Aligning,Brands,and,Channels,W marketing Aligning Brands and Channels

Awhile ago, I got an email from one of the "gurus" I follow and it shocked me. The gist of it was this person wanted to trade services for a household item.To say it floored me would be an understatement.What was worse was a few days later t Automation technologies represent a fundamental aspect of any modern industry. The major types of industrial automation solutions, such as DCS, PLC, SCADA, and MES, are used on a large-scale in process and discrete industries.DCS technologie

What doesthis have to do with marketing? Well, marketers should foster the sametype of match between their brands and channels as pet owners dobetween themselves and their dogs. If your company's brand stands for"productivity," that's what your channel should deliver. If you promoteyour "inventiveness," your channels should be similarly creative. Ifyour company is known for its "high style," your customers expect tosee that cutting edge image when they meet your resellers.Whilethis might seem intuitive, I am amazed by how few companies takeproactive steps to ensure that their channels reflect the brand imagethe manufacturer is trying to present. In our brand implementation workwith clients, Frank Lynn & Associates uses a detailed checklist toreview all of the potential "touch points" between customers and thebrand. While advertising, Web sites, product literature, and othermedia clearly play a role, the channel is frequently the mostinfluential brand communicator on the list.One of ourindustrial clients is working hard to promote a brand image thatstresses cost-cutting and efficiency (by promoting the use of itsproducts in six-sigma manufacturing processes). The client has educatedits salespeople, enlisted industry consultants, created an onlineknowledge base, etc. Unfortunately, most of the client's distributorsare primarily "order-takers." The distributors' salespeople do not knowhow, and are not motivated, to make a consultative, engineering sale.Having visited our client's Web site, or hearing our client's CEOspeak, a customer would be significantly confused when they visit oneof the distributors.The situation reminds me of the(possibly apocryphal) meeting between Albert Einstein and MarilynMonroe. Monroe gushed, "Gosh what do you say, professor, shouldn't wemarry and have a little baby together? What a baby it would be--mylooks and your intelligence!" Einstein then quipped, "Yes, but dearlady, it might be the other way around."Fearing such a result, our industrial client is taking steps to rectify the situation. Beforewe get into the steps that any manufacturer can take to align brand andchannel messages, we first need a sidebar on the issue of channelpower. When I bring up the issue of brand/channel alignment, manyclients complain they do not have the power to compel their channelpartners to behave in a certain way. Sure, if you are John Deere,Lexus, Coca-Cola, or IBM you carry some clout in the channelrelationship. But, even these companies cannot command adherence to abrand strategy. And, at the other extreme, manufacturers of tertiaryproducts, those who might represent less than 1-2 percent of theirpartners' business, sometimes feel powerless.I do notbelieve the situation is as problematic as some companies mightbelieve. We have developed a significant list of tactics that can help.While each tactic might not apply to your company, or atertiary-product company, I am convinced there is something foreveryone in our list.Before pursuing any of these tactics,companies need to make sure they have a powerful brand message. Withoutgoing into much detail here, we tell clients to think about brandsusing an approach we call UCC--unique, compelling, and credible.Withsuch a brand position in place, companies can create a strongbrand/channel alignment by adopting some combination of the followingtactics:1. Channel Selection.Perhaps the most powerful tactic to deploy is making brand alignmentone of the criteria you use to select channel partners in the firstplace. If, however, you are already stuck with channel partners that donot exactly fit the brand message, then add even a few new partnersthat do fit, and promote them as a model. Competitiveness and guilt arewonderful motivators to the existing partners.2. Company-Owned Channels.While we do not generally advocate that manufacturers open up their owndealerships or distributors (especially in competition with existingchannel partners), this tactic is sometimes necessary. When IBMlaunched the first PC, they opened up IBM Product Centers, in no smallpart to demonstrate to new, independent dealers what a retail facilityshould look like. Sony, Nike, Viacom, and other companies have openedup their own dealerships for similar reasons. Some of our clients haveeven opened up