You may not realize this but right now your company has a technology, a process, a service or a product that is unique and needs to be branded….but you are not! We have discovered in working with each one of our clients that they have something special, something unique that they often don’t realize. Furthermore not only are they underselling this feature but animal health companies are missing a tremendous opportunity to brand this unique feature to strengthen their market position. We call this Market Position Branding.
Market Position Branding, a term coined by cheetahLink, is the strategy of identifying your unique feature or selling point (a technology, a process, a product or a service) and branding it to strengthen your market position.
We look at how two animal health companies have discovered their unique selling point, turned it into a brand and have strengthen their market position.
Who Are You? What Are You Selling?
Animal health companies struggle with Market Position Branding due to the fact that they often don’t know who they are or what they are selling. Confused? Let me explain. The standard response to these two questions – who are you and what are you selling – rarely includes something that makes the company unique and really separates them from the competition. Let’s look at two examples.
Client A is a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility for the pet care industry. Their facility and staff is top-notch as they clearly are not your typical manufacturer but they were missing something. They didn’t have a brand to help gain market position and separate themselves from other manufacturers. Contract manufacturing is a very competitive segment of the animal health industry so it was vital to discover what makes them different and brand it!
After working with the client for a couple of weeks their unique selling point, their brand, was obvious. They had this amazing process of helping their customers go from product concept to a finished product. They don’t just manufacture products they analyze, develop and design the product focused on making it better (and more profitable for the client). We took this process and developed a brand called The Precision Formula. We built two stages within The Precision Formula called The Foundation Advantage and Intelligent Manufacturing. At the end of the project the client went from being ‘another’ animal health manufacturer to a company that has a unique and branded process. A new sales brochure and sales pitch have been developed focused on their new brand and position in the market. Their website is also being revamped to push this new brand.
This company now has an exciting brand they can pitch to animal health companies. This process always existed within the company but they never thought of it as something they can brand and strengthen their market position.
“We Just Sell Probiotics”
Client B is a probiotic company, another very competitive segment of the animal health industry. I began working with this client and it was apparent immediately that my client needed a much stronger presence in the industry. Without question they are one of the best probiotic and paste manufacturers in the industry but they are relatively unknown in the industry. In working with the client we discovered two unique features of this company. One was a process while the other was a product (patented bacteria strain). We decided to go with the process and brand this to the industry. The process the client has developed is a micro-encapsulation that is unique to the industry and one that brings real value to their clients. The process of branding this technology included developing a logo (see left) to help establish this process, this brand, within the industry. Developing a logo is a significant part of building a brand as it creates a difference and distinction between you and me-too products and services.
“In order to help set ourselves apart and attract new business, ProbioFerm has invested time and money into branding our own technology”, said Scott Goldsmith, ProbioFerm President. “We wish to enhance consumer confidence with proven technologies. Our openness to share these brands with our customers has helped expand our technology into the market.”
This brand is now being incorporated into sales literature and product labels by animal health companies who are using this technology within their products. For example, we worked with Devenish Nutrition to develop a new swine microbial paste product and they are prominently showcasing the Durabac logo as they believe it helps position the product in the market place.
These are just two examples in how Market Position Branding can strengthen a company’s position in the animal health industry.
Timing Is Right for Market Position Branding
With the lack of new products and technology hitting our industry its paramount that animal health companies capitalize on their current unique selling points and brand it. Brakke Consulting (November 12th newsletter) is clearly worried about the current state of new animal health products:
Hopefully, every company will be launching new innovative products in 2011 so the industry will see new revenue growth. At the present time there seems to be a “hush” related to new product introductions for 2011. Is that because there are very few, or are new products tied up in the regulatory process?.
With a bleak outlook for new products in 2011 animal health companies must discover their unique selling points and brand it. A well thought out market position branding plan can be more affective than launching a new product or technology. Without question it can be very challenging to discover and develop a current product, technology, process or service into a brand. For this reason, it takes an outside source (customers, vendors, consultants, etc.) to really discover what makes you special – your brand. As Warren Buffet said, “Your premium brand had better be delivering something special, or it’s not going to get the business.”
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About cheetahLink
Founded by Preston Munsch, cheetahLink is a consulting firm for the animal health industry. Munsch has spent the past 13 years in the animal health industry specializing in product development, animal health marketing, market position branding, animal health sales, market channel strategies and new client acquisition. Munsch has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration along with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Associates Degree in Graphic Design. If you have any questions feel free to contact us at 720.244.2034 or pmunsch@cheetahlink.com.
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