The Brand Trust study, by the Nuremberg consultancy company, sees ABB’s Busch-Jaeger brand as a market leader in electrical installation technology. In the survey, “Made in Germany 4.0”, Busch-Jaeger was beaten only by high-end domestic appliance manufacturer Miele (a cooperation partner of Busch-Jaeger), and award-winning automotive manufacturer, Brose. Busch-Jaeger out-performed several of its competitors, including robot manufacturer, Kuka, and industry heavyweights, Bosch and Siemens.
The Nuremberg consulting group examined the so-called ‘resilience’ of German technology brands for the first time. This focused on the companys’ adaptability and versatility, studying criteria such as customer recommendations and sustainability, rather than more traditional values such as turnover and image.
The author of the study, Managing Partner Jürgen Gietl, maintains that “in order to be able to survive in the world of digital transformation, maximum agility and flexibility are required.” In this context, Gietl sees the main challenges as ever-shorter innovation cycles, new competitors and changing markets, as well as the transformative digitalization of manufacturing known as “Industry 4.0.”
The study was a two-stage process, which involved more than 70 top decision-makers from leading technology companies and more than 3,000 customers, buyers and experts, who assessed the so-called “brand-resilience” of technology brands in Germany.
Gietl believes that a strong brand personality is one of the basic principles of an adaptable company’s success. He says that a strong brand helps raise market-entry barriers and inspires customers, contributing to the stability of a technology company.
In addition, Gietl believes that the best companies among those in the Brand Trust survey “think less in terms of individual products and much more in terms of complete systems”. This is true for Busch-Jaeger, he says. Anyone who’s building a house quickly finds themselves looking at Busch-Jaeger, “because the company does not just offer sockets, but ecosystems for the entire innovative control of house technology.” And in the digital, networking era, intelligent building control is in big demand, now more than ever.