b2b branding cequotia whitepaper

8/3/2019 B2B Branding CeQuotia Whitepaper

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Business-to-Business Branding: It's Not an Option!How to Build Strong B2B Brands

Ramesh Venkat, Ph.D.

'Brands are the express checkout for people living theirlives at ever increasing speed.' - Brandweek

"Branding" was not too long agothe domain of FMCG companies,especially those with deep pocketslike P&G, Nestl, Nike and Coca-Cola. In the past few years,greater understanding of the role

of branding and the impact ofhaving strong brands has led towider use of branding concepts.

In fact, some of the strongestbrands globally are business-to-business brands. Among the mostvaluable brands of 2006 (fromInterbrand's list of Top 100brands), were IBM, GE, Intel (all inTop 5), HP, Cisco, Dell, Oracle,

SAP, UPS, Siemens, Accenture andCaterpillar.

Companies like GE and Dell, whichtraverse both consumer andbusiness markets, have beenparlayed their consumer brandingexperience to establish strongbusiness brands.

Interest in B2B branding is partlyattributable to corporate boards

becoming more cognizant of thefinancial value of brands. But thatis not the only reason. Brandingactually works in B2B markets.

In this paper we will discuss therelevance and importance ofbranding for B2B companies and

make the case for B2B branding.Then, we will provide a frameworkB2B branding.

Ten Reasons for B2B Branding

There are a few good reasons whyB2B companies need to focus onbuilding brands.

1. B2B Buyers Consider the Brand.It is myth to think that brand isonly for consumer products. Astudy of the B2B marketplaceby Accenture showed that thereare five types of buyers. In allbut one of them brand (brand

familiarity, brand reputation,brand tenure) featured at thetop of the list of importantconsiderations in the buyingdecision.1Remember that buyers andbuying committees businessesmade up of people. Rationaland technical features do count.But often when two offers areequal technically, the "soft"issues win the day.

2. Brand is all About Expectations.A brand-based strategy in aB2B company should result increating the appropriate as wellas consistent expectations. Bycreating consistency in themessage across channels (Web,tradeshows, brochures, sales


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presentations and service), thecustomer gets a clear signal onwhat to expect.

3. Strong Brands are Trustworthy.When IBM ruled the computerhardware world, there was asaying that "no one was everfired for buying IBM." That isbecause of the trust thatcustomers had in IBM. Even ifsomething went wrong, the bigblue was expected to fix it.

4. Brands Represent Relationships.B2B selling has always relied onbuilding relationships with thecustomer and the people withinthe customer's organization. In

the B2B context a brand can bea symbol of collaboration andpartnership with the customer.A great example is NationalSemiconductor, which allowsengineers to not just buy partsonline, but also design, simulateand test power systems onNational's Web site. By helpingtheir customers solve problems,the emphasis has shifted from

selling to relationship building.5. Brand is Not Features, but theWhole. A brand strategy shiftsthe focus away from specificfeatures to the completeexperience. It is easier to sellbased on the total value thatthe buyer gets, rather than afeature-by-feature comparisonwith competition.

6. Brand Supports Sales. Personalselling continues to be the

primary form of communicationwith customers. Brandstrategy, which articles thevision, the value propositionand sets forth the expectations(or brand promise) is a vital aidto improved sales performance.

7. Brand Means Differentiation. Anoutcome of a successful brandstrategy will be differentiationof your brand from your rivals'brands in the customer's mind.There will be clarity on why youare superior and on whatdimensions you are superior.

8. Brand Represent Lower Risk.As in the case of IBM in the1980s, when customers buy areputed brand, there is a clearsense of what they are getting.The brand promise and thebrand experience are not indoubt. That lowers the risk forthe buyer.

9. Brand Means Premium. Thereis ample evidence that theleading brands are able tosustain premium prices. That isbecause of all of the precedingseven reasons for branding.The customer is willing to paymore for clear expectations,trust and lower risk.

10. Brands are Strategic Assets.As Interbrand's annual brand

valuation studies show, brandsare worth a lot of money to thecompanies that own them.Even if you don't haveindividual product brands, everyB2B company has a corporatebrand. Manage it proactively isfinancially the prudent thing todo. Brands can help businessattract talented employees. Itcan also provide opportunitiesfor expansion into new markets.

We have seen examples of B2Bbrands expanding into B2Cmarkets because they are well-known and highly regarded.


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B2B vs. B2C Branding

Before embarking on a brandstrategy for a B2B company, onemust bear in mind the differencesB2B vs. B2C branding. The role ofthe brand and the end-user'sresponse to the brand are differentin the two cases.

Branding takes on more of anemotional tone in B2C settings.Consumer's emotional engagementwith the brand is critical tobranding success in B2C markets.

Often consumers will buy a brand

for status value (why else doesanyone need a $100,000 car? Oran $8000 watch?) and the need forbelonging.

In B2B, while emotions do play arole, brand building tends to focuson more customer value. A purelyemotional appeal is unlikely towork. While providing a humantouch to the brand, the value being

created for the customer should bethe primary focus. As we discussin the next section, the brandplatform for B2B should really bebased on value proposition.

B2B Brand Platform

The brand platform is thefoundation on which the brandstrategy is built. It essentiallyinvolves a clear articulation of the

brand vision and brand mission,brand values and brand identity.

