Suzanne Kushner Director of Marketing Communications Mainsoft Corp. Suzannekushner@hotmail

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” • Think of Branding as a way of doing business, not just a Marketing function • Look for ways to improve your Total Customer Experience more often • 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 • 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 • Recognition – Customers like to be personally recognized • Address customers by name on solicitations • Responsiveness – Do more than provide an 800-number! • Respect – Dialog w. the customer when it makes sense forthem • Reinforcement – Reinforce your message w. mass media that has a call to action!

24. Types of Brand Messages • 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? • Service Messages: interactions your customers have w/your company • Ex. Customer service reps, receptionist, delivery drivers - these can have a SIGNIFICANT impact • Unplanned Messages: messages you can influence but can’t control • Ex. news stories, word-of-mouth, special interest groups, chat rooms employees • 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 Information Field Sales Feedback Inventory Data PMM Design and Production Schedules All Customer Touch Points Transaction Data From Finance

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