Sales + Marketing: House of Brands or Branded House?

[00:00:19] Hello everyone, I'm Andy coming to you from the United Kingdom.

[00:00:23] And I'm your other host Scott coming to you from the United States today.

[00:00:29] Still in North America and whereabouts in the United States do we find you today?

[00:00:34] I am in the land of cheese curds and beer, otherwise known as Milwaukee.

[00:00:41] Wonderful, wonderful.

[00:00:43] Well, this is the Tea and Timbits podcast.

[00:00:46] Global Perspectives on Business Development to Help You Prosper.

[00:00:50] And this week we will be talking about having a house of brands or a branded house.

[00:00:57] And we look forward to explaining that to people who don't follow that.

[00:01:00] But before we get into that topic, Scott, do you have a story to share with us?

[00:01:06] Thanks Andy.

[00:01:08] I thought I would share a story that happened recently at our office.

[00:01:13] We were getting ready to put together a presentation for an existing client on a solution that we had come up with.

[00:01:22] And I was having the person who had prepared all this work run me through it.

[00:01:30] And this was sort of still sort of a newer person on the team.

[00:01:36] So might have been, you know, one of the first few times going through this process for this person.

[00:01:43] And it was a great solution.

[00:01:45] It was bang on.

[00:01:46] It was well articulated.

[00:01:47] It was well organized.

[00:01:50] And this person did a great job of walking me through it.

[00:01:54] So I was like, I was very excited.

[00:01:55] I'm like, this is great.

[00:01:56] Client's going to love it.

[00:01:59] But at the end of the explanation, I said, okay, there's just, you just, you missed one pretty critical thing.

[00:02:07] And, and the person went like very confused.

[00:02:10] Like, what, what did I miss?

[00:02:13] I said, well, nowhere in there did you talk about the effort and the, and the cost of what this is all going to take.

[00:02:20] And this person kind of went, oh, well, I thought, I thought you would do that.

[00:02:25] And, and I said, well, why did you think that?

[00:02:27] Well, like, well, you're, you know, the senior person and you, you know, you're good at talking about money and that kind of thing.

[00:02:32] And I said, I said, it's, it's just another data point.

[00:02:37] It is no different than how you've articulated the way these, the system is going to get built, the way these connections are going to come together.

[00:02:47] The, the consideration you've given to whether it should work this way and not that way.

[00:02:52] And you've come forward with confidence saying, here's what I think you should do.

[00:02:55] And you don't want to tell them.

[00:02:56] And by the way, I think it has value and here's how much it's going to be.

[00:02:59] And, and, and this, this person was like, okay, I see that.

[00:03:04] I'm like, and it's an existing client.

[00:03:07] So they trust us.

[00:03:09] So that, that helps for sure.

[00:03:11] But I don't think this changes too much when you're in a new, a new client scenario.

[00:03:16] You're not, if somebody else is going to give you the exact same thing and it comes down to price, then fine.

[00:03:22] But what, you know, we've come forward with a, with a service, with a solution, with trust established in this case.

[00:03:31] And we've been very transparent.

[00:03:33] We've laid out the whole solution in detail.

[00:03:35] I said, explain as you go, and this will take this long and this will take this long.

[00:03:39] And then at the end of the day, it's going to take this long and it's going to cost this much.

[00:03:43] And the client is going to have a open conversation with us about whether or not that makes sense.

[00:03:49] And it's just another data point.

[00:03:51] It's the same as asking them, do you want the button over here?

[00:03:54] Or do you want the button over there?

[00:03:55] Should it be pink or should it be blue?

[00:03:57] You know, do you want to spend this much money or that much money?

[00:04:00] Where are you going to get, you know, be able to see, see the value here.

[00:04:04] Anyway, that, that sort of explanation helped.

[00:04:09] We delivered it to the client and, and the client just kind of nodded along and asked a few questions and smiled.

[00:04:16] And then at the end we said, okay, and in total, that'll take this, this long and cost this much.

[00:04:21] And they just went, okay, great.

[00:04:22] Hmm.

[00:04:24] It's surprising how many people are scared of bringing up the question of money.

[00:04:29] Yeah.

[00:04:31] And see that as something that, you know, oh, well, if I tell them how much it will cost, maybe they'll say no.

[00:04:37] Well, they still need to know how much is going to cost at one point.

[00:04:41] Yeah.

[00:04:41] Yeah.

[00:04:42] And maybe they will, but they're probably not going to kibosh the whole thing or cancel the relationship.

[00:04:45] Like, it's going to be like, oh, that's not worth the investment.

[00:04:48] I don't think we're going to get value out of that.

[00:04:50] Is there a, you know, leaner way to do it?

[00:04:52] Oh, well, if we change this or change that or didn't do this quite as, you know, perfectly or whatever.