Brand Vision and Mission. Thevision is a futuristic statement anddefines the brand's ultimatedestination or impact on its

customers. The mission is how thebrand intends to get there.

Brand Values. "Brand values" isthe same as brand valueproposition. The value propositionis an explicit statement of how andwhat value is provided to thecustomer. There are three types ofvalues embedded in B2B products.In developing the value propositionstatement, it is important to focuson all three:o Functional Value What can the

brand do for the buyer? Whatproblem can it solve?

o Economic Value What doesthe brand means in terms oftime and money? Will it savetime and/or money?

o Emotional Value How doesbrand make the customer orend-user feel?

The brand values should reallyrepresent the organization. Inother words, it should besomething that comes inside out.

Take the case of Virgin, whosebrand values include: value formoney, good quality, brilliantcustomer service, innovation,competitively challenging and fun.These concepts really capture theessence behind Richard Branson'screation of Virgin.

The value proposition shouldsuggest why this brand is superiorto the competition. In other

words, brand differentiation fromthe competition is vital to buildinga strong brand.

Brand Identity. Brand identity isreally a set of associations thatcompany would like to create inthe minds of customers. First, the


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company needs to describe whatthe brands stands for, what itsvalues are and how the companywishes the brand to be perceived.

Then a statement of brand identitycan be developed. How thecustomer eventually perceives thebrand (i.e., brand image) may bedifferent from how the companywishes to be perceived (brandidentity). It is this brand identityin its entirety or in part that is usedin marketing communications.When AT&T used the slogan "reachout and touch someone" or whenNike says "Just do it", what we see

are examples of how brand identityis operationalized in marketingcommunications.

A Framework for B2B Branding

B2B branding should start with thebrand platform. Without thisfoundation, focusing on creativeelements (such as logos andadvertising) is a big mistake.

We propose a B2B brand buildingframework which includes internalbranding, external branding, branddelivery and brand metrics.

Internal Branding. This is reallythe first step in our model. Thebrand vision/mission, brand valuesand brand identity have to beclearly explained to employees.They have to be engaged with the

brand. In B2B there is greatercontact between employees andcustomers. That means, unlessemployees "live the brand", thewords and imagery in marketingbrochures will be meaningless. If acompany says that "quality is theirmain focus", but the actions of

employees suggest otherwise,customers will find out.

Before communicating the brand tocustomers, ensure that theemployees are on board.

External Branding. The secondstage involves developing thebrand message aimed atcustomers. It is important to notethat brand message may vary fordifferent segments. Small businesscustomers may have differentneeds compared to enterprisecustomers. One-size-fits-all willnot work. All B2B customers arenot the same.

External branding should reflectconsistency in how the brand is

portrayed and in the words used.Logos, taglines and images play arole. Emotional appeals play arole. But in B2B markets, oneshould not go overboard with glitzyadvertising. The core (what valuecan the product deliver) has to bethe focus.


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Brand Delivery. As in anybusiness, B2B or B2C, the brandexperience is eventually the keydeterminant of brand success. It iseven more important in B2Bbecause the stakes are often veryhigh. Failure of a product canmean huge losses. If the promiseis 99% reliability and loweroperational costs, the resultsshould support the brand promise.This means attention to innovation,quality and service cannot becompromised. Building a B2Bbrand has less to do withmarketing communications

materials and more to do with howwell the brand experience isorchestrated for the customer.

This requires investment inbusiness processes, technologyand even employee rewards toensure a positive customerexperience at every touch point.

Brand Metrics. Finally, any

business activity has to bemeasured to ensure theinvestment was really worth it.Marketing has suffered from itsinability to hold itself financiallyaccountable.

The performance of the brandneeds to be monitored throughappropriate metrics. These couldinclude:o Brand Perceptiono Brand Market Shareo Brand Loyaltyo Customer Profitabilityo Brand EquityIn closing, building strong B2Bbrands requires a commitment tocustomers and delivering a

compelling value proposition in aconsistent manner.

Decision makers in B2B companiesdo respond to brandcommunications. We are dealingwith people and there is evidenceto show that B2B purchases arenot purely rational or based onlyon specifications.

To build strong B2B brands:1. Create a compelling value

proposition. Continue to dothings that will sustain thevalue proposition and evenimprove it (that includes R&D).

2. Ensure your employeesunderstand and live the brandvalues.

3. Don't dismiss the role ofemotions, but don't overplay it.

4. Brand delivery is critical tobuilding a strong B2B brand.That means having the rightbusiness processes and welltrained employees. Employeeswho "live the brand" need to be

rewarded appropriately.5. Continue to monitor the healthand value of the brand.Identify opportunities forimprovement, growth andleverage.

1Was it an Illusion? Put More B in B2B,

Accenture, www.onlineinsight.com, 2001.


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Customer Experience Management

o Customer Experience Audito Mapping as is and to be processo Customer Experience Designo Customer Experience Trainingo Customer Brand Experience Tracking360 Brand Management

o Brand Strategy, Vision, Identity, Positioningo Internal Brandingo Aligning Internal and External Communicationo Customer Brand Experience Trackingo Brand MetricsResearch

o Market Research Surveys, Focus Groupso Voice of Customero Competitive IntelligenceMetrics

o Customer Satisfaction Measuremento Brand Performance Measuremento Marketing ROIo Customer Profitability and Lifetime Value

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