KONE's marketing journey from product benefit to brand

In the specialist world of elevators and escalators, product benefits tend to be the focus of marketing efforts rather than brand, but KONE’s new CMO is aiming to change that.

Why it matters

When a marketer shifts sectors, they may be discombobulated by a different marketing approach – and KONE’s Tricia Weener, who joined from a financial services background, admitted to being “surprised with the lack of understanding of what a brand can do for the business.” 

She sees brand as a crucial driver of growth. “It really is critical for us to focus on how we build our brand, perhaps beyond ways in which we would have previously,” she told the recent B2B World Fest.

Takeaways

• In one case, KONE looked at performance-marketing and then applied brand investments for a set period of time; it saw a fivefold increase in the leads generated.
• Brand is about much more than the marketing function: it helps define business strategy, informs decision making and dictates how an organisation shows up with clients. 
• B2B brand building may depend on how commoditised the product solutions are; the more commoditised, the more reliant on brand – and potentially the longer it will take to build the brand and get the benefits from it. 
• Feedback loops will help you understand when you get it wrong; real-time data will help you iterate and get it right more of the time.
• Be clear about messaging hierarchy, from thought leadership and inspirational content to drive awareness to the more practical content needed when buyers are in market.

Final thought

“Speaking non-marketing, non-fluffy language [to the C suite] is what is really important – and being able to be credible around the results that you’re going to get” – Tricia Weener, chief marketing officer, EVP marketing communications, KONE Corp.

^BEC