[00:04:56] Um, so anyway, just remember, it's another data point.

[00:05:01] It's just one more factor in the, in the, in the consideration.

[00:05:03] And if you've got a good solution, um, it all gets weighed in the balance.

[00:05:07] Fantastic.

[00:05:08] And so we will now move on to the topic of the day, which is a house of brands or a branded house.

[00:05:16] Uh, help me to understand what you mean there.

[00:05:20] Um, well, this comes up a lot in, in my world, uh, as well.

[00:05:25] Um, and you know, I, I, you know, the, the consumer analogy is, you know, Coke and Pepsi have all kinds of different products that they produce and sell.

[00:05:34] And you, you know, they don't call them all like Coke, ginger ale or Coke, or, you know, I don't know if it's Coke or Pepsi that all know the, all those brands.

[00:05:44] Um, I guess the, they each have a variant of it.

[00:05:47] Um, because you know, in the consumer market, they're very different things.

[00:05:51] They, they're just, you know, great crushes is, is purchased differently from a person who's buying Coke zero.

[00:05:58] Um, and they need it to represent something different.

[00:06:02] It means something different in the market and so different, different brands.

[00:06:05] Um, but there are other scenarios where, um, you, you might want that, um, all to share the same brand and they just be different, different flavors.

[00:06:14] You know, um, uh, um, uh, Hugo boss doesn't change the name of the, of the brand.

[00:06:21] They sell the t-shirt under just because it's a t-shirt instead of a suit.

[00:06:24] Um, it's still, it still comes forward with all the sort of, um, brand qualities that the, um, that the main label.

[00:06:32] Uh, represents and it's all clothing.

[00:06:34] Sure. So there's, there's a line.

[00:06:35] Yeah. And then they have, I think, you know, if you look at something like, uh, Hugo boss, then they have their different range of the, you know, the red label, black label, green label.

[00:06:43] There you go.

[00:06:44] So just to separate it, I don't know, they've, they've just gone through a rebrand now, actually.

[00:06:48] So I'm not sure if they still do that.

[00:06:50] But so in, in the B2B world, I think before we, before we get into that, just what is your design outcome from this discussion today?

[00:07:00] That, that, okay. So thank you that, that this comes up a lot and I think it has a parallel to, um, personal branding that we talked about, um, a couple episodes ago.

[00:07:11] And I, so I wanted to kind of bring it back one more time in a different way.

[00:07:15] I think it kind of overlaps with that because are you representing just yourself?

[00:07:20] Are you representing the corporate brand? Is there a blend of the two we've, we talked about that, um, but they don't have to stand in, in contrast.

[00:07:26] And I think what I'd really like here is for people to just think about which way it's working.

[00:07:33] So don't try to necessarily blend them if it, if it's not right, but if there needs to be a distinct dividing line between one brand and the next, uh, be intentional about it.

[00:07:46] Think about what that means, or if not, then how do they all extend the same brand properly and effectively?

[00:07:55] And are they actually organized that way? Um, or do they all have the same logo on the box, but really they're so different.

[00:08:02] They're sold differently. They, they're, they use a different, you know, anyway. So I, I just hope people will kind of think about what's the, what's the best way to do it.

[00:08:11] And are we trying to, have we thought about this properly and does it need a rethink? And if it is being done, um, the right way already, um, is it, uh, is it got all the right considerations?

[00:08:22] Yeah. It's a, it's an interesting discussion topic actually.

[00:08:27] And, uh, I think, you know, it's, it's probably quite clear when you look into the automotive industry, for example, where you've got, um, good example is the Volkswagen group, which has of course, you know, the VWs and the Skodas and, um, yeah, I suppose maybe the Audi at the bottom end. Right. And, and then you've got your Lamborghinis, Bentleys and Porsches at the other end.

[00:08:53] And they're all part of the same group. And then I think they've got Ducati motorcycles as well, but, um, they are all part of Volkswagen group.

[00:09:01] Right. But if they represented them all as a Volkswagen Lamborghini or a Volkswagen Bentley or a Volkswagen Ducati, you'd go, yeah, no thanks.

[00:09:09] And you probably wouldn't go for it. So they've, they've had to build them as distinct brands within, uh, you know, a house of brands as it were, uh, as you were describing it.

[00:09:21] So I see, I see your point. And, um, yeah, and I think, I think that is the case that you've got to understand your market, who those products are for so that you tailor that accordingly.

[00:09:31] Because if those products are for your core audience and they would be suitable for someone who, you know, in that example would appreciate the Volkswagen style.

[00:09:41] So this is something for everybody. This is a car that's, you know, that's part of that group and, uh, it's appealing to that market.

[00:09:47] Then it's not so strange if someone says, oh, the Skoda is a Volkswagen or a Seat's a Volkswagen or an Audi.

[00:09:54] It's just a Volkswagen with a nicer badge on it.

