Branding your business can increase the value of your operation in a variety of ways, including brand equity, says Tom Marx, president at The Marx Group.
Speaking at the VIPAR Heavy Duty annual business meeting Tuesday in Marco Island, Fla., Marx says creating a strong and stable brand is an excellent way to bolster customer relationships, reach potential new customers and improve your position in the marketplace.
“Branding is the art of developing an on-going, trusting relationship between your customer and your company,” he notes in his presentation, titled ‘The Five Forces of Power Branding.’
Marx defines those forces as position, promise, personality, story and elements, and says each aspect is an important step to branding your facilities.
He defines position as brand pillars, such as a mission statement, value proposition and your unique selling proposition in the market. “Your mission statement is a summary of your purpose in the world,” he says. “You want to share that with customers.”
Marx views promise and personality as how you are going to service your customers and the attitude you present for your business in doing so. Story is defined as your company’s background – how it became what it is today – and elements are other factors of your business you’d like to highlight, he says.
And while all of this can be conveyed during standard business, Marx says it also needs to be marketed. Marx says nearly 70 percent of aftermarket distributor marketing plans are executed by company presidents and owners.
He says that should change, and stressed to the audience the idea of creating marketing department with a plan and budget in their businesses. Taking marketing and branding seriously can make a significant impact on your company’s appearance in the aftermarket, he says.
“Your company becomes more valuable if you have brand identity,” he says, adding, “When you develop a brand image, you have to be able to create something that could be long lasting and recognizable.”
