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Branding:  A Company’s Biggest Asset
By Jessie Korosec, ETI Marketing Manager

This year, one of the main focuses of the Equipment and Tool Institute Marketing Committee - led by ETI Board of Director’s Vice President of Marketing Neil Davis of Snap-on Diagnostics - is to solidify ETI’s brand and image in the automotive aftermarket.  We are working towards integrated communications, messaging, logos, banners and the like that convey a unified message about who we are and what we do, and to bring added value to our membership.

A strong brand is invaluable as the drive for customers - or our in our case, members - intensifies every day. It's important to spend resources and time investing in researching, defining, and building your brand. Your brand is the source of a promise to your customer. It's a foundation of marketing communication and one you do not want to be without.

Branding is not advertising, marketing or PR.  Branding is what happens before all of those…First you create the brand, and then you use those tools to create raise awareness of the brand.

Marketing and Branding are two important words that are often used interchangeably.  Branding is who you are or what the world thinks you are. The brand is ultimately what determines if you someone will become a loyal customer or not.  Marketing is how you reach your target market with advertising, promotions and public relations. Marketing is showing the world what you do. Marketing has an impact on brand, but the brand is bigger than any particular marketing effort. The brand is what remains after the marketing has done its work.

Branding is the way a company presents itself to the world. It is the company's name, along with how that name is visually illustrated through a logo, and how that name and logo are extended throughout an organization's communications.  A brand is also how the company is perceived by its customers -- the associations and intrinsic value they place on your business.

The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as a "name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers.”

The objectives that a good brand will achieve include:
• Delivers the message clearly
• Confirms your credibility
• Connects your target prospects
• Motivates the customer
• Concretes User Loyalty

The important elements of brand management include:
• Brand Definition
• Brand Objectives
• Brand Name
• Brand Positioning
• Brand Identity
• Brand Image
• Brand Identity vs. Brand Image
• Brand Awareness
• Brand Loyalty
• Brand Equity
• Brand Target Market

To date, ETI has revamped the website and made it easier for our members to use; we have redesigned the ETI Industry Update newsletter and turned it into a monthly publication with information about ETI and its events, automotive aftermarket industry issues and news, and general business offerings in an effort to give ETI members well-rounded insights. We have also been conducting more Market Research to assist ETI Members in their daily business of bringing new and improved equipment and tools to the marketplace.

The Equipment and Tool Institute continues to monitor our messaging strategy behind the communications efforts.  Our goal is to educate, inform, and acquire new members through a consistent and engaging message; at the same time, tailoring how we express that message based on which channel we are utilizing. ETI will always portray expertise and represent our industry with the most current innovative news and trends. Above all, ETI will remain positioned as leaders in the automotive tool and equipment industry.

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