Brammer is the UK division of Brammer PLC, one of Europe’s leading distributors of industrial maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) products. Brammer offers a comprehensive range of over one million individual products via a network of over 80 sales and service centres.
As the chosen distributor for many of the world’s foremost manufacturers, Brammer has strong and long established relationships with many manufacturing partners, including SKF, NSK, INA FAG, Renold, Gates, Siemens and Loctite. Brammer staff also provides technical advice and support with the back up of field-based technical support specialists who advise on more complex problems including providing complete engineering solutions when required.
Spotting the difference
In a marketplace where suppliers are largely seen as delivering a commodity and judged solely on their ability to deliver the cheapest option at the earliest opportunity, Brammer needed to defend its price differential. The firm sought to distance itself from rivals who were happy to win business on price alone and could not match the Brammer offer with its impressive additional opportunities.
The brand works closely with each client to improve long-term performance by using its specialist knowledge and detailed understanding of each client’s own business area and operation. By working in an open and honest partnership with customers, Brammer is able to deliver year-on-year savings, not simply on spare parts, but also right across the manufacturing process, and so immeasurably improve any partnership client’s bottom line.
Building awareness
The market was largely unaware of Brammer’s partnership principles so the campaign was designed to inform the relevant audience of its opportunity to engender loyalty, increase spend and reactivate dormant customers across its regional accounts.
Brammer’s value-added service was broken down into three distinct but linked categories based on its proven abilities to reduce total acquisition costs, improve production output and efficiency, and reduce working capital. Accounts were reacquainted with the total package and Brammer’s nationwide network reconfirmed, together with its local geographical coverage, vast industry experience and same- or next-day service capability.
Audience
Brammer selected 15,000 regional accounts already on its database and spread across a variety of different industry disciplines and, as a consequence, a huge variety of different job titles, were carefully selected. Traditionally, these accounts spend sporadically and spread their orders between any number of competing suppliers. They base ordering decisions purely on the perception of getting more for their money and judge on price alone.
The ‘Partners programme’ was set up to reward actual annual spend the 10 per cent loyalty bonus. Following a six-month period, Brammer customers would receive vouchers worth 10 per cent of their total spend which could be used against future similar transactions.
Direct marketing and telemarketing launched the programme. An A5 box with an inner plinth carried the A7 booklet. Printed in four colours on white silk, the boxes were sealed with a self-adhesive sticker. The chosen recipients were those who were most likely to have a role proven to relate directly to spending on MRO, or at the very least to influence it directly.
Results
Accessible and engaging, the mailer met the campaign’s objectives by explaining the Partners’ concept clearly and concisely while its execution was eye-catching and memorable. Telemarketing was used to cleanse the data.
The timescale for printing, lasering, fulfilment and delivery of all mailers was two weeks and the results were very successful. Although the timescale for the Partners’ Programme was later reduced by half, it still achieved its stated objective for specified incremental spend within the new timescale. The response rate was well above the average, in some audience segments significantly above that expected and the return on investment was extremely high.
Jeremy Salisbury, head of marketing at Brammer UK, says: “Wyatt International ensured an excellent return on investment, enabling us to fulfil our objectives and at the same time say within the agreed marketing spend.”
