I heard once that “luxury” was the most over-used word in marketing. Everything from apartments, to homes, to cars, to vacations and to (fill in the blank) always offers a level of “luxury” any sane buyer would want.

But if it came to a vote, I would actually rank “luxury” as the second-most overly used term in marketing. Without a doubt, my vote would go to “brand” as the most common term in marketing speak.

And for good reason. Brand strategy is a fundamental engine that drives (or at least should drive) your marketing decisions. The problem, though, is that very few companies do little more than talk about brand. When it comes to actually creating and implementing a unified brand strategy, most companies are inconsistent at best or, even worse, without one altogether.

This is particularly true in the B2B space. And there are several reasons why.

Four essentials of an effective B2B brand strategy.

1. Focused Brand Architecture
   In most B2B companies, sales, not marketing, is the primary driver of revenue. When sales cycles are long, when your offerings are complex and multiple decision-makers are involved in the buying cycle, strategic branding usually takes a back seat to direct selling.This scenario, however, is changing. According to MarTech.zone, business buyers today are roughly two-thirds to 90 percent through their buying cycle before they actually contact another business. This puts far greater importance on your company’s brand architecture.A brand architecture includes all of the attributes and proof points you need to build a clear brand strategy. Examples include your services, your users, your company personality, the functional benefits of your offerings and the emotional benefits your customers will get by buying what you have to sell.By creating a solid brand architecture from the very beginning, your sales team has a much stronger foundation to build—and close more sales—on.
2. Clear Brand Positioning
   A clear brand position should convey your competitive strengths, your points of differentiation, your target markets and, most importantly, your differentiated value-added offering. Why should someone choose your business over someone else’s, especially if they have never worked with you before or don’t have a personal relationship with anyone on your team?The answer is your value-added point of differentiation. It’s not only the core of your positioning, it should also be the focal point of your brand strategy and messaging. When you have something unique to offer that people want and can’t get anywhere else, your sales cycle and closings are both likely to be faster.
3. Customer Validation
   B2B brand strategy differs from B2C branding in one very significant way. In a B2B scenario, a rational approach far outweighs an emotional appeal. When you’re selling a Ferrari, it makes perfect sense to attract buyers with beauty, class, prestige and other highly emotional enticements. But when you’re marketing something like a commercial HVAC system, it’s your competitive advantages, value and bottom-line benefits that close sales.What’s critical from a rational decision-making perspective is to have an objective third-party validation of your capabilities. Customer testimonials, case studies, videos, favorable news articles and referrals are all more important in B2B branding than award-winning advertisements.
4. Brand Development Ladder
   Branding is a process, not a marketing buzzword. Developing a great B2B brand like IBM, FedEx or LinkedIn requires a corporate-wide effort that involves multiple stages and clear-cut guidelines that most B2B companies simply don’t follow.

If you think of achieving brand leadership in terms of a marketing ladder you need to climb, there are six major steps in the process:

1. Unbranded transaction-focused selling.
2. Recognition gained via mass marketing components
3. Positioning that highlights your value-added proposition.
4. Personality that demonstrates your company’s culture and philosophy.
5. Unification of brand messaging enterprise-wide.
6. Policy that establishes clear and enforceable brand guidelines.

Most B2B companies stop their branding strategy at the recognition stage, regardless of whether it’s a global enterprise or a mid-market firm. When that’s the case, the market has no clear understanding of your value-added differentiator.

Where does your company fit into the branding process? Is strategic branding just marketing speak, or does it play an integral role in achieving the business outcomes you want? If these are questions you’re finding in/for your current strategy, drop us a line to discuss!