Marketing Within the Water Heater Manufacturing Industry : An Analysis and Recommendation for Bradford White Corporation

Abstract

This paper proposes a marketing plan that strives to generate brand awareness, brand equity, and differentiation for an established corporation that does not currently have a formal marketing plan in place. Bradford White Corporation (BWC) is a residential, commercial, and volume water heater manufacturer located in Middleville, Michigan. Bradford White Corporation currently relies on wholesalers to promote and sell its products. However, the company would like to increase its brand awareness among end users and create more pull-through business for its wholesaler and plumbing customers. A plan for Bradford White Corporation to accomplish these goals is presented in this paper. This paper begins with a literature review regarding current strategies used to generate brand awareness, increase brand equity, and differentiate a company from its competitors. These three areas are incorporated in many studies and revealed a trio of major parts to focus on: (1) social media marketing, (2) customer relationship management, and (3) customer information. A variety of techniques to increase brand awareness are presented, but the emphasis lies on using modern marketing techniques. The main method used to generate brand equity for consumers is to create a relationship with customers and relate the products to their needs. Finally, a variety of methods to differentiate a brand and products are discussed. The primary methods used to differentiate are innovation and the customization of products. These studies propose that a corporation should use social networking sites to create the most successful marketing plan. A marketing plan will follow the literature review. The marketing plan includes a situational analysis of the market and strategies and tactics to be used. It recognizes the factors that affect Bradford White Corporation in the macro and micro environments as well as its competition, consumer, and innovation strategies. The objective of this plan is to increase brand awareness, generate brand equity, and differentiate Bradford White Corporation from its competitors. The marketing strategies used in this plan include social media marketing techniques on five different social networks: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and Houzz. This marketing plan develops a strategy to meet Bradford White Corporation's main objectives of increased brand awareness among end users, differentiation, and to generate brand equity. This one-year strategic marketing plan-will be evaluated and enhanced before the second year. The marketing plan will show that Bradford White Corporation can implement a modern marketing plan to achieve its goals while staying true to the company's philosophy.