Case Study: From Microsoft Integrator to Strategic Manufacturing Thought Leader
RH Blake deploys gritty brand repositioning to create awareness, preference, and trust across the manufacturing ecosystem
TL/DR
MCA Connect serves as a premier Microsoft Gold Partner and technology integrator with more than 20 years of experience delivering transformational ERP solutions exclusively for the manufacturing sector. To accelerate growth, the firm sought to transition its market perception from a technical implementor to a strategic thought leader capable of solving complex operational challenges beyond simple technology integration. Marketing partner RH Blake executed a comprehensive growth program that established a messaging bridge and a gritty brand identity to align the company’s visuals and voice with the reality of the factory floor. These strategic efforts successfully created awareness, preference, and trust with Microsoft stakeholders and end customers, securing the firm’s position as a preferred advisory partner.
Company
MCA Connect is an industry-leading firm with more than two decades of experience successfully implementing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) technology specifically for the manufacturing sector. As a premier Microsoft Gold Partner, the company has established a long-standing reputation as a trusted technology integrator and implementation expert, specializing in delivering transformational solutions and superior integration experiences.
What sets MCA Connect apart from its competitors is its exclusive focus on the manufacturing ecosystem. While many firms in the space are generalists who serve multiple industry verticals, MCA Connect devotes 100% of its expertise to manufacturers, particularly discrete manufacturers. This specialization ensures that they don’t just provide software, but possess a deep, intimate understanding of the operational complexities inherent in manufacturing facilities.
The company is defined by a relationship-driven approach and a “gritty” hands-on philosophy. A key differentiator for the brand is that the experts who sell the solutions are the same professionals who do the work on the factory floor, demonstrating that the company is not afraid to get their hands dirty to solve problems. By listening and digging deep into their clients’ businesses, MCA Connect helps optimize processes and enable advanced technologies through a unique blend of technical expertise and consultative strategy.
Situation
For over two decades, MCA Connect established itself as a premier Microsoft Gold Partner and a highly respected technical integrator within the manufacturing sector. However, despite their deep expertise, the company faced a significant perception gap: they were viewed purely as an implementor—a firm called upon to install software rather than a partner invited to solve complex business problems.
To achieve their growth objectives, MCA Connect needed to pivot to a strategic advisory role, offering consultative services that drove operational improvements far beyond basic technology implementation. This transition required them to simultaneously influence two critical audiences: discrete manufacturers and Microsoft stakeholders.
This reality was further complicated by several factors:
The Credibility Gap
They needed a robust messaging bridge that would logically connect their 20-year reputation for technical excellence with their new aspirations in strategic consulting.
Competitive Pressure
The company was entering a consulting space dominated by firms with significantly larger resources and well-entrenched advisory reputations. To compete, MCA Connect had to identify and leverage unique differentiators that these larger generalists lacked.
Brand Misalignment
Internal research and interviews with Microsoft executives and end customers revealed that the existing brand identity—characterized by excessive white space—made the firm look like a generic technology provider rather than a gritty, manufacturing-focused partner.
The Goal of Trust
The ultimate objective was to move beyond mere recognition and create a sense of awareness, preference, and trust with both Microsoft and their end customers, ensuring they were seen as the preferred partner for complex manufacturing transformations.
In short, MCA Connect found itself at a crossroads where its historical success as a technology integrator was limiting its potential as a thought leader. They needed a complete overhaul of their market positioning to reflect their gritty, hands-on reality and their ability to guide manufacturers through the full lifecycle of business optimization
Solution
MCA Connect partnered with RH Blake because of our manufacturing expertise and specialization, which would help them develop the messaging and visuals needed to connect with complex manufacturing businesses.
Internal Research and Workshop
During the discovery phase, we interviewed both internal customers and Microsoft stakeholders to achieve a clear understanding of how MCA Connect was perceived and how that perception compared with alternatives. This would help identify opportunities for growth.
After completing our research, we held an internal workshop with our client’s leadership team. During the workshop, we shared highlights from our research and discussed common trends and threads in the market. Then, we worked with the leadership team to gain a better understanding of where they wanted to take the business from a marketing standpoint and how they wanted to be viewed by the market moving forward.
