers' behaviour
The behaviour of customers in industrial purchase employment data markets is different from that of final or domestic consumers, largely due to the size of their purchases, the nature of the relationships they require with their suppliers and the bargaining power they may have.
Purchasing from a company in the industrial sector is a great combination of processes , individual and organizational decision- making , and brands have an influence on the entire process. The purchase itself is increasingly focused on relationships and not on individual transactions . The customer requires an ongoing relationship with the supplier, which inspires confidence and knowledge about their products or services. That is why branding is so important in the industrial sector.
The brand is a relationship between buyer and seller: characteristics of the supplier company, financial strength, reputation, reliability, ethics, control of production processes, etc. All this is more important than the quality of the products themselves , as we will see below, because a product in itself does not differentiate us from anything.
For example, the end consumer does not care about the companies that made the diapers or printed the Zara clothes they buy . They care about the final product. The manufacturer does care about the supplier they depend on and how their final product will be displayed .
When choosing a supplier, these manufacturers are conditioned by several components of the company they choose , which go beyond the name, product catalog or prices, as we will see below.
What components comprise a brand's customer value in the industry?
We have already talked about how brands are made up of tangible values (product quality, price, etc.) and intangible values (reputation, trust, etc.). For the industrial sector that is not purely B2C , all the aspects that make a customer interested in your brand or not and ultimately decide to buy it must be taken into account .
These are:
Brand
Brand and its value is a decisive component when choosing a supplier or not . Industrial buyers prefer to make deals with companies that are relatively stable , successful and culturally compatible with them. These are tangible values that a brand can demonstrate , such as the company's stability, profitability, turnover, etc.
The problem that many brands face is when the intangible component comes into play , which goes far beyond what a company can clearly demonstrate, because we enter the emotional realm .
Among these intangibles, reputation stands out, which is the image that the brand has managed to generate over the years and that is where branding is relevant , as it is capable of projecting the image of a company towards different emotional dimensions. Another intangible aspect that is tremendously relevant in the industrial sector is trust.
Trust is achieved by building customer relationships and developing strategic partnerships from the perspective of both the buyer and the supplier. If a brand has a well-defined ' Brand Essence ' , it is able to provide the sales team with the appropriate tools and training to carry out this type of relationship with customers.
Managers and business owners in these sectors should not forget that the sales force always speaks on behalf of the brand and their brand, at the same time, will be as valuable as the ability of the salespeople to generate these relationships with the client and the clear vision of what the company is.
The first thing to keep in mind is that a brand is more than just a sign, symbols, name, logos, etc. It is a psychological phenomenon with two main dimensions , which are very different from each other:
Brand awareness: Knowledge of products or services associated with the brand.
Brand image: All of its attributes (credibility, reliability, etc.) and benefits that the customer perceives . What makes it unique, different and capable of generating links with people.
Branding is the entire process of building that brand, capable of generating the two dimensions: awareness and image, and through them getting the general public to feel that they are part of it: belonging, devotion, etc.
Branding in the industrial sector: understanding your customers' behaviour
The behaviour of customers in industrial purchase employment data markets is different from that of final or domestic consumers, largely due to the size of their purchases, the nature of the relationships they require with their suppliers and the bargaining power they may have.
Purchasing from a company in the industrial sector is a great combination of processes , individual and organizational decision- making , and brands have an influence on the entire process. The purchase itself is increasingly focused on relationships and not on individual transactions . The customer requires an ongoing relationship with the supplier, which inspires confidence and knowledge about their products or services. That is why branding is so important in the industrial sector.
The brand is a relationship between buyer and seller: characteristics of the supplier company, financial strength, reputation, reliability, ethics, control of production processes, etc. All this is more important than the quality of the products themselves , as we will see below, because a product in itself does not differentiate us from anything.
For example, the end consumer does not care about the companies that made the diapers or printed the Zara clothes they buy . They care about the final product. The manufacturer does care about the supplier they depend on and how their final product will be displayed .
When choosing a supplier, these manufacturers are conditioned by several components of the company they choose , which go beyond the name, product catalog or prices, as we will see below.
What components comprise a brand's customer value in the industry?
We have already talked about how brands are made up of tangible values (product quality, price, etc.) and intangible values (reputation, trust, etc.). For the industrial sector that is not purely B2C , all the aspects that make a customer interested in your brand or not and ultimately decide to buy it must be taken into account .
These are:
Brand
Brand and its value is a decisive component when choosing a supplier or not . Industrial buyers prefer to make deals with companies that are relatively stable , successful and culturally compatible with them. These are tangible values that a brand can demonstrate , such as the company's stability, profitability, turnover, etc.
The problem that many brands face is when the intangible component comes into play , which goes far beyond what a company can clearly demonstrate, because we enter the emotional realm .
Among these intangibles, reputation stands out, which is the image that the brand has managed to generate over the years and that is where branding is relevant , as it is capable of projecting the image of a company towards different emotional dimensions. Another intangible aspect that is tremendously relevant in the industrial sector is trust.
Trust is achieved by building customer relationships and developing strategic partnerships from the perspective of both the buyer and the supplier. If a brand has a well-defined ' Brand Essence ' , it is able to provide the sales team with the appropriate tools and training to carry out this type of relationship with customers.
Managers and business owners in these sectors should not forget that the sales force always speaks on behalf of the brand and their brand, at the same time, will be as valuable as the ability of the salespeople to generate these relationships with the client and the clear vision of what the company is.