Branding For Business-to-Business Companies | What springs to mind when you consider a powerful brand?
Google, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, IBM, McDonald’s, Apple, and China Mobile are a few of the most valuable brands in the world today1. These businesses are widely known to consumers and have generated strong brand equity.
However, who are their clients? Are they other businesses or are they individuals? Your brand strategy is determined by your target audience. And branding for businesses that sell to other businesses (B2B). As opposed to businesses that sell to consumers (B2C) involves important distinctions. Businesses make collective judgments about purchases with numerous decision makers. Which is a major distinction between them and consumers who make individual selections.
Therefore, it is imperative that the general public is aware of and knowledgeable about B2B brands. This article will discuss the value of branding for B2B businesses and look at a few strategies for creating a powerful B2B brand.
Brand Differentiation for B2B
Many B2B businesses struggle to distinguish their brand from competitors. As an illustration, the “Big Five” audit firms first struggled to set themselves apart from one another. When the Big Five merged, PriceWaterhouseCoopers performed a survey that revealed neither the business world nor the general public saw any striking differences between them.
Branding For Business-to-Business Companies
Not only did all businesses seem to have some distinguishing characteristics. But they also failed to communicate consistently with outside audiences what their organisations were like. ” 2 ” The scenario is still the same almost ten years later.
Despite offering comparable services, KPMG, Ernst & Young, Deloitte, and PWC specialise in various fields. The distinguishing characteristics of these huge B2B audit organisations are sometimes hidden in the B2B marketplace due to a lack of focus on branding.
Dell PCs are an illustration of an unique B2B brand. In addition to using a cutting-edge business strategy. Dell has consistently explained to customers and businesses what makes their brand unique. For instance, one of the first computer manufacturers to provide online custom configuration and purchasing was Dell.
Dell provides comprehensive enterprise resource planning tools and e-commerce solutions for their B2B clientele. Beginning in 2008, Dell introduced a new services and support programme for organisations called “ProSupport”. Which gives businesses more options for customising Dell services to meet their unique requirements.
Branding For Business-to-Business Companies
Dell has been a very popular option over the past few years despite the fact that there are many other companies offering computer solutions in the B2B environment. This is because Dell consistently upholds their brand promise to provide tailored product and service offerings, prompt delivery, and affordable prices.
Making the transition from a House of Brands to a Branded House
A B2B company can boost its brand by converting from a “house of brands” to a “branded house,” for example. Procter and Gamble is an illustration of a house of brands because they have a variety of brands in their overall portfolio.
Customers might not always associate each brand in the portfolio with the Procter & Gamble company. On the other side, a branded house is when companies, like the Virgin Group, utilise a single name for all of their goods and services. There are too many Virgin brands to name here, but a few are Virgin Records, Virgin Media, Virgin Money, and Virgin Airlines.
Due to its connection to the primary brand. Consumers are more likely to accept new products or sub-brands introduced by branded companies. Additionally, a successful sub-brand may improve the main brand’s image.
Branding For Business-to-Business Companies
To capitalise on the virtue of the original brand while enhancing its range of offerings, a branded house strategy must be carefully considered. After the plan is in place. Businesses should carefully select additional product or service categories so that the original brand may provide credibility and useful relationships.
The branded house strategy should be emphasised as having its own inherent risk; a catastrophic failure in one category might possibly jeopardise the entire portfolio.
A company in the B2B sector that has strengthened its brand by switching from a house of brands to a branded house is FedEx 3.
How Internal Branding Can Help
Internal branding refers to how well the company’s employees comprehend and believe in the brand. Staff members will be able to effectively convey the brand’s message to customers and other stakeholders if the brand strategy is well-established in their minds. This should ultimately benefit both the bottom line and the consumer experience.
A strong internal brand will aid in both attracting and keeping skilled workers. People who relate to your brand will want to work for you, and if they are employed by the company. They will continue to support the growth of your brand. Internal branding initiatives, however, must be treated seriously because all internal procedures, customs, and symbols must follow brand principles5.
Google is an example of a corporation with strong internal branding. Despite the fact that it may be considered both a B2B and a B2C company. As a result, Google was named the best place to work by Fortune Magazine in 2007 and 2008.
With guiding concepts like “Great just isn’t good enough,“. “Google does search,” “Google believes in rapid gratification,”. “you can be serious without a suit,” and “the desire for knowledge crosses. The corporate philosophy of Google reflects the values of the brand, to name a few.
Branding For Business-to-Business Companies
So how is internal branding carried out in practice? Employee training is a useful tool, but management backing is essential for a successful internal brand. The brand values should be communicated through corporate mission statements and reinforced by upper management’s words and deeds, as is the case with Google.
Conclusion
As you can see, while B2B branding and B2C branding have certain similarities, they also differ significantly. We have only briefly discussed a few strategies that B2B businesses can use to develop their brand. Even this succinct analysis shows that B2B organisations frequently overlook brand strategy despite the fact that it is essential to their success.