Building B2B Brands by Improving the Customer Experience

Brand Positioning: The Move to Value

Historically, many B2B companies believed that branding was a B2C marketing imperative and had limited value in B2B markets. At best, branding was often associsted with a recognizable logo or tag line. Why?

• Purchasing in the B2B world is more of a rational price decision, and emotions play a limited role in the purchase decision;
• The customer base was often defined and narrow, so there was no need to spend money on branding;
• The direct sales representative owns (and often is) the brand. Face-to-face interactions deliver the brand message and often deliver much of the value;
• The sales channel was often too complex, so traditional branding methods became difficult to achieve less effective;

However, now more than ever, the changing dynamics of B2B sales have many marketers rethinking B2B branding. A recent McKinsey study states,” Decision-making authority for purchases is slipping away from individuals in familiar roles—often those with whom B2B sales teams have long-standing relationships. Business-to-business selling has become less linear as customers research, evaluate, select, and share experiences about products.  Businesses today often look for partners, not just vendors, attempting to improve and position their brands. Customers are looking for vendors that can work with them to increase value, develop new products and services, and solve problems across the entire value chain.  

In today’s environment of rapid information flow and internet search, all participants in the value chain (customers, special interest groups, suppliers, consumers, etc.) are getting involved in the delivery of the value. Today’s purchasing decisions are increasingly complex, often incorporating social positions and corporate culture (i.e., sustainability record, innovation history, raw material sourcing, labor practices, etc.) of potential partners into the evaluation process. So B2B suppliers must think more about brand image and take a more holistic approach in creating and conveying their brand.