Trust is the cornerstone of any relationship, including your B2B business connections. Consistent branding is a major part of how your company instills trust in your current clients and future prospects.
Your B2B brand strategy has a big job to do. It encapsulates your company’s purpose, mission, philosophy and vision. Your why. This must be represented across all your brand assets online and in real life. Your style, design, spoken and written voices, and the stories you tell must be instantly recognisable as undeniably you.
B2B brand marketing has traditionally focused on the details and quality of products or services. But, given the changing nature of your customers’ different journeys, it’s increasingly important to give customers a way to connect as a person.
Your B2B brand strategy’s first job is to make a memorable connection. Then to make sure that clients see the same ‘you’ wherever they find you along their path to purchase. Getting creative with how to generate emotional responses is the way for B2B companies to build and retain trust to get ahead of the competition.
What is B2B branding?
branding, also known as business-to-business branding, refers to the process of establishing and promoting a unique identity, image, and reputation for a business, product, or service within the context of other businesses or organizations. Unlike B2C (business-to-consumer) branding, which targets individual consumers, B2B branding focuses on appealing to other businesses, professionals, or decision-makers in a specific industry or market.
The goal of B2B branding is to create a distinct and recognizable identity that differentiates a company or product from its competitors and resonates with the target audience’s needs and preferences. It involves building trust, credibility, and positive associations with the brand among potential clients, partners, and stakeholders in the business world.
Effective B2B branding encompasses various elements, including a compelling brand message, a consistent visual identity, and a well-defined value proposition. It involves understanding the specific pain points and challenges faced by the target audience and positioning the brand as the ideal solution provider. B2B branding also involves aligning the brand’s image with its core values and fostering strong relationships with customers and industry partners.
By implementing a successful B2B branding strategy, companies can strengthen their market presence, enhance customer loyalty, attract new business opportunities, and ultimately drive revenue growth. Brands that prioritize their B2B branding efforts often enjoy a competitive advantage and position themselves as leaders within their respective industries.
Benefits of B2B branding
There are several key reasons why you need a strong B2B brand strategy.
Futureproofing
You know how long your average sale takes to close. If your prospect meets you at their research stage, you want them to remember that you made the decision easier by giving them just the right information at exactly the right time.
This is where your branding needs to stick in their minds. They trusted you to provide high quality information. But it’s no good having excellent top of funnel engagement, if they can’t remember your name 6 months later when they come to make the final decision.
You want them to buy from you, not just buy the product or service. Your research based B2B brand marketing activities keeps you top of mind at decision making time – no matter how long it takes to get there.
Customer retention
Every time your clients make a purchase or have contact with your company their trust in you strengthens. You honor the promises of your brand by consistently upholding your brand values. This develops from repeat custom to active brand advocacy because your commitment to brand strategy proves your value time after time.
Scaffolded product launches
B2B companies traditionally focus marketing and advertising messaging on their new product or feature and its benefits. Of course, this is of interest to your clients. But it makes your job harder. It means that each campaign is an individual entity, starting a fresh relationship with every new launch. A strong B2B brand identity has already built a connection that lends credibility to any new product you introduce.
Circle of trust
A cohesive B2B brand strategy isn’t just good for your clients, but your employees and other stakeholders too. Having a consolidated identity with clear brand values and unifying goals is an incredible boost to employee satisfaction – and will help you attract the best new talent.
Competitive advantage
Just creating a B2B brand strategy puts you ahead of the game, as B2B organizations generally don’t prioritize investment in company branding. Taking a data-based approach and devising a B2B branding strategy that speaks directly to your clients and prospects is a real competitive advantage. It’s an investment in your future success, as well as today’s bottom line.
B2B vs B2C branding
There are some differences between B2B and B2C branding, as there are between different industries. The differences will be very familiar to your marketing teams and are necessary to account for the more targeted nature of their strategies. But how much are they missing out on by not including the elements that are similar?
Differences between B2B and B2C branding
- B2B buying cycles are longer and involve a team of educated buyers that all have individual remits.
- Your pool of prospects is smaller than B2C businesses because you’re offering a specialized product or service. So all your marketing and advertising assets need to be more targeted.
- Usually the final sale is arranged human-to-human at the end of a long path to purchase, so employee engagement is essential.
- Due to the complex nature of most B2B purchases, there’s an expectation that you’ll be there for your customers after the point of purchase.