Refined Messaging and Visuals
Based on the input from the workshop, we created a messaging framework for each of their target audiences. Within this framework, we built pillar messaging themes with proof points for each theme. For example, it may be easy to claim that a product or service is reliable along with multiple competitors who make the same claim. Therefore, each pillar needed credible, unique proof points to back up each claim. Then, we provided recommendations for go-to-market strategies, outlining marketing initiatives that would help grow their business.
As part of the repositioning initiative, we updated the messaging and copy for MCA Connect’s website and marketing materials to reflect the company’s honest, forthright approach. From a visual perspective, we also refined the look and feel of the business, which we outlined in a new brand guide.
Our client’s branding used to include a lot of white space, making it appear very focused on Microsoft technology instead of manufacturing. We refined the branding to include several dark visuals and a gritty manufacturing message to remind customers that they’re not afraid to get their hands dirty. Now, it not only speaks to manufacturers but it speaks like them — an essential catalyst for fueling new partnerships and growth.
Marketplace Differentiation
How was a strong manufacturing message key to highlighting our client’s competitive advantage? Their competitors work with multiple verticals and only focus on manufacturing part of the time. In contrast, MCA Connect focuses on manufacturing exclusively. We made sure to communicate that the people selling the solutions are the same ones doing the work at the manufacturing facilities.
The new branding also features MCA Connect’s relationship-driven approach to problem solving, another key differentiator within the market. The messaging focuses on their unique ability to connect with manufacturers by listening and digging deep into their business until they understand it intimately. Coupled with their technical expertise, MCA Connect’s consultative approach helps clients connect to success by optimizing processes and enabling advanced technologies.
Leveraging Evolved Brand for Product Launches
RH Blake helped MCA Connect with product launches, leveraging the new marketing messaging and visuals. For each product, we created the messaging for product launches, content and value propositioning that target both complex manufacturers and Microsoft stakeholders. We were the best partner for MCA Connect because we uniquely understand the complexity of the manufacturing audience and how to speak their language.
This project showcases our ability to help B2B technology companies who are targeting manufacturers as well as manufacturers who sell directly to customers. Our team is ready to help a variety of clients realize their potential for growth as we guide them through the full project lifecycle.
Results
Using our comprehensive approach, RH Blake delivered a series of impactful results that successfully repositioned MCA Connect within the manufacturing landscape.
Elevated Status from Implementor to Strategic Thought Leader
The primary outcome of the repositioning was the successful evolution of MCA Connect’s market perception from a technical implementor to a strategic thought leader. By building a credible messaging bridge, the company successfully connected its two-decade history of ERP implementation with its new capacity for high-level consultative services. This shift allowed them to offer value that drives operational improvements far beyond basic technology integration, positioning the firm as a primary advisor for complex manufacturing transformations.
Increased Awareness and Trust Within the Microsoft Ecosystem
The project successfully created a surge in awareness, preference, and trust with both Microsoft stakeholders and end customers. Through a refined messaging framework developed from interviews with Microsoft executives, MCA Connect established itself as a preferred partner that understands the specific needs of discrete manufacturers. This alignment ensured that Microsoft stakeholders viewed the company not just as a Gold Partner, but as a specialized expert capable of handling the most complex manufacturing ecosystems.
Enhanced Brand Authenticity Through Gritty Visual Messaging
By abandoning generic branding and white space for dark, gritty visuals, MCA Connect achieved a brand identity that truly resonates with the factory floor. The new branding demonstrates that the company “isn’t afraid to get their hands dirty,” which serves as an essential catalyst for fueling growth and new partnerships. Now, the brand doesn’t just speak to manufacturers; it speaks like them, fostering an immediate sense of relatability and authenticity that generalist competitors cannot replicate.
Clearer Market Differentiation and Competitive Advantage
The refined strategy highlighted MCA Connect’s exclusive focus on manufacturing, successfully distinguishing them from larger, generalist consulting firms. By emphasizing that the same experts who sell the solutions are the ones doing the work at the manufacturing facilities, the company established a unique competitive advantage based on intimacy and deep industry knowledge. This relationship-driven approach, coupled with technical expertise, has empowered the firm to compete effectively against firms with significantly larger resources.
