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Brands Are Never Private
By Bill Wade
As published in the June, 2008 Truck Parts and Service
While preparing for a symposium on national brands and
private label products (PLP), an interesting thought occurred… Calling things
private label or private brand is dumb.
There is nothing private about this process. To the
contrary, users of this marketing tool are trying to make one of the following
points as publicly as possible:
- We are offering our own alternate brands because
national brands are application coverage or technologically insufficient;
or,
- This new brand represents a way to beat the ‘marketing
tax’… those charges for advertising, cataloging, merchandising and training
that neither the customer nor distributor needs or wants; or,
- We distributors (as the last link in the supply
chain), deserve a greater cut of the margin pie; or,
- This label is the only way we can be sure you bought
this from us in the first place when you want to return it; or,
- Over 40% of Wal-Mart’s sales are private label; part
of the $65 billion spent on PLP in the US last year… Shouldn’t we be on the
band wagon?
With the solid supply base we have in the heavy duty
market…with at least three national branders competing in each product segment…
I frankly don’t get the need for an increasing number of alternate brands.
Several recent studies conclude that 50% of private
brands are net losers from a distributor profitability perspective even
though the store brands have higher margin percents built into their lower
price.
The difference between Wal-Mart and Willie’s World of Truck
Parts private label success- Supply Chain Management.
Private labels are brands, and relevant differentiation is
the defining aspect of a brand. Without differences, PLP is a waste of inventory
investment and a diffusion of focused marketing investment.
Differentiation is the most important thing a brand
(product or distributor service) can deliver. Academics have shown that relevant
differentiation today is a leading-edge indicator of future profitability and
market share.
The key question: Does your organization’s brand have
consumer-relevant, consumer-compelling benefits that are unique and believable?
Or is your store brand simply an excuse to arbitrage temporary cost
differentials on a couple containers from China?
True PLP success reflects distributors or retailers who
recognize private label as a pure demand response- not a product push device-
that is integrated into the store’s brand. President’s Choice is identical to
Coke (down to one part in a billion), but is supported by an unbelievable
responsive supply chain. It is cheap to buy, profitable to make and distribute,
but no one ever talks about how much better it tastes.
Absent this robust supply chain integration, price is the
worst competitive differentiator a distributor can choose. It is easily copied,
reduces profits and dilutes brand equity. To a certain extent, line offerings
and product features are only limited differentiators, because they also can be
easily copied.
The most powerful differentiators tend to be one of the
following:
- Emotional, experiential and self-expressive benefits;
- Customer service elements that are invisible to
competitors (such as rigorous customer service training and employee
empowerment).
Brands exist because they are efficient shorthand that
suggests that important customer needs will be met in compelling ways.
The best way to create breakaway business growth may be to
identify all the ways in which a business has made compromises with the
consumer- and then break them all- so that that consumer gets exactly
what he needs and wants.
Employees ARE the Brand.
Five factors drive customer brand insistence:
awareness, accessibility, value, relevant
differentiation and emotional
connection.
Increasingly, distributor organizations are finding it
critical to gain employee’s understanding and enthusiastic support of their own
brand’s essence, promise and personality.
They know that they must achieve integrity between what the
distributor’s brand says about itself and how it actually behaves. They
understand that consistently delivering the brand promise at each and every
point of customer contact is critical to their success.
These factors quickly become clearly more dependent upon
the human resource function than the marketing function.
Successful HD players have discovered that the ‘moment of
truth’ in the delivery of the brand promise almost always occurs in customers’
interactions with front-line employees.
Enthusiastic employees spread enthusiasm to customers.
It makes sense then that management must market to
employees as much as to customers. If your employees don’t ‘get it,’ neither
will your customers.
Whether referring to products or a distributor’s services, it is pretty simple.
What do successful brands do?
-
Stand for something;
- Are trustworthy;
- Treat people well;
- Are different in relevant ways;
- Evolve with their customer’s needs.
A more rigorous, personal commitment to differentiating
your business’ products and services will help maintain – even increase –
margins and boost revenue, while expanding your customer base for the future.
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