B2B Branding-Tata

Steelium
Group 9, Section B
Virendra Agarwal-
19P234
Aarooshi Bansal-19P188
Shefali Verma- 19P221
Priyam Dixit- 19P209
Overview
● Tata Steel is among the top steel producing companies in the world with an annual crude steel capacity of 34
million tonnes per annum

● It is one of the world's most geographically-diversified steel producers, with operations and commercial
presence across the world

● On February 27, 2003, ‘TATA STEEL’ launched the world’s first branded cold rolled steel (CRS) called ‘TATA
Steelium’ in Goa.

● Cold rolled steel is essentially hot rolled steel that has had further processing and has more tolerance and offers
wider range of surface finishes

● Why Branding- “Branding will give rise to a customized product in terms of value, performance, and pricing that
will meet our customers’ needs better. Branding will go a long way in meeting the challenge of gaining a
sustainable competitive edge”
  
1. CRS (cold rolled steel) industry is very
fragmented with no branded product around
the world. How will a truly branded product
be created?
2. Fragmented sellers of CRS were largely
indifferent to buyer’s preferences and

Research providing value, also the distribution channels

for sales were not present at large trading
centers with most demand for the product

Problems 3. What is the value proposition that the new

brand will cater to?

4. How will the brand engineering (product,

packaging, pricing, communication etc.) look
like for Tata Steelium?
Findings and Analysis (Brand Engineering)
Product
Customized Steelium grades are
available for varying applications –
TR15 for furniture, AU03/AU02 for
ordinary drawing applications, PN01
for panel fabrications, and
AU05/AU09 for extra deep drawing
applications.
This supported the wide variety of
applications undertaken by small
customers.
Packaging
Steelium CRS is wrapped in VCI
paper with HDPE laminate, metal
packed with galvanized steel. As
customers want protection,
performance, information, and
assurance from the packaging,
Steelium packets are usually painted
in blue
There are distinct identifiable TATA
STEEL tags and unique blue seals
on the packaging which help identify
the source of the material.
Pricing
Since TATA Steelium was to be
positioned as a high quality pioneer
brand sold only through well-
equipped distributors and dealers
with value added services, TATA
STEEL decided to charge premium
price over competition.
But steel items were traditionally
seen as raw materials that could
never justify a premium price. The
price premium of the brand must be
supported by the customers’
perceived value.
Brand Engineering
Communications
● TATA STEEL decided that the key to their B2B brand
strategy would not be through brand preference or brand
image advertising, but by communicating its product and
service strategy to a large number of small customers of
cold rolled steel, mainly through the well-established
network of distributors and dealers.
● Brand management teams carry out elaborate studies of
customer segments and send customized direct mail,
brochures, and other relevant information through
distributors to position the brand favorably in the minds of
the customers.
Sales team and Distributors
● TATA STEEL takes special interest in the recruitment and
development of the distributor’s salespeople so that they
support the formation of consistent brand culture.
● It ensures that all Steelium distributors have a minimum
number of salespersons according to their business volume
and they are knowledgeable about the product, systems,
procedures, and customers.
● Training of distributors’ and dealers’ salespersons on how to
manage the brand has been a regular feature since the
beginning
Conclusions
● Today the brand TATA Steelium has the best customers in its portfolio and gets the best chance to sell in the
market.

● Compared to the other steel producers, TATA STEEL is viewed by customers and intermediaries as much more
collaborative

● In view of the large demand-supply gap that exists in the CRS market, TATA STEEL can afford to sacrifice some
of its casual customers and maintain its premium position with service-sensitive customers.

● Today, the brand holds a dominant market position and an excellent long-term profit potential in view of the
likely growth in the consumption of CRS and further improvement of market prices. However, the potential
for the volume growth of the brand is limited due to fixed production capacity.
Recommendations
● Reduction of prices could be looked as a possible option to build brand loyalty among price sensitive
customers.

● To maintain distributor and retailer loyalty, company could encourage them to sell its other brands to as it will
attract other customers also.

● With the entry of other players in the market, the current initiatives should be reinvested in to sustain the
competitive advantages.
Thank you!