company-owned channels, on a temporary basis, to getacross their brand message--then turned around and sold the business toan independent dealer who understood the value of the brand.3. Activity-Based Compensation.You may already know that Frank Lynn & Associates stronglyadvocates activity- or functional-based compensation, in general. Youcan tie some portion of the channel's discount/rebate to performingactivities that relate to brand alignment, e.g., training salespeople,using your promotional materials, or any of the other tactics in thislist.4. Store-within-a-Store.If you sell through a retail channel, consider the store-within-a-storeconcept to bring a bit of your brand directly into the retailer.Perfume companies pay their own reps to work behind the counters atdepartment stores. HP and Microsoft teamed up to create unique displayareas within retailers, where customers could gain hands-on experiencewith products in a variety of applications. Industrial productsmanufacturer, Parker Hannifin, has established several hundredParkerStores at its distributors. Kodak has placed thousands of itsphoto kiosks in retail locations.5. Point-of-Sale.If a store-within-store or even a kiosk seems a bit overwhelming, donot underestimate the power of basic point-of-sale materials. These maybe small displays that surround your product, stand-alone racks, orsimply hand-out materials. Regardless, they bring your message directlyto the customer. They can also serve as training (see below) forchannel salespeople. Make sure to coordinate with channel partnerssince each has its own perspective of what fits (and what does not).6. Channel Training.Partners may not reflect your brand message due to a lack of employeeskills. Or, perhaps your message never filtered down to the individualsales or technical people that "touch" the customer. You can roll out aseparate course just on branding and marketing your product, or you cancombine it with product training. If you are on a budget, try webinarsor CD/DVDs.7. Champions.If training does not get you far enough, consider building channelchampions. These are channel employees that, for whatever reason, are,or could be, boosters of your brand. Maybe, they have had a goodexperience using or selling your brand. Maybe they are just really intoyour technology or style. Maybe they have a good relationship with yourchannel account manager. Whatever the reason, find these people andtreat them right. Their enthusiasm for your brand can be infectious.This strategy works particularly well for manufacturers of tertiarybrands. Maybe you cannot get the attention of your partner's CEO, butthe category manager or individual sales rep might care.8. Marketing and Sales Tools.Aligning manufacturers and channel brands requires repetition. You needto communicate your brand position to and through the channel on afrequent basis. One means of accomplishing this is by providing channelpartners with tools that they can use over and over. (Proposalboilerplate, partner portal with product, ordering, technicalinformation, sales checklist, product configurator, planogram, or FAQson your website) While these tools are not conventional brand media,each of these tools can slowly, but surely, shape the way your channelpartners act and communicate with customers.9. Account Plans.Partners often do not fully appreciate the strategic thinking behindyour brand message. If so, I can guarantee that they do not appreciatethe benefit of the various tactics I have described above. To helppartners grasp your brand strategy, the importance of your tacticalplans, and the financial impact on their business, you need toinstigate an annual planning process with your partners. The plan,preferably developed by the channel's principal or senior executive,should squarely address the issue of brand alignment. Channelprincipals/executives, especially in smaller firms, do not have anyonewith whom they can discuss strategy. Your account manager becomes theirbusiness consultant. The plan should outline how you and the partnerwill achieve joint sales and profit targets. As such, it should coverall the activities that relate to brand alignment - training,promotion, advertising, customer targets, employee training, etc.Ina world of increasing commoditization, manufacturers must create andreinforce brand messages that trumpet their differentiation. Channelsare arguably the most important media for communicating with customers.However, customers simply do not want to buy from manufacturers andchannels that are not in agreement about fundamental premises andpromises. The good news is that you have a wide variety of tools andtactics to bring channels into alignment with your brand message.Oh, and don't forget to take the dog out for a walk. Article Tags: Channel Partners, Brand Message, Brand Alignment