[00:09:57] It's not something that, um, that is going to detract too far away from that core audience.

[00:10:02] Right.

[00:10:02] But if you try and appeal to the Bentley audience by telling them or a Lamborghini audience by telling them, oh, this is just a Volkswagen in a different shell.

[00:10:11] And we're going to charge you six times the price for it.

[00:10:14] People would go, no, thank you.

[00:10:15] And go away from it because they want that premium brand and they don't associate Volkswagen with being a premium brand.

[00:10:20] Well, and, and of course, a premium brand also comes together differently.

[00:10:24] Right.

[00:10:24] So it's got, it's a, it's a, it's, um, you know, high touch manufacturing process.

[00:10:29] It's got luxury materials in it.

[00:10:31] It's got different engineering as well, but they are able to leverage distribution channels and, um, other.

[00:10:38] Some of the more hidden parts as well.

[00:10:40] Yeah.

[00:10:41] Yeah.

[00:10:41] Yeah.

[00:10:41] That's right.

[00:10:43] Um, so good.

[00:10:43] Yeah.

[00:10:44] Good, good example.

[00:10:45] I think in the, in the B2B space and smaller businesses, this still comes up a lot and that's

[00:10:50] kind of who I, who I think, um, I'm trying to appeal to here.

[00:10:55] Um, you know, uh, a lot of times there's a difference between, um, the, the corporate,

[00:11:04] um, investment group that raises money, um, manages the asset and the operating group that,

[00:11:14] that, that, that provides the service, um, runs the facility and, you know, hires, you

[00:11:21] know, people to, to answer the door and, and things like that.

[00:11:25] Those are two very different kinds of business postures.

[00:11:31] Um, you know, you've got more of a, more of a retail, um, uh, experience on one side,

[00:11:36] you've got, um, a, a B2B, you know, investment posture on, on the other side.

[00:11:43] Um, and you need to appeal to different people, but it's the same company.

[00:11:49] Um, and so does your retail brand need to, um, come forward in a completely different way

[00:11:59] with a different energy, with, with different messaging and meaning, or is it important that

[00:12:05] the same connective thread, the same red thread is going through all of that so that an investor

[00:12:12] can see that fun and excitement and perhaps even some thriftiness that, that, that is applied to the

[00:12:19] operations.

[00:12:20] And is that what appeals to them as well as the dividend and, and the, and the return that

[00:12:25] they're going to, that you're, that they're going to get.

[00:12:27] So you want to convey prudence and responsibility, but you're still saying, and we're delivering

[00:12:33] this fun, you know, retail experience that, you know, you have a chance to get involved

[00:12:39] in that doesn't necessarily detract somebody from investing on the flip side.

[00:12:44] You might think I need to be, I'm looking for an institutional investor.

[00:12:47] Who's a very conservative, thoughtful, um, kind of, uh, um, kind of an investor and my retail

[00:12:55] brand might, might kind of, you know, turn them off.

[00:12:58] Um, um, um, there might need to be a little bit more daylight between those, um, between

[00:13:04] those things.

[00:13:05] Um, that's one example that we, that we come up with, um, that we come across, uh, fairly

[00:13:10] often.

[00:13:11] The, the other scenario is, um, let's say you're a manufacturer or you're providing equipment

[00:13:17] or services.

[00:13:19] Um, it is oftentimes you've got, um, it's kind of like your automotive example.

[00:13:25] It's like, there's a, there's a shared capacity to warehouse, distribute market these things.

[00:13:32] And those are actually all often being done by the same, uh, people.

[00:13:37] Um, and, um, and, and do we need a different website for each individual product or, or service?

[00:13:46] Um, and, uh, and there's where the, the answer is not so clear.

[00:13:52] So if you, from a digital perspective, if you have a website that is just for a particular

[00:14:02] product or service, you're going to get more authority for that in the market.

[00:14:08] You're going to get better SEO results, um, by having a much more specific, uh, targeted,

[00:14:14] um, uh, destination for all that content and that information.

[00:14:20] Hmm.

[00:14:21] On the flip side, if you just don't have the capacity in internally to manage and maintain

[00:14:28] separate websites and with slightly unique brands and, and content every single time,

[00:14:35] and it goes stale, you're not going to get that benefit.

[00:14:38] And you're better off to have it all live under one house, under one website that has landing

[00:14:44] pages for your different brands that can still come through with its own characteristic that

[00:14:50] shares the same, um, sort of master logo.

[00:14:53] And there's some freshness and variation to it, um, across that portfolio.

[00:15:00] Then it's seen as larger, more robust.

[00:15:04] And there is some freshness to it and variation that gets introduced.

[00:15:08] And that will, um, be better than having something stale that's sitting alone by itself.

[00:15:13] Yeah.

