Brand-building basics for Software Product companies

Indian product start-ups have struggled to convert superior products to sales. Very few companies have crossed the chasm, and while their accomplishments are laudable in light of the challenges, the scale is abysmal. Fortunately, the new mode of marketing and branding on Web 2.0 has made the game a lot easier for Indian product companies by reducing barriers of cost and geography. This post will address the basics of brand building for product Start-ups.

Several Indian start-ups have developed very innovative, world class products. Sadly, as we all know, superior technology does not translate into sales success without superior marketing. While the Western model of product development is market-first – teams start with a strong marketing capability and anchor clients – Indian companies are still largely technology-led. Unable to support the high cost of marketing in Western geographies, Indian companies have relied on lower price, superior technology and freebie services – with very limited success.

With Web 2.0, the traditional marketing model has been turned on its head. Brand building does not require extensive local market spending. It is time that Indian product companies grow into marketing-led organizations by proactively building their brand.

But first, what is a brand really?

I like to define a concept by what it does. What does a brand do for your product or company? The brand permeates all your strategy and execution, but sales cycle is where the rubber meets the road. Operationally, brand building is about:

1. reduced cost of sales,
2. increased pricing power and margins, and
3. higher customer retention.

Brand-building is not to be confused with ad spends or splashing the company logo everywhere; rather, it is about building a positioning in the customer’s mind, a history of experiences, and a trusted relationship with the customer.

The most fundamental change in marketing in the last decade has been that once a prospect recognizes a need, they will research and discover new brands (including hopefully, yours) to expand the consideration set; whereas traditionally, a prospect would narrow down a consideration set from brands they were already familiar with. Therefore, rather than build general awareness of your product, the most cost-effective point to engage a prospect (reducing cost of sales) is when they are actively researching available solutions.

The key is to make:

1. relevant, compelling information about your product, tied to customer need,
2. readily available and comprehensible to prospects, and
3. build trust by providing verifiable reviews, testimonials and feedback.

Operationally, build a functional and easy-to-navigate website. Make it information-rich. Monitor user behaviour on the site and present relevant information only, keeping it simple and allowing a drill-down for details. Invest in SEO, it is your best marketing investment. And most importantly, be honest. Trust is crucial to sales effectiveness, customer retention and success of a brand. The web has a long memory!

Some fundamentals do not change

Simplicity Make your communication simple, so that it does not distract from the key message.

Consistency Be consistent in your look-and-feel, graphics and key messages. Every brand impression should be additive.

Focus
One of my favourite themes. Focus allows you to get a much higher ROI on your brand spend (as well as on R&D, sales and other spending, but that is another subject). Focus allows you to create a premium brand (master-of-one rather than jack-of-all) with pricing power in the focus segment. Focus allows you to create network effects around your brand by tapping into an existing community. Focus goes beyond branding and is an essential strategic element of scalability, but that is the subject of another post.

Do not Under-price The product game is not about price, as the license cost is a small component of the customer’s TCO. The key is therefore reliability and value. A low price could actually be counter-productive, as it creates a perception of low brand value. Be competitive on price, and win on brand, by creating and communicating product superiority.

Increase your effectiveness

Web 2.0 is a two-way street. It is about conversations, engagement, and community. Learn from your customers. Engage them. You can leverage the web to understand your brand: why people buy from you, why they would not leave you for a cheaper price, and what would enable them to buy even more. The holy grail is to build a community.

Your brand is being built every time someone mentions your company or product, good or bad, on the web. You might as well engage in the process!

Some basics to Operationalize:

1. Allow users to respond on your site, both privately and publicly.
2. Google yourself regularly, study comparison and customer review sites, monitor your web presence using online tools (such as Alerts)
3. Keep your content fresh, actively monitor usage of your site with an analytics tool and keep re-organizing for ease-of-use
4. The worst thing you can do to a customer response is ignore it. Ensure that you have people responding to all queries and posts
5. Once again, be honest and transparent. A few negative customer comments have actually been found to increase sales, probably because the feedback becomes more credible!

Invest online even if your target is the domestic market…

Realize that internet presence in India, though low by western standards, is already very significant among your target audience. 45 million internet users compares very favourably to other media: English print (30 million), leading business newspaper (<1 million), leading English daily (6 million). Among trade media, the portals-to-print ratio is higher still.

…Or you are selling Services rather than Products – the same principles apply.