B2B marketing is all about leads. So why bother with branding? A demand-gen marketer sees the light about branding

2. Emotion plays a real part in business buying

We like to think that B2B decision-making is all rational, based on facts, data, testing, and analysis. But remember this old saw, “No one ever got fired for buying IBM”? Buyers are still human. They inevitably form attitudes, and preferences. This is why a good salesperson will try to identify and nurture a champion in the buying committee, to help make a persuasive case to the group.

3. B2B relationships are based on trust

Business buyers seek a long-term relationship with their vendors. Trusted, reliable partnerships are essential to a company’s ability to delivering value to its own customers. What are you going to do if your parts don’t arrive on time, or the material quality is poor? I rest my case. 

But let’s remind ourselves that brands aren’t built by marketing communications alone. In fact, a trusted brand is established in the mind of the customer from experience—thousands of interactions, recommendations, stories, conversations—touchpoints built up over time. Where, tragically, one bad experience can destroy trust.  

The good news, though, is that this means brand building is the job of everyone in the firm. Orchestrated by marketing, which thus plays a larger, more important role in the firm’s success than mere lead generation and advertising. Let us B2B marketers take up the challenge of ensuring a positive customer experience across the entire breadth of the customer relationship. That’s our mission, should we decide to accept it.