Insights

This article is an excerpt from the textbook » „Value Branding – vom hochwertigen Produkt zur wertvollen brand" (From premium product to valuable brand)

Generally, engineers and business managers in engineering environments do not believe in myth. Especially not the myth of the brand and its influence. But if you forget that topic for a moment and approach the topic of selling with one simple question, their attitude suddenly changes:
Have you ever asked yourself how many of your customers decide to buy your products or services based on knowledge – and how many based on belief and intuition?

At this point you may replace the terms "belief" and "intuition" with "positive preconceptions" and "peace of mind". Most people you ask will answer that buying decisions even in professional purchasing are probably 20 % based on knowledge and 80 % based on belief. If you include exceptionally objective, rational people in your consideration, you may estimate the ratio to be 50:50.

But as soon as you intensify your survey and determine how much of your actual work is dedicated to generating, conveying, and selling knowledge – meaning the factual and demonstrable – the ratio often reverses. Over 80 % of activities of managers in marketing, sales, or corporate management deal with managing facts about competitive advantages, pricing, and customer benefits.

But managing those positive preconceptions of buyers about your products is at least as important. If you follow the principles of brand management in your everyday management work and can get you colleagues enthused about them as well, you are making a significant contribution toward managing your customers beliefs, their positive preconceptions – instead of leaving them to chance. (The basics are found in the book "Value Branding", which introduces 20 principles.)

Then again, that thought might be enough to frighten you. If indeed the brand is more than a logo, more than advertising, more than good products and proud employees – where do you start managing? And your inner voice asks: Do you really want to burden yourself with yet another topic in these times of overflowing inboxes, scant resources, economic crises, and social media? Just trust your instinct and common sense!

The principle of brand attractiveness

The reason why "belief", meaning the trust and preconceptions of customers, is so important for the buying decision lies within human nature. The 20/80 split definitely works anywhere that people are in charge of buying goods and services. This is why you should take advantage of the principle of brand attraction.
A human decision is based on reason, passion, and intuition. Even if it is only the purchasing manager's passion for imposing his will on his colleagues. But intuition also plays a major part. Do you know that feeling after a buying decision? You have examined everything you possibly could. You have given your all to arrive at the decision, and yet, there is a bad feeling creeping up on you. Did you really buy the right thing?

The same thing happens to private and institutional purchasing decision makers, when they decide on a (technological) product, no matter if it is the trendy earphones by Dr. Dre (the ones with the b on the ear piece) or high-tech straps for loading locomotives. But: how do we manage that feeling?

Brands shorten buying decisions

Decision makers love quick decisions. This isn't just in the genes of purchasers, we all feel that way. And that is exactly what brands are for: They shorten buying decisions. The problem is: If a top technology that we want to market is ignored in this shortcut, then no matter how hard we try: We will not be relevant in our customer's buying process.

What criteria do professional buyers use for orientation?

To find out what drives professional buyers from the machine engineering, automotive supply, and chemicals sectors when they buy services, Brand Trust conducted the » first representative B2B study on "B2B brands in practice".
The survey of buyers and purchasing decision makers in B2B companies confirmed the phenomenon. It revealed three types of criteria that influence buying decisions. They revolve around issues of buying security, relationship quality, and performance. Interestingly, the deciders were most concerned with those criteria that offer the highest degree of decision security. The study found that in practice, however, such buyers often search in vain for reliable and trust-promoting signals, messages, and offers.

Four drivers that influence our perception

In their book » "Driven: How Human Nature Shapes our Choices", Paul R.Lawrence and Nitin Nohria (2002) of Harvard Business School describe four essential drivers that significantly impact our perception:

• to acquire
• to bond
• to defend
• to learn

These drivers are rooted deep within us. They impact our perception and decision making processes. This is why offers, the behavior of sales staff, advertising communication, and PR should address them. Depending on whether or not a brand supports the decision maker in fulfilling his basic needs, it will be perceived more or less strongly. Even though that impact happens subconsciously.

Brands who make an important contribution to the training of engineers take advantage of this fact. I am not sure if these brands do it consciously or subconsciously. We notice, however, that in the engineering world, the most accepted brands are those that provide publications, standards, and other sector and technology-specific information. They make engineers subconsciously form a strong bond with the brand even before they graduate.

This may be a highly simplified way to look at human perception and decision processes. It is up to you whether you share our assessment. The central question is not how much we rational analytics believe it. You should rather ask yourself whether you want to control these phenomena yourself. If not, you can always leave it to chance whether your valuable ideas and products are appreciated.

You can order the brand textbook » "Value Branding – vom hochwertigen Produkt zur wertvollen Marke" (From premium product to valuable brand) directly on our web site.