FingerTec Newsletter

FingerTec – A Brand With Holistic Marketing Approach

by Norana Johar , Senior Sales Manager

Why brand in the first place?

Competitions are inevitable in attempts to market products around the world. The name FingerTec was created in 2000 but it was not a brand back then, it was merely a name to differentiate from products of others. A brand must have characteristics and those were absent in FingerTec until around 2004. The management decided to insert the value into the brand, to give it personality, to give it life. Branding is not about fame per se although it can’t be separated when the market is well aware of the brand presence. Branding is not only about trademark and copyright as well because one can create a trademark that has no value and no character to go along with the given name. Branding is about customer’s experience, branding is about customer’s perception, branding is about delivering promises to customers in the best possible ways.

Questions were raised as to why FingerTec remains focused in fingerprint solution and not to other areas like CCTV and cameras. The reason is plain and simple. FingerTec has to be positioned as THE brand for commercial fingerprint and card system in the market for time attendance and access control market. Precise brand positioning strengthens the brand value and presence. Google is in fact has become a word to refer to “looking something up” in the search engine; for example “Have you Googled that word?” Colgate is referred to toothpaste in many parts of the world. We want to reinforce the brand FingerTec until consumers refer to commercial fingerprint system as FingerTec system.

Having a branded item and a no-brand item creates a lot of difference within the hearts and minds of consumers. A no-name bottled mineral water and an Evian mineral water create different experiences in the minds of consumer. A no-name could quench your thirst but an Evian could do the same thing and more. It gives you style, it gives you class, it gives you satisfaction, you want to be seen drinking Evian. An mp3 player is not just an mp3 player when it comes to iPod. It gives more in the mind of consumers.

And having these added values instilled in the hearts and minds of consumers, a brand could easily increase profitability. A no-name distilled water is sold at RM1.70 (USD0.50) and an Evian is sold at RM7.50 (USD2.20). RM5.80 (USD1.70) is the value of the brand. An MP3 player could be sold as cheap as RM80 (USD23), an ipod shuffle is sold at RM200 (USD57) over.

FingerTec has evolved from just a name to a brand and the good news is FingerTec is a brand with holistic marketing approach that benefits the consumers.

With FingerTec, Everything is Easy!

This is the perception we give to our customers and this is the experience we deliver. We understand the cutthroat nature of today’s businesses, where our commitment into the brand could make or break the brand and the business altogether. The value of FingerTec brand extends from the reseller to the end-users and into every part of the process.

FingerTec covers them all from the marketing aspects to after sales stage; all have been taken care of. Imagine yourself as a new reseller, the one having zero experience in the business. FingerTec offers information online in training website and sales website. You can read and learn, and communicate with our staff online. Orders of marketing materials and accessories online are possible with FingerTec. We offer detailed products and systems information, Powerpoint presentations, videos, documentaries, brochures, posters, etc to ease your marketing. Once mastered the information and deals are closed, FingerTec offers after sales support to resellers and end-users with technical and support information available online and our staff available online to assist.

Once a month, interactive e-Newsletter is published to provide information and to welcome feedback from our resellers. On the whole, our customers (resellers and end-users) are always in our mind in everything that we offer using the brand FingerTec and we make sure to our customers feel that we have make things easy for them along the way.

It’s OK to price a brand

A brand is created to provide substance to a product. Considering all the efforts and the values that are instilled in FingerTec®, it’s OK for FingerTec brand to be sold at a premium price compared to other non-branded products offered in the market. FingerTec can’t be compared apple to apple to other non-branded products. Customers might ask, why is it expensive. Don’t be doubtful, quote the reasons provided earlier to assure those who asked. Resellers need to convince customers that a brand can never be sustained with continuous discounts offered to consumers. A brand can never be respected if it’s constantly cheapened.

Resellers are responsible to sustain the brand FingerTec and it’s pricing in the market. Lack of prudence will damage the brand in its totality. Being recognized as the cheap brand is not the direction that FingerTec wants to head. FingerTec should be a brand with a reasonably good price with a lot more to offer.