[00:15:14] I think when you have a brand that has products and services that all sort of tie in with each

[00:15:20] other, but are, you know, so let's say you're a manufacturer of equipment that's relevant

[00:15:25] for the farming industry, but you said, you know, you want to target people with combine

[00:15:29] harvesters, you want to target people with, you know, fertilizing equipment.

[00:15:33] Maybe that can live under the same website, but if you've perhaps got financial services

[00:15:37] as well to help people to buy those things, that would make sense to have it, you know,

[00:15:41] maybe under the same brand, but as a separate page and separate website altogether, because

[00:15:47] otherwise it could be very confusing.

[00:15:49] Um, but then again, you know, if we go back to the automotive example there, you would benefit

[00:15:55] from having multiple websites because of the fact that each of your products appeal to a

[00:15:59] completely different audience.

[00:16:02] And so it makes sense to have a group website, but that group website is more of a corporate

[00:16:07] behind the scenes.

[00:16:08] And then your main websites are the product specific websites, which are tailored to a

[00:16:13] specific audience and give you that benefit that you just mentioned of having the targeted

[00:16:18] SEO and having those, um, you know, certain people being drawn to that, because what you

[00:16:22] don't want is that it's all under the same umbrella and the people who are searching for

[00:16:27] a premium luxury vehicle end up on the Skoda page.

[00:16:31] That's right.

[00:16:32] Example.

[00:16:32] Now, I mean, so that's a, that's an example that's very specific to, you know, the work

[00:16:37] that I do on a regular basis.

[00:16:38] But if we're going to bring this back to sort of our, our podcast theme and talk about business

[00:16:43] development and whatnot.

[00:16:44] So obviously there's some business development and everything that I've been talking about.

[00:16:48] Um, but let's say you're an individual contributor.

[00:16:52] You're a, you're a sales rep.

[00:16:54] How does this impact your life?

[00:16:55] What does this, what does this do?

[00:16:57] Um, I think some, sometimes an individual rep is sort of expected to wear many hats and

[00:17:04] they're supposed to sort of walk in the front door and represent this line of products and

[00:17:10] then walk in the service door and represent it in a different set of products, changing their

[00:17:15] t-shirt and their hat in the car on the way between the front door and the side door.

[00:17:19] Um, that can be very confusing.

[00:17:21] Um, and it, but it, it can be done successfully.

[00:17:25] You just have to be, um, you, the, the trick is not to just roll with it.

[00:17:30] The trick is not to go like, okay, well, I don't know, I'll go over here and try and

[00:17:34] sell this and then I'll switch and I'll try and sell that.

[00:17:36] But to, but to be intentional and say, well, we, well, we are, um, a house of brands and

[00:17:42] I work for XYZ automotive group and, you know, and we have this brand, this brand, and this

[00:17:49] brand, I'm going to talk to you about this one because it, it, it is most relevant to

[00:17:54] you.

[00:17:54] And so you can show up and put it, place it in context and there that kind of adds substance

[00:17:59] and strength to the, to the messaging.

[00:18:01] Um, but if you're just kind of bumping along, then these stories are going to get mixed in

[00:18:07] and, and, and intertwined.

[00:18:09] So that's the, the worst sort of outcome in this kind of a scenario.

[00:18:13] So if that's, if that's you, if that's kind of your, your space, um, I'm just saying be,

[00:18:19] be thoughtful, intentional, reflect on that, get, get together with some of your colleagues,

[00:18:23] your manager, and, and just say, Hey, how could we do this a little bit more cleanly

[00:18:27] and intentionally?

[00:18:28] And I think on a personal branding perspective as well, as we touched on last week, it can

[00:18:34] sometimes be beneficial to have a separate personal branding strategy so that on what

[00:18:40] say, say LinkedIn, you have a, uh, you know, a personal brand that relates very much to the

[00:18:46] business side of what you do.

[00:18:47] And on say Facebook and Instagram, you have a more personal side and it doesn't detract

[00:18:54] from those things and people discover you in different ways, but they see the different

[00:18:59] side of you and they understand, Oh, this is clearly a personal thing.

[00:19:01] Or this is clearly focused on fly fishing or whatever.

[00:19:06] Um, and, uh, and then the other one is clearly on the business side.

[00:19:10] So, yeah, there you go.

[00:19:14] Super.

[00:19:14] Well, thank you very much for that interesting discussion.

[00:19:18] And, uh, if anyone else wants to get in touch or find out more about, um, you know, having

[00:19:24] a house of brands or a branded house, then, uh, you should probably talk to Scott and, uh,

[00:19:28] you can find our contact details on, uh, on the, um, tea and timbits.com website, uh, where

[00:19:35] you can also sign up to listen to future episodes and listen to our old episodes.

[00:19:40] Thanks, Andy.

[00:19:42] Thanks, Scott.