Similarities between B2B and B2C branding
- Your value proposition must be made clearly and with impact. B2B brand strategy will also need more flexible, nuanced layers of supportive messaging to target their different segments.
- You must answer the ‘so what?’ question. For example, your new service may be based on cutting edge AI, but so what? What difference does that actually make to your customers? It’s not just about selling the feature, or even the benefits or that feature – you need to tap into how that makes clients feel better or do better.
- All business is human to human. Making an emotional connection is always a driver for sales.
Your successful B2B brand strategy must take everything into account. You need to incorporate the targeted nature of your B2B world and leverage the emotional connection traditionally ascribed to B2C marketing.
How does B2B branding affect buying decisions?
A strong brand identity assures your clients that you can be depended on. Over time, this creates deep relationships that find smooth terrain together and continue to be mutually supportive.
Your brand represents your company. In a global marketplace, people can access your assets at any time. Prospects in a different timezone look at your website when you’re asleep. Your brand strategy’s job is to make sure that they meet the same values and attitudes.
Clients use social proof to evidence the perception they have of your brand. Having high SEO ranking, social media engagement and other features of our digitized world are all ways to confirm their confidence in you and, ultimately, seal the deal.
Your clients’ reputation can be bolstered by their association with your strong brand values. Just like friendship, who you do business with reflects on who you are as an organization. Having a genuine brand message that enhances those around you is another selling point in your B2B brand strategy.
B2B branding as a competitive advantage
B2B branding plays a crucial role in gaining a competitive advantage in today’s increasingly crowded marketplace. A strong and well-defined brand identity not only sets a company apart from its competitors but also fosters trust and credibility among customers and prospects. When businesses successfully establish a compelling brand image, it enhances the perceived value of their offerings, enabling them to command premium prices and differentiate themselves based on value rather than just price.
Furthermore, B2B branding is a powerful tool for building customer loyalty and reducing price sensitivity. A recognizable and reputable brand cultivates a sense of trust and reliability, leading customers to choose it over competitors even if they offer similar products or services. By consistently delivering on brand promises, companies can create lasting relationships with their clients, promoting repeat business and referrals.
The impact of strong B2B branding extends beyond customer relationships. A well-established brand attracts top talent, as it serves as a beacon for employees seeking to work for a reputable and innovative organization. Moreover, a strong brand can act as a buffer during challenging economic times. Businesses with robust branding strategies tend to fare better during downturns, as customers tend to prioritize purchases from brands they trust.
In addition to bolstering market resilience, effective B2B branding opens up opportunities for brand extensions into new markets or product lines. A strong brand is often seen as a guarantee of quality and reliability, making it easier for businesses to introduce new offerings under the same brand umbrella.
By effectively communicating the unique value propositions and messaging that a brand stands for, businesses can establish themselves as leaders in their industries. B2B branding also contributes to sustainability and growth, as a well-defined brand strategy enables companies to align their operations and marketing efforts more efficiently.
How do you measure B2B branding?
There isn’t a magic formula that gives you clear measurements from your intricate brand strategy. You need an integrated, automated content management system and relevant analytics.
Ideally, you’ll have a research partner to provide high quality data. After all, insights from your metrics are only useful if they’re built on reliable custom findings. As a full-service consultancy, NewtonX is involved with the whole process of branding measurement, choosing the right methodologies to give you a short and long term picture of your brand marketing strategy’s impact.
What you measure depends on what you want to know. You may want to consider such questions as:
- Are we meeting our value proposition statement? You spent time carefully crafting an authentic identity and you need to know if it’s power is being fully utilized.
- How well are we using our B2B brand personas? Iterative research cycles keep your virtual clients up-to-date and compare their satisfaction levels.
- Are we where we need to be? Look at online metrics to make sure your brand strategy is integrated everywhere you have a presence.
- Is the investment worth it? Judging the ROI on your marketing investment is made more effective by measuring things like the lifetime value of clients and a decrease in the speed of your sales cycles. Measuring post purchase data around loyalty and advocacy is the mark of an advanced B2B brand marketing strategy.
Measuring your B2B brand marketing strategy isn’t straightforward. A strong research partner gives you decision quality insights that fuel business growth. The real secret to developing a strong B2B brand is to accurately capture – and listen to – the voice of your customer base.
