Lately, I have come across a number of articles and colleagues pronouncing the demise of B2B branding. I would like to offer a different viewpoint: B2B branding is not obsolete. At the same time, it has to be redefined to fit the context of B2B today.
In today’s market, people stick to what they know and trust. We have heard stories about a CIO’s voice mail greeting that says “if you’re not from Microsoft, Cisco, or HP, don’t bother leaving a message”. A few months ago, we wrote about the importance of getting to know your customers. Branding is how prospects and customers get to know you.
It is how your target customers internalize your value proposition and differentiation into a coherent and memorable message.
The Five Key Elements of B2B Branding
What does it take for branding to be effective in the B2B world? Here are the five key elements:
B2B Communication
For the majority of the B2B world, communication is very different from the traditional marketing communication in the B2C world. While frequency and reach still count, they take on a different meaning. Most advertising is geared to reach a large audience, the more the better (e.g., the Super Bowl). But advertising to a large audience is not only expensive, it is wasteful. What is important is to reach your target market, which means you have to know who they are (see our article “Know Your Customers – by Name!”)
Once you know who they are, you want to reach them as frequently as possible. Again, this could be very expensive and wasteful if not done right. Even the people you know have to deal with information and marketing overload. The only way to reach them frequently in a manner that will make positive impression is through permission-based communication that is relevant and valuable to them.
I am sure this makes sense to you, since you are a marketing target yourself. Think about the impact of an ad in a magazine or on the web, compared to relevant communication that you agreed to receive. Which has a better chance for you to notice and remember?
So why do we still see B2B software advertised? I truly believe it is mostly inertia. It is also an easy thing to do. Buy the space, pay a designer, and you have an ad running for months. In the process, you have also burned a good chunk of your marketing budget that you don’t have to worry about anymore… It is much easier than finding your target customers and building an ongoing, relevant, value-base dialogue through permission-based communication. If you want to show activity, advertising is good. If you want to show results, you have to work harder.
If those that criticize B2B branding refer to the need for targeted, value-based, differentiating, coherent, and permission-based communication, we are all in agreement. To me, this is just what B2B branding is.
What is your take?
Eran Livneh is the founder of MarketCapture (http://www.MarketCapture.com), helping software companies enter new markets, introduce new products, and increase market share. Eran is also the publisher of the MarketCapture Newsletter (see past issues and subscribe at http://newsletter.MarketCapture.com).
