Demonstrating what you stand for is far more effective

Swapna Raghavan

Deputy General Manager  Marketing, Putzmeister

Branding is an essential promotional tool. How do you channelize this tool effectively?

At Putzmeister, we take branding very seriously. We have global guidelines that are applied consistently around the world – it doesn’t matter which part of the world a customer comes into contact with our company, they will be able to recognize our brand easily.             

Our offline and online presence is aligned everywhere. You just have to type www.putzmeister.com from anywhere, and you will be able to find what the company offers you in your country/region. Similarly, regardless of which country makes a social media update, even if you don’t understand the language, our customers and wider target audiences will be able to recognize our brand. The same goes for our offices, our equipment and our spare parts. We make the most of every opportunity to showcase brand Putzmeister – even when a Putzmeister equipment is on its way to be delivered to a customer, people in the construction industry will know it is Putzmeister.            

Tell us about the different branding strategies used to create a strong customer connect?

We engage our customers on an ongoing basis through our website, social media presence, online and offline campaigns, and events like customer meets. We also participate in industry events and forums. Over the years, we have developed a reputation of surprising our customers with something novel or different. We work hard on meeting this expectation and delighting customers. Putzmeister Elephant Nights are legendary, passes for these after show parties at our stall are always in high demand.              

When customers choose our Brand as one of the top 3 reasons to buy Putzmeister equipment, we know we are doing something right.              

Logo / tagline is an extremely critical element for brand recall. Tell us about the factors that contribute towards the same.               

For any company, the logo forms the foundation of its brand identity and narrative. The Putzmeister logo currently in use was introduced in 2017. The logo design stands for PM (a shortened version of our name) and is reminiscent of the elephant that was formerly part of our logo. Our tagline “Close To Your Business” is not something we regularly use as a part of our visual branding. We believe demonstrating what you stand for is far more effective.               

How does effective branding aid to garner trust among various end-user segments?

Branding binds everything a company does and gives it an easily recognizable identity. In our industry, it also plays an important role in helping customers recognize genuine Putzmeister equipment and parts. We regularly educate our customers on how they can recognize us and ensure that everything that rolls out of a Putzmeister factory follows our brand guidelines.            

What is the distinguishing marketing factor that makes you stand out in the competitive construction equipment sector?

The Putzmeister brand stands for performance, innovation and being close to our customer every step of their journey – right from selecting the right solution to managing the equipment on the jobsite. Putzmeister equipment commands a strong price even in the used equipment market. This is a strong indication of the trust our brand has earned over the years. Our brand IS our differentiator.  

Being a woman, do you face any major challenges (demographic, culture, safety, awareness, training, support, product)?

Putzmeister has a reasonable gender balance; most departments from production, technical, sales, after sales, finance and HR have women employees. We have the right HR policies in place to safeguard the interests of all employees. More importantly, we foster a culture of respect for one another, every individual is recognized for their contribution to the company irrespective of role or gender. The fact that I am a woman is just incidental.

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