Branding & Brand Equity

in B2B Market Case of

TataSteel

Anand G Khanna

To stay alive and flourish in

B2B..
Spend more time and money on
research and development (R&D)
Focus on making products smarter,
faster, smaller, and more reliable than
the competition's.
Find ways to improve and add services
so that they provide customers with a
complete and satisfying experience.

Brand in B2B
A brand is a shorthand descriptor of
the promised value that a market
offering delivers to target customers
and a means of differentiating this
value from that of the other
marketing offerings.

Why Branding?
Make intangible benefits tangible to target
customers
Built differentiation in near commodity
markets
Achieve identity and preference with
customers customers
Differentiate market offerings that are same
or very similar core product but are
augmented with different services,
programs and systems.

Branding Matters????
B2B marketing communications world is
characterized by numbing sameness, commoditized
feature wars and laundry-lists of product benefits
Brandingallows a producer or owner to
distinguish his/her goods or services.
a strategic tool that helps the supplier cut through
the morass of the market, get noticed, and connect
with the customer on many levels and in ways that
matter.
A strong brand becomes the customer's
"shorthand" for making good choices in a complex,
risky, and confusing marketplace.

Cont
B2B marketing must follow the
example of its consumer-focused
counterpart and embrace the notion
that a strong brand has the power to
differentiate, build and protect those
it represents in the face of incessant
commoditization.

Branding is important
because
Most B2B marketers have to address
thousands of small businesses as
well as enterprise customers.
They cannot do so economically using
the traditional direct sales force.

Branding is important
because
If left unattended, individual
managers will each do their own
adhoc marketing.
The result will be a hodgepodge of
corporate logos, taglines and packaging.
Customers will be confused and the
company will look disorganized.

Branding is important
because
B2B marketers are realizing that
developing brand awareness among
their customers customers can
capture a larger share of channel
margins and build loyalty that can
protect them against lower-priced
competitors.

Branding is important
because
Selling through the channel requires
a strong brand.
Channel partners need a brand to
promote as they (almost never) have a
brand that businesses want to buy from.
Business buyers are comfortable buying
from a channel partner if they represent
a brand with which the buyer is familiar.

Branding is important
because
The brand is the tip of the arrow of
marketing.
A strong brand enables the rest of the
marketing (and sales) to get through to
the buyer.
The business buyer needs to know who
the company is before theyll pay
attention to what they have to say.

Branding is important
because
A strong B2B brand enables a higher
margin because
the brand promise provides a lower
risk to the decision maker, and enables
that decision maker to justify their
decision to others because the brand
is familiar to them as well.
Nobody ever got fired for buying from
IBM is the ultimate brand promise.

Welcome to The Steel Show

Steeling the Show

"Branding will give rise to a customized
product in terms of value, performance
and pricing; it will meet our customers'
needs better. Branding will go a long way
in meeting the challenge of gaining a
sustainable competitive edge."
- Mr. B. Muthuraman, Managing
Director - Tata Steel, in February
2003.

Steeling the Show

In February 2003, Tata Steel invited
the media to Goa for the nationwide
launch of a brand.
Brand launches are a regular affair for
companies, but this was different - it
was the launch of a Steelium - a new
brand of steel.
Tata Steel has been launching branded
steel products since 2000.

Steeling the Show

Company sources felt that branding
Steel would help Tata Steel in two big
ways:
1) It would help stabilize the flow of
revenues even during business
downturns.
2) It would make premium pricing
possible.

Branding Steel
The profitability of the steel industry
in India is strongly linked to
variations in the business cycle
To reduce its dependence on external
environment TATA Steel adopted a
two-pronged strategy of
Branding its products
Moving to high value products

Branding Exercise
Strong customer focus
1990s launched campaigns with
taglines like
Customer First har haal mein
Customer ki kasam Hai tayyar hum
2000 set up branding task force
Segregated market development, order
generation and order fulfillment functions
Introduced Customer Account Managers

TATA Steel Brands

Brand Type

Brands

Generic Brands

TATA Bearings, TATA Pipes, TATA

Agrico

Product Brands

TATA Shaktee, TATA Tiscon, TATA

Steelium

 Aimed at urban and semi-urban

sectors, the brand promises
'trusted steel for your home
Tata Shaktee offers to the
consumer GC Sheets that 'Lasts
Longest'.
Tata Agrico products are the
most sought after hand tools
and implements in the country.
The brand has been regarded a
the prima donna in its category.

 Tata Bearings is a leader in

the auto ancillary two-wheeler
market segment. It has firm
foothold in a fiercely
competitive market.
A new dimension in Steel Tube
Technology opened up in India
in the early 50s with the
establishment of the Indian
Tube Company Ltd. (ITC).

 The 'steel with a soul, 'Tata Steelium' is

the first branded Cold Rolled Steel product
in India, if not in the world.
The brand promises superior formability,
flatness, surface quality, thickness
consistency and strength.
The country's vast auto ancillaries sector,
which till date had to depend on overseas
markets for its major needs, now has a
credible option within the country.

Distribution Revamp

2002 hired Booz Allen Hamilton

Hub and spoke Model
2003 shut down 12 stockyards
Established first hub in Jamshedpur
Next hubs Sankrail (Kolkata),
Vijaywada (AP),
Nagpur (MH), Delhi

Benefits Reaped
YEAR

FLAT
PRODUCTS
(TATA Shaktee
GC+ TATA
Steelium)

LONG
PRODUCTS
(TATA Tiscon)

FP+LP

FY 01

11

FY 02

15

FY 03

19

12

Future Prospects
Co-branding initiatives with its highend customers such as Telco, Ashok
Leyland
Improving its product mix by
introducing high-end products
Focus on OEM and Construction sector
Extensive market research and
channel management initiatives

In a nutshell
You may have the most superior product offering
in your market, but if your market does not
believe it, or if they do not know who you are or
what you stand for, this will go largely ignored.
Ultimately, business prospects demand facts.
However, they will also respond to an overt
recognition of their human propensity for
emotional stimulation.
At the very least, in the B2B environment a
powerful brand will hold the attention of your
prospects and convince them to process the
facts.