What is your brand? That can be difficult for a distributor to answer. Many of the products delivered through the distribution supply chain are viewed as commodities, and purchasing managers often look for the lowest-cost competitor.

A brand is a product, service or concept that is distinguished from others so that it can be communicated and marketed to customers. Branding is the process of creating and disseminating the brand name.

"Marketing is building a brand in the mind of the prospect," writes marketing strategist Al Ries, in The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding. "If you can build a powerful brand, you will have a powerful marketing program. If you can't, then all the advertising, fancy packaging, sales promotion and public relations in the world won't help you achieve your objective."

In a distributorship, the service, expertise, delivery, inventory of quality products, and close relationship with the customer are all part of the value proposition. How can a distributor define the value it offers customers, and form that into a brand message that customers will value?

Mark Dancer says brand is defined as the reflection of your customers' total experiences. Dancer is vice president of the marketing strategy firm Pembroke Consulting, Inc. , in Philadelphia.

More simply, your brand is what your company stands for. That is usually pretty simple for a distributor to define, but do your customers share in that understanding?

"Brand execution is the follow-through to your customers," says Dancer. "It means providing the value indicated by your brand message."

Every interaction, by every employee, in each function of your business, interrelates to form the overall brand experience. Dancer says that any problems anywhere in the chain can detract from that brand strength.

"Another part of execution is communication," says Dancer. "For many distributors and manufacturers in industrial supply, that is a missing element."

Dancer suggests distributors undertake integrated marketing communications, which means looking beyond marketing and advertising.

"Distributors need to integrate media relations, press releases and internal and external communications to reflect the brand message," says Dancer. "A brand is a 'use it or lose it' proposition, so you must communicate it effectively."

Dancer offers some tools to effectively develop your brand. Start by writing down what you want your brand to signify. Though it's often assumed that everyone knows what you stand for, putting it in writing is essential.

Once it's on paper, take it for a test drive with your customers. Sit down with some of your best and worst customers. With feedback from these sessions, you can recalibrate your brand concept to meet your customers' needs and expectations – and determine where you can improve.

"Don't keep it a secret. Communicate your mission statement and share your goals internally with your employees," adds Dancer. "Think of this as the bedrock to guide the employees' decisions and actions."

The main channel that delivers your brand to the industrial supply customer isn't advertising, but face-to-face communication, reminds Dancer. Make sure the people in your organization act consistently with what the company stands for.

Go back to your customers regularly to gauge their evaluation of your performance versus your goals," says Dancer. "Successful performance will lead to brand satisfaction."

The next strategy is to build brand leverage, says Dancer. This means the distributor and its vendors need to work together.

"In the industrial marketplace, many manufacturers don't have a thorough understanding of how their brand is interpreted by the end-customer," says Dancer. "Those manufacturers can profit by teaming up with distributors that will take their brand message to heart and execute it at the end-customer level."

Suppliers can profit from the distributor's end-customer relationship as well, by gaining a closer understanding of the customer's perception of their brand. While manufacturers should seek out distributors with superior performance records, distributors should look for vendors that will compensate them for their performance, says Dancer.

"Partners should set clear goals and expectations," says Dancer. "They should define their brand value and what they can do together to build brand strength."

Vendors should compensate for performance and provide training, displays, marketing support and whatever else is necessary to reward and support those distributors that are actively building their brand, adds Dancer. By the same token, they shouldn't be giving a free ride to those that don't make a full commitment.

One distributor that understands the concept of value-added partnerships is Engman-Taylor Co., Inc. , in Menomonee Falls, Wisc. The distributor develops partnerships with the strongest cutting tool vendors, says sales manager Charlie Jonas.

"Most distributors carry several primary lines and then some secondary lines," says Jonas. "We position ourselves with quality lines that provide the best application solutions."

Through loyalty and commitment to training and application expertise, Engman-Taylor helps to build the brand and sales volume of its vendors, says Jonas.

"We build our own brand by providing the least expensive overall solution to our customers," says Jonas. "That comes from having the best vendors that are committed to supporting their distributors and returning that commitment."

Engman-Taylor provides that commitment by sharing a close marketing relationship with its top vendors, adds Jonas. Joint sales calls are a daily occurrence, and the distributor undertakes many cooperative marketing programs.

According to INDUSTRIAL DISTRIBUTIONS 56 th Annual Survey of Distributor Operations, manufacturers selling direct, or selling to unauthorized distributors within a territory, are among distributors' top 10 concerns. This and other channel confusion hurts the marketing relationship and brand development in the industrial supply channel.

Dancer tells distributors to choose supplier partners that are committed to the distribution channel. Andrew Reed says Chicago-based Bosch N.A. is one of those manufacturers.

Reed is vice president of the Bosch brand in North America. Though Bosch doesn't sell exclusively through distributors, Reed says the company supports a number of programs for its distributor partners.

"We start by providing high-quality tools," says Reed. "Distributors recognize manufacturers with commitment to providing well-engineered products that meet their customers' demands."

Broken tools mean lost income and productivity on the construction site or the manufacturing floor, says Reed. This means the company has to provide quality equipment, as well as services and support.

Provantage^ä and Rapid Repair^Ò are programs that keep tools up and running. The Provantage service program guarantees cordless tools for three years, offering replacement for the first year and repairs within five days. Rapid Repair service means that any repair is done within five days or it's free.

"The program has been successful for our distributors because they are involved in the process," says Reed. "It gives them more customer contact to create increased sales opportunities."

Another Bosch promotional program, the Big Blue Tour, brings trial products and trade-in offers to customers at the distributor's location. Bosch's Big Blue event helps the distributor create demand by allowing end-customers to get hands-on experience with the tools. The event includes a "drop zone" where customers can see the durability of the tools, which work after repeated drops, says Reed.

Bosch also has an expert sales force that can provide application and technical assistance. Reed says the sales force helps communicate what the Bosch brand represents.

"You can't separate the company from the product. You have to be passionate and proud about your brand," says Reed. "At Bosch, it's not just a product name, it's a family name."

IDS 56 th Annual Survey also indicates that nearly two-thirds of distributors purchase from master distributors. These master distributors build their brand by providing product and marketing support through their distribution network.

Production Tool Supply understands the struggle small distributors go through to develop their brand, says John Beaudoin. As director of sales and marketing for Warren, Mich.-based PTS, he says the master distributor's role is to support its distributor partners in their own marketing and branding efforts.

"We view our distributors as key partners," says Beaudoin. "PTS markets through local distributors, but leaves no trace."

Custom catalogs, individualized Web site storefronts with direct access to PTS inventory, and custom marketing materials are some of the ways PTS strives to provide support to its distributor customers. PTS then delivers orders in generic packing materials with the local distributor's own packing slips and purchase orders.

"Our support is transparent," says Beaudoin. "So it all looks like it is direct from the local distributor."

PTS helps smaller distributors level the playing field with large national distributors and catalog houses, says Beaudoin. The company allows distributors to place orders that are delivered directly to their end-customers the next day, on one purchase order — even on orders from multiple vendors.

"Though we are anonymous to the end-customer, PTS works hard to maintain its own brand image," adds Beaudoin. "We invest in the IT systems, content management, inventory and logistics to support our partners seamlessly, yet invisibly."

The strategy works well for PTS, he says. The company is able to sell merchandise like a catalog house, while knowing that local distributors are giving expert support to the end-customers.

For distributors, defining their brand is really just determining who they are. For effective branding, that message must be transmitted to all of the distributor's supply chain partners.