Case Study: From Microsoft Integrator to Strategic Manufacturing Thought Leader
RH Blake deploys gritty brand repositioning to create awareness, preference, and trust across the manufacturing ecosystem
TL/DR
MCA Connect serves as a premier Microsoft Gold Partner and technology integrator with more than 20 years of experience delivering transformational ERP solutions exclusively for the manufacturing sector. To accelerate growth, the firm sought to transition its market perception from a technical implementor to a strategic thought leader capable of solving complex operational challenges beyond simple technology integration. Marketing partner RH Blake executed a comprehensive growth program that established a messaging bridge and a gritty brand identity to align the company’s visuals and voice with the reality of the factory floor. These strategic efforts successfully created awareness, preference, and trust with Microsoft stakeholders and end customers, securing the firm’s position as a preferred advisory partner.
Company
MCA Connect is an industry-leading firm with more than two decades of experience successfully implementing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) technology specifically for the manufacturing sector. As a premier Microsoft Gold Partner, the company has established a long-standing reputation as a trusted technology integrator and implementation expert, specializing in delivering transformational solutions and superior integration experiences.
What sets MCA Connect apart from its competitors is its exclusive focus on the manufacturing ecosystem. While many firms in the space are generalists who serve multiple industry verticals, MCA Connect devotes 100% of its expertise to manufacturers, particularly discrete manufacturers. This specialization ensures that they don’t just provide software, but possess a deep, intimate understanding of the operational complexities inherent in manufacturing facilities.
The company is defined by a relationship-driven approach and a “gritty” hands-on philosophy. A key differentiator for the brand is that the experts who sell the solutions are the same professionals who do the work on the factory floor, demonstrating that the company is not afraid to get their hands dirty to solve problems. By listening and digging deep into their clients’ businesses, MCA Connect helps optimize processes and enable advanced technologies through a unique blend of technical expertise and consultative strategy.
Situation
For over two decades, MCA Connect established itself as a premier Microsoft Gold Partner and a highly respected technical integrator within the manufacturing sector. However, despite their deep expertise, the company faced a significant perception gap: they were viewed purely as an implementor—a firm called upon to install software rather than a partner invited to solve complex business problems.
To achieve their growth objectives, MCA Connect needed to pivot to a strategic advisory role, offering consultative services that drove operational improvements far beyond basic technology implementation. This transition required them to simultaneously influence two critical audiences: discrete manufacturers and Microsoft stakeholders.
This reality was further complicated by several factors:
The Credibility Gap
They needed a robust messaging bridge that would logically connect their 20-year reputation for technical excellence with their new aspirations in strategic consulting.
Competitive Pressure
The company was entering a consulting space dominated by firms with significantly larger resources and well-entrenched advisory reputations. To compete, MCA Connect had to identify and leverage unique differentiators that these larger generalists lacked.
Brand Misalignment
Internal research and interviews with Microsoft executives and end customers revealed that the existing brand identity—characterized by excessive white space—made the firm look like a generic technology provider rather than a gritty, manufacturing-focused partner.
The Goal of Trust
The ultimate objective was to move beyond mere recognition and create a sense of awareness, preference, and trust with both Microsoft and their end customers, ensuring they were seen as the preferred partner for complex manufacturing transformations.
In short, MCA Connect found itself at a crossroads where its historical success as a technology integrator was limiting its potential as a thought leader. They needed a complete overhaul of their market positioning to reflect their gritty, hands-on reality and their ability to guide manufacturers through the full lifecycle of business optimization
Solution
MCA Connect partnered with RH Blake because of our manufacturing expertise and specialization, which would help them develop the messaging and visuals needed to connect with complex manufacturing businesses.
Internal Research and Workshop
During the discovery phase, we interviewed both internal customers and Microsoft stakeholders to achieve a clear understanding of how MCA Connect was perceived and how that perception compared with alternatives. This would help identify opportunities for growth.
After completing our research, we held an internal workshop with our client’s leadership team. During the workshop, we shared highlights from our research and discussed common trends and threads in the market. Then, we worked with the leadership team to gain a better understanding of where they wanted to take the business from a marketing standpoint and how they wanted to be viewed by the market moving forward.
