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Local brand management
Small, but also large and international companies are increasingly relying on local brand management. You can find out what is important at the regional level here.
Local branding: what is important at the regional level
The economy, sales and corporate structures have changed significantly over the past few decades. Where 50 years ago there were still many small retail stores and local producers and suppliers, globalization brought more and more large and international brands into play. Some mergers and the rise of the Internet also meant that smaller local providers have disappeared from the cityscape. In recent years, however, the local brand management in particular has been expanded again and many large and international companies are increasingly relying on local businesses and on-site contacts.
What is local branding?
The economy, sales and corporate structures have changed significantly over the past few decades. Where 50 years ago there were still many small retail stores and local producers and suppliers, globalization brought more and more large and international brands into play. Some mergers and the rise of the Internet also meant that smaller local providers have disappeared from the cityscape. In recent years, however, the local brand management in particular has been expanded again and many large and international companies are increasingly relying on local businesses and on-site contacts.
What are the challenges in local branding?
The greatest challenge in this type of brand management arises from having many individual communicators who should work individually but together on the brand's strategy. In order to guarantee this, a great deal of communication and coordination is required between the head office and the sales partner, but also between the individual partners. It is important to combine two large areas, on the one hand by integrating the sales partners into the brand strategy and leaving them enough leeway for their own local customers. On the other hand, the marketing strategy is planned centrally and managed and controlled by the marketing department of the entire company. The partners are the direct, as familiar as possible, contact for the target group and thus the link between the customer and the brand. The main aim here is to make the various marketing channels accessible to the sales partners and to enable local multi-channel marketing, since new, digital and technologically advanced marketing strategies are now the order of the day in local marketing. It is particularly important to support the sales partners and not only provide templates, but also provide advice and support through training. If these challenges are properly mastered, marketing can be customer-centered and run directly on site.
- Communication between head office and sales or sales partners
- Balance between local focus and central brand strategy
- Assistance with multi-channel marketing
Which values are particularly important?
Closeness
Local partners form the link between brand and customer and are therefore a direct touchpoint to the desired target group. Thanks to the regional focus, customers can be ideally addressed locally online and offline.
Security through agility
The local customers can communicate securely with the partners thanks to the necessary transparency. However, they should not rest on the company's image, but rather react flexibly to changes and challenges.
Trust
In order to gain the trust of local customers, it is important to know the needs and meet the required expectations. Due to the local proximity, these aspects can be observed and trust can be increased through actions.
Use data
In local brand management, too, it is important not only to rely on personal experience, but also on collected data. Digitization enables new possibilities to be used to appear as professional and personable as possible.
Increase efficiency
Standardized and automated processes in local branding lead to an efficient work environment. This means that fewer consultations have to be made and all marketing activities can be analyzed and optimized in the future.
Individuality
Local branding supports the local partners and addresses the regional target groups as individually as possible. To this end, new, innovative channels can be integrated as well as tried and tested ones.
10 reasons why it pays to support your partners in local marketing.
Find out more about the benefits of doing local marketing.
What are the advantages of successful local brand management?
For the brand
- Strict corporate design in all marketing activities
- Clear coordination processes between the head office and the sales partner
- Transparent and easy allocation of advertising subsidies for individual partners
- Strengthen the bond between partners and headquarters
- Synchronization of regional and national strategies
- Strengthening and expanding the image and value of the brand
- Internal interfaces and processes optimize the central administration and transfer of data and digital assets
For the partners
- Individualized options for local marketing
- Create professional marketing material cheaply and quickly
- Access to a broad portfolio of measures for online and offline marketing
- Support in the entire marketing process (strategy, creation, production)
- Use brand image and awareness locally
- Support with questions and ideas
- Financial help through bonuses and advertising grants
What software support are there?
In order to defy the challenges and to use as many of the advantages mentioned for the brand and the sales partners as possible, it is advisable to implement support in the form of software. These systems can simplify work steps and bundle marketing-relevant coordination, communication and processing on one platform.
The all-round carefree package offers a marketing portal. All relevant marketing activities are handled centrally here. In these portals, companies can provide their partners with templates for a wide variety of marketing channels and make them editable. Thanks to the direct connection to service providers such as printing companies or media houses, the entire marketing process can be controlled via a portal, from digital creation to production and publication. By controlling the headquarters, they have an overview of the individual partners * and can thus analyze and control their use and marketing activities. Through the internal allocation of advertising subsidies, the company has the opportunity to set certain priorities in local marketing and to build a relationship with local partners.
Compared to the marketing portal, web to print software offers support in all printed advertising material. An individual form of marketing material can also be created using templates. These printed advertising materials range from business cards, flyers and brochures to mailings and posters. The digitally provided design is supplemented by the local information and content and forwarded directly to the printer. In this way, local can be advertised efficiently and quickly in printed form.
Systems that enable automated multi-channel marketing allow content to be published on various marketing channels. Automation can eliminate a considerable time factor, which in turn leads to cost savings. By connecting different (mainly digital or online) platforms, you can advertise on new channels without much prior knowledge. Platforms such as social media or booking ads on the Internet can be a challenge for laypeople. Such software solutions can be used for simple, inexpensive and direct publication.
In order to continue to be successful locally in the future, it is advisable to use software support that incorporates new digital offers and acts in a future-oriented manner. In addition, it is important to see the software, regardless of whether it is a marketing portal or multi-channel marketing software, not just as a pure technical addition, but to look closely at the performance and select it individually for your own company. The right solution for the local branding of every company can be found through advice and test versions of the providers, regardless of whether the company wants to specialize more in print products, dialogue marketing, online marketing, out-of-home or physical offers such as trade fairs.