Sebastiaan Leemreize – Manutan

Manutan is a leading family-owned company specialising in B2B e-commerce in Europe, emphasising specifically sustainable business-to-business models. In this interview, Sebastiaan Leemreize, Marketing Director Benelux & Germany, discusses Manutan’s strategic approach to fostering brand growth through brand awareness, including sales activation, promotions, customer engagement, and sustainability. Specific key topics focus on balancing promotional activities with brand building, and the importance of customer satisfaction and sustainable practices in e-commerce.

Key Pillars for Long-term Brand Growth

At the heart of Manutan’s strategy for sustained success lies three integral pillars of brand growth. Each of these three foundational pillars, product-market combinations, customer development, and brand value, plays a vital role in shaping Manutan’s market presence and aligns with the broader goals of enhancing customer engagement and expanding market reach. This section delves into how these pillars interconnect to bolster Manutan’s brand, ensuring it remains robust and resonant in a dynamic business landscape.

Product-Market Combinations

The first pillar, product-market combinations (PMC), includes understanding in which markets Manutan can expand and grow, and with which products or categories. For this, business analysts are actively looking at which markets Manutan is very strong in, what are growing markets, declining markets, stable markets, etc., consequently looking at Manutan’s market share in each market to decide whether to defend or ‘attack’ it; “You have to defend yourself if you have a large part of the market you don’t want to lose that share, but in a market is on the rise and we are small in, you naturally want to become even bigger in it,” Sebastiaan explains. For instance, Manutan’s expansion into e-commerce is complemented by a focus on sustainable products, which meet both a growing consumer demand and align with Manutan’s commitment to sustainability.

The second part of the PMC strategy is increasing product combinations. Currently, the Manutan group has around 600k different products, while in the Netherlands, Sebastiaan assumes the amount to be around a third of this. The aim is to further diversify by providing a wider range of choices that aligns with our pay-off: ‘Everything for every workplace.“

Manutan’s approach to private label and responsibly sourced goods is a good example of this, making Manutan stand out in the competitive e-commerce space while promoting ethical consumerism. Meeting these customer needs not only drives sales but also aligns with Manutan’s commitment to sustainability; “E-commerce is a big part of our strategy. We ensure that our online presence not only facilitates sales but also educates our customers about sustainability.”

“We ensure that our online presence not only facilitates sales but also educates our customers about sustainability.”

Customer Development

The second pillar for fostering long-term brand growth is customer development. Manutan has implemented its programme divided into new and existing customers. Depending on these two groups, sales activation and promotional activities are also set up differently. ”A new customer gets marketing’s attention within the ‘New Customer Programme’. Every week, the potential is examined in collaboration with sales, whereafter customers are transferred to key account management so that they can get the proper attention they deserve,” Sebastiaan says.

To acquire new customers, banner and display ads, online shopping programmes, social platforms and affiliate programmes are used, while existing customers are divided using an RFM (recency, frequency, monetary) model, giving each customer a rating in the Customer Lifetime Cycle. This way, each customer can get more personalised attention in terms of promotions or if they need more help or support, the sales team can reach out to them. Sebastiaan exemplifies this with a fishpond example; “In that fishpond where we have been fishing, you catch a small fish and you want to fatten him. When he’s thick enough, then he gets more personal attention and also gets to use our E-procurement program ”

Manutan sees a direct link between customer satisfaction and repeat purchases, therefore the KPIs Net Promoter Score and customer retention are important for them to follow up. “It’s about that added value, we’re not only a webshop selling things online, we are more of a problem solver. There is a difference between those.”

“It’s about that added value, we’re not only a webshop selling things online, we are more of a problem solver.”

Brand Value

The third pillar, and arguably the most important one, is brand value. To measure brand value, Sebastiaan mostly looks at brand awareness; “Brand value is initially the awareness,” he says, and continues; „Spontaneous brand awareness is essentially an outcome for us, which we track over time. For me, the figures are not so relevant, but what ultimately matters is what people think of you.“ To grow a high awareness and work on our brand value, digital channels, radio and out-of-home advertising are used.

Furthermore, Sebastiaan reveals that Manutan recently started working more with PR, and is now collaborating with the Dutch food bank (De Voedselbank) to donate second-hand products and warehouse storage solutions. These can also be returned products that have dents in them for example. “We are engaged in circular activities without throwing money around. That is a win-win situation. That is also a kind of a more qualitative growth driver, building our image” he explains.

“We are engaged in circular activities without throwing money around. That is a win-win situation.”

This approach to brand awareness, focusing on the deep-rooted brand value of “Enterprising for a better world”, and the significance of customer perceptions and satisfaction, aligns with Manutan’s strategic objectives to foster a strong, recognisable brand that resonates well with new and existing customers.

The use of Sales Promotions for brand growth

Continuing to the topic of sales promotions, Sebastiaan recognises these as an important part of driving brand awareness when acquiring customers, especially in the Dutch market. “Promotion is quite an integral part of our marketing strategy. We continuously measure all different promotion activities to evaluate their effectiveness”

For acquiring new customers, the promotions focus mostly on price discounts. Then, when the customer gets familiar with the brand these promotions become less price-focused and more focused on brand-building and the specific customer’s needs, through the customer development programme.

Some examples of promotions that have worked well for Manutan in the past include gift vouchers, “buy 1 get 1 free”, and for an A-brand “buy and get a surprise product from that brand for free”. Most importantly, the promotions should align with the brand proposition and identity. “We always aim to balance promotional activities with our brand proposition. It’s crucial that any sales activation is consistent with our brand identity.” For Manutan, this means promoting ethical and sustainable consumerism.

“We always aim to balance promotional activities with our brand proposition. It’s crucial that any sales activation is consistent with our brand identity.”

However, Sebastiaan raises concern over the skewed ratio of sales activation vs brand-building activities, at the moment is more on direct promotions rather than brand-building activities. “This is mostly due to the current environment with uncertainty, wars and inflation,” he says. Nevertheless, he emphasises the importance of brand building as a continuous process and the brand is what will bring results in the longer term;  “Setting up your brand isn’t just a matter of telling who you are today. It’s a continuous process you have to invest years in. Only your brand gives you results in the long-term.”