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| High-Tech Firms Need Branding, Too |
- Many high-tech firms believe that their success depends primarily on their ability to advance their technology beyond that of their competitors and maintain a high price-performance ratio. This is true even in today's world where products and services are highly similar and where the bulk of offerings are fast becoming commodities. The problem is that most of the people leading these high tech companies are managers that
 have existed almost exclusively on the technology side of the business and do not have a solid understanding of what good brand management involves, how it relates to their technology and what it can do for them. To most, marketing equals selling and branding is a logo. They see marketing and branding as necessary evils that are costly, difficult to measure and counter to the notion of delivering the highest performance at the lowest price. They simply have a difficult time conceiving that companies must offer a promise of value for customers and then ensure that the promise is kept through the way the product is developed, produced, distributed, serviced, and promoted.
The only way to change this attitude is by changing long-held beliefs, and that's not easy. In a recent brand strategy meeting with one of our high-tech clients, I witnessed first hand a debate between the marketing director and a member of the technical staff as they discussed the strengths of a product-centered approach versus a promise-centered approach. They each held their own with the conclusion being an agreement that the optimal approach is a combination of both. The question remains, however, at what ratio?
Some may argue that brands and brand images are relevant only when the purchase decisions are "irrational" or "emotional" as for sports cars, clothing or TV's. But they have nothing to do with purchases of highly rational products by highly sophisticated and experienced consumers who use objective performance data to guide their decision. It's true that the decision to buy one kind of athletic shoe or sports car is a more emotional or irrational than the decision to buy a computer or fax machine. However, the line is becoming fuzzy. Consider the fact that most PC users would not recognize a microprocessor if the guts of their computer were laid out in front of them. Despite that, Intel has enjoyed its success in large part because they established a powerful brand built around a solid value. Also, consider an IT managers responsibility of choosing a vendor. He or she may weigh the merits of the vendors bid, objective compatibility figures, and cost. But that IT manager is also a consumer like everyone else and their decision can't help but be concerned with the image of that vendor or their products and how their decision will look to others.
The bottom line is that the brand image that a high tech company projects to market is as important, if not more important, to their success as the R&D they do to bring their products to market. A promise of value (the brand) and delivery on that promise is critical if a company is going to differentiate itself from its competitors and stake a solid claim in its intended market. And that promise must first be relevant to the intended audience before the delivery on that promise is executed. That requires the ability to assess the potential of relevant technologies and to anticipate consumers' current and future needs, even before the consumer can articulate those needs. This would suggest a tip in the scale toward the value of a solid and recognizable brand to an organization versus the product offered. Finally, if all functions in an organization are not helping to create and nurture a single promise of value, customers will be, at best, confused and, at worst, angry.
Kilmer Kilmer Marshall Duran is a strong advocate of the power of branding. To learn more, please call us at 505.260.1175 or 800.260.1165. Our e-mail is kilmer@k2md.net.
© 2000 Kilmer Kilmer Marshall Duran, Inc.
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