SHAH ALAM – Businesses risk losing customers to competitors when they fail to communicate what sets their products apart, even when the products themselves are good, KNKV Group chief executive officer Adam Richman said.
Speaking at the KNKV Branding & Marketing War 2027 programme at Hotel Crowne Plaza KLCC on Wednesday, he said businesses needed to ensure customers understood the value of their products and why they should choose them over alternatives.
“Business owners know what is good about their products. But do customers understand the same advantages and consider them important when making a choice?” he said.
Adam said businesses should clearly identify their target customers, explain the problems their products or services solve and support claims about quality with evidence such as demonstrations, portfolios and genuine customer feedback.
He also cautioned businesses against relying on discounts when customers did not see a clear difference between competing products.
“When the difference between two offerings is unclear, price can become a key consideration. Before immediately offering discounts, companies need to ask whether the value of their product has been communicated convincingly,” he said.
Adam said branding and marketing played different but complementary roles, with branding establishing a company’s identity and value proposition while marketing helped deliver that message to the right audience.
However, he stressed that effective communication had to be backed by products and services that met customer expectations.
“The promises made in an advertisement must align with what customers actually receive. The trust built through communication needs to be reinforced through real experiences,” he said.
The programme also featured discussions involving representatives from the economic, business, industrial and legal sectors on marketing creativity, business development, brand protection and expansion into wider markets.
Among those attending were Deputy Economy Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shahar Abdullah, KNKV Group chairman Datuk Seri Dr Zurainah Musa, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) Prof Dr Wan Ahmad Amirzal Wan Ismail, and Nik Safia & Co founder and managing partner Safia Ahmad Jahidi.
The event also included the signing of a memorandum of understanding involving KNKV Group Sdn Bhd, Kotler Impact Asia and Annems Leadership Solution, as well as the appointment of Penang Mufti Associate Professor Datuk Dr Mohd Sukki Othman as KNKV’s Shariah adviser.