New-Age Branding Tips for Manufacturing Firms
While the importance of a strong brand is widely understood, nothing is as misunderstood as the question of how to do it.
Your brand image is the most important investment that you can make to ensure future success.
That being said, it's not a one-time thing. Each product design that you roll out, each advertisement from your end, each social media post; basically EVERY step that you take affects your brand image.
Given the complex dynamics, sometimes it becomes difficult to decide upon the right approach to branding - especially for an industry as traditional as Canada’s manufacturing sector.
Hence, we wanted to explore some easy-to-implement tips that will help small to medium-sized manufacturing firms in crafting a suitable brand image for themselves.
1) The Gen-Z Approach
Young job-seekers have always shown a lack of interest in the manufacturing industry.The reason is the n number of stereotypes: unfair workload, physical toil, no work ethics, no career growth, etc.
The industry has had its own phases of revolution and innovations - with the increasing use of machinery, necessary HR policies, fairer wages, DE&I prioritizations, training & up-skilling programs, etc.
Despite all of the above, the right messaging hasn’t reached an ample audience. Reason? No branding revamp.
Your overall brand image needs to reflect the modernity of your business.
Meme marketing, talking about sustainability, showcasing new-age HR trends, providing flexible work options to employees, prioritizing DE&I policies, engaging with your digital audience, flaunting your work culture, using employee testimonials, etc.
are a few tips that can help you break away from the shackles of being regarded as a dull workplace.
2) Building a Strong Online Presence
Quick question: what is the first thing you do when you need to know more about some brand?
You turn to Google, Youtube, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter - right?
The utility of having an extensive digital footprint for your business is very huge and obvious. GaryVee has said it, and everyone knows it - the internet rules our lives today.
If you aren’t focusing on your social media handles as a priority, your brand image is going to suffer a lot.
Roll out engaging blogs on your website, post regularly on Instagram, engage with your audience on LinkedIn, host podcasts with top players in your niche, or record your plant’s operations for Youtube - just do something to be visible.
3) Working on Your Uniqueness
While all your competitors are incorporating similar things into their brand image, we highly recommend you take a different path.
Instead of picking up on the typical trends, focus heavily on a detailed self-definition.
Define what your brand stands for, its core values, tone of voice, unique characteristics, etc., and then communicate the safe effectively to your target audience.
Narrow down to a specific niche and become the master of the same.
Stand alone to win big!
4) Embracing the Nostalgic Appeal
The manufacturing industry has immensely contributed to Canada’s economy for hundreds of years.
No matter the stereotypes, people still view the industry with nostalgia and pride.
Incorporating the same feelings into your brand image can help you in building rapport with a larger set of audience.
The perfect mix of being open to change while embracing the traditional side can be an amazing selling point for your brand.
5) Credibility
“Brand is just a perception and perception will match reality over time.” - Elon Musk
A business that promises to do 10 things and delivers on the same is always better than one with 1000 claims with only 100 being true.
Authenticity is the number one factor that many well-planned branding campaigns fail to cover.
Your audience will eventually figure out the truth. Hence, it is always recommended to be honest with your claims and deliver on the same in the best way possible.
Your brand is no longer what you tell your consumers it is, rather it is what your consumers tell each other about you.
If done right, your brand image can act as your greatest marketing tool.
We’ll leave you with the words of Walter Landor - ‘Products are made in the factory, but brands are created in the mind.’
Since 2003, we have provided dozens of manufacturing clients across Canada with thousands of organizational-fit employees.
