A LOGO, A BROCHURE AND A REALLY CHEAP COSTUME IS NOT HOW MARKETING WORKS

There’s something a little strange about the way many business systems dealerships market themselves. They work hard to build relationships with customers. They hire the salespeople. They answer the service calls. They solve the problems. They make the recommendations. They manage the accounts. They show up when something goes wrong. They build trust. And yet, when you look at their marketing, you might think the manufacturer is the company doing all of that.

The manufacturer's logo is prominent. Its products are front and center with the supplier terminology throughout the copy. The manufacturer's imagery gets used. Its marketing materials are repurposed. And somewhere along the way, the dealership's own brand becomes little more than a logo and a phone number.

That's worth thinking about, but before that you must really understand what a brand really is. A brand is the perception people have of your company based on everything they experience, hear and believe. Manufacturers build products. You build your dealership’s brand, and those are two vastly different jobs.

The Manufacturer's Job Is to Make Excellent Products

Manufacturers are incredibly good at what they do. They invest enormous resources into engineering, production, distribution, research and development, product launches and national marketing. They create machines. They develop the software. They build platforms. They establish product specifications. They create the technology you're proud to put in front of your customers.

That's valuable, yet the manufacturer doesn't know your customer the way you do. It doesn't know the person who calls your service department when something isn't working. It doesn't know the local business owner who has trusted you for 15 years. It doesn't know the school administrator trying to solve a problem before Monday morning. It doesn't know the office manager who just inherited a technology headache she didn't ask for two days before her vacation.

You do. That's your territory. And that's where your brand lives.

Your Brand Is What Happens Around the Product

Think about the last time a customer told someone about your company. They didn’t say: "You should use them because they carry a really good multifunction printer." They said something more like: "Those guys take care of us." Or: "Call them. They know what they're doing." Or: "Their service is fantastic." Or: "They came in and figured out what was wrong."

That's brand. It's the collection of experiences, expectations and impressions that surround your company. The product is part of the story. Not the whole story. Part of it.

Two dealerships can sell the same technology and create completely different customer experiences. One becomes a vendor. The other becomes a trusted resource. The equipment didn't make that difference. The companies did.

Don't Put Your Logo on Somebody Else's Story

Here's where dealership marketing often goes wrong. When your marketing relies too heavily on manufacturer messaging, you're borrowing somebody else's voice to tell your story. You take a manufacturer's product brochure and put your logo at the bottom, add your phone number, change a sentence or two then send it out as your marketing.

That's not really your marketing. That's manufacturer marketing in a cheap costume and your customers can tell because there is nothing particularly you about it. The brochure doesn't tell them why your service team is different. It doesn't tell them what your people know. It doesn't reveal how you approach problems. It doesn't tell a customer what it feels like to work with you. It simply tells them what the manufacturer wants them to know about the product.

There's a place for product information. Absolutely. But product information isn't the same thing as brand communication.

Don't Let Your Manufacturer's Brand Do All the Heavy Lifting

There's nothing wrong with leveraging a strong manufacturer relationship. In fact, you should. Manufacturer partnerships can provide credibility, technology, resources and solutions that help you serve customers better. But there's a difference between leveraging a manufacturer's brand and letting it become your brand. If your website resembles another dealer's website because the same manufacturer language, imagery and product descriptions appear everywhere, you have a branding problem.

If your social media is a stream of manufacturer announcements, you have missed a branding opportunity. If your marketing sounds exactly like everyone else who sells the same equipment, you're making yourself easier to compare. And when companies become easier to compare, price tends to become a much bigger part of the conversation.

Your Competitive Advantage May Be Sitting Right in Front of You

You already have something the manufacturer can't manufacture. Your company.

Your people. Your experience. Your customer relationships. Your local knowledge. Your personality. Your perspective. Your stories. Your service philosophy. Your way of solving problems. Your understanding of the businesses you serve.

That's the stuff that can make you different in the eyes of your prospects and customers.

And here's the encouraging part: Nobody must give you permission to market it. You don't need a new product launch. You don't need a new manufacturer program. You don't need another specification sheet. You don't even need a bigger marketing budget. You need to start telling your own story in your own words.

Imagine what your marketing would look like if it didn’t follow the cookie cutter format. What if instead of simply saying: "We offer comprehensive managed print solutions." you said something that reflected how you work? Something like: "We don't think you should have to become a printer expert just because you own a business."

What if instead of: "We provide industry-leading service." you told the story of the time your service team went beyond for a customer? What if instead of reposting another manufacturer announcement, you shared something your technicians have learned after years of seeing what goes wrong in real-world offices? What if your salespeople's experience became content? What if your customers' experiences became stories? What if your company's point of view became part of your marketing? Suddenly, you're not just another company selling the same category of technology. You're becoming a company people can recognize.

The Product Gets You into the Conversation. The Brand Gives Them a Reason to Stay.

This may be the most important distinction. Technology can get attention, but technology alone doesn't necessarily create preference. A product can solve a problem, but the experience surrounding that product can determine whether someone wants to work with you again. A manufacturer can give you an impressive product portfolio, but it can't give you a reputation in your market.

You earn that. One customer. One interaction. One service call. One solved problem. One recommendation at a time. That's your brand building underway. Whether you're intentionally building it or not.

So, Who's Building Your Brand?

Your manufacturers will continue building great products. Let them. That's what they're supposed to do. Just don't expect them to build the thing that separates your company from the dozens of other companies selling similar technology. And that’s where creativity comes in. Knowing you need to build your brand and finding the time to build it are two different things. You're running the dealership, managing people, serving customers, chasing opportunities and solving problems. Somewhere in the middle of all that, someone says: "We really need to do some marketing." Then the phone rings. Marketing gets pushed to next week, which becomes next month, which eventually becomes, "We'll get to it when things slow down."

Here's the problem: When you're busy running the business, being too busy may be the first sign you need creative help. Not because you don't have clever ideas. You do. It's because you don't have the time or the distance from day-to-day to turn those ideas into something your market sees, understands and remembers. And if you realize you’re too busy building the business to build the brand, then you’ve finally discovered why you need to get proper creative help.

So, let’s get to your story then, shall we?

Reach Tim Votapka, VP and Director of Marketing at 631.382.7762 or email tvotapka@prosperityplus.com