Refined Messaging and Visuals
Based on the input from the workshop, we created a messaging framework for each of their target audiences. Within this framework, we built pillar messaging themes with proof points for each theme. For example, it may be easy to claim that a product or service is reliable along with multiple competitors who make the same claim. Therefore, each pillar needed credible, unique proof points to back up each claim. Then, we provided recommendations for go-to-market strategies, outlining marketing initiatives that would help grow their business.
As part of the repositioning initiative, we updated the messaging and copy for MCA Connect’s website and marketing materials to reflect the company’s honest, forthright approach. From a visual perspective, we also refined the look and feel of the business, which we outlined in a new brand guide.
Our client’s branding used to include a lot of white space, making it appear very focused on Microsoft technology instead of manufacturing. We refined the branding to include several dark visuals and a gritty manufacturing message to remind customers that they’re not afraid to get their hands dirty. Now, it not only speaks to manufacturers but it speaks like them — an essential catalyst for fueling new partnerships and growth.
Marketplace Differentiation
How was a strong manufacturing message key to highlighting our client’s competitive advantage? Their competitors work with multiple verticals and only focus on manufacturing part of the time. In contrast, MCA Connect focuses on manufacturing exclusively. We made sure to communicate that the people selling the solutions are the same ones doing the work at the manufacturing facilities.
The new branding also features MCA Connect’s relationship-driven approach to problem solving, another key differentiator within the market. The messaging focuses on their unique ability to connect with manufacturers by listening and digging deep into their business until they understand it intimately. Coupled with their technical expertise, MCA Connect’s consultative approach helps clients connect to success by optimizing processes and enabling advanced technologies.
Leveraging Evolved Brand for Product Launches
RH Blake helped MCA Connect with product launches, leveraging the new marketing messaging and visuals. For each product, we created the messaging for product launches, content and value propositioning that target both complex manufacturers and Microsoft stakeholders. We were the best partner for MCA Connect because we uniquely understand the complexity of the manufacturing audience and how to speak their language.
This project showcases our ability to help B2B technology companies who are targeting manufacturers as well as manufacturers who sell directly to customers. Our team is ready to help a variety of clients realize their potential for growth as we guide them through the full project lifecycle.
Results
Using our comprehensive approach, RH Blake delivered a series of impactful results that successfully repositioned MCA Connect within the manufacturing landscape.
Elevated Status from Implementor to Strategic Thought Leader
The primary outcome of the repositioning was the successful evolution of MCA Connect’s market perception from a technical implementor to a strategic thought leader. By building a credible messaging bridge, the company successfully connected its two-decade history of ERP implementation with its new capacity for high-level consultative services. This shift allowed them to offer value that drives operational improvements far beyond basic technology integration, positioning the firm as a primary advisor for complex manufacturing transformations.
Increased Awareness and Trust Within the Microsoft Ecosystem
The project successfully created a surge in awareness, preference, and trust with both Microsoft stakeholders and end customers. Through a refined messaging framework developed from interviews with Microsoft executives, MCA Connect established itself as a preferred partner that understands the specific needs of discrete manufacturers. This alignment ensured that Microsoft stakeholders viewed the company not just as a Gold Partner, but as a specialized expert capable of handling the most complex manufacturing ecosystems.
Enhanced Brand Authenticity Through Gritty Visual Messaging
By abandoning generic branding and white space for dark, gritty visuals, MCA Connect achieved a brand identity that truly resonates with the factory floor. The new branding demonstrates that the company “isn’t afraid to get their hands dirty,” which serves as an essential catalyst for fueling growth and new partnerships. Now, the brand doesn’t just speak to manufacturers; it speaks like them, fostering an immediate sense of relatability and authenticity that generalist competitors cannot replicate.
Clearer Market Differentiation and Competitive Advantage
The refined strategy highlighted MCA Connect’s exclusive focus on manufacturing, successfully distinguishing them from larger, generalist consulting firms. By emphasizing that the same experts who sell the solutions are the ones doing the work at the manufacturing facilities, the company established a unique competitive advantage based on intimacy and deep industry knowledge. This relationship-driven approach, coupled with technical expertise, has empowered the firm to compete effectively against firms with significantly larger resources.
