As a business-to-business (B2B) company, you may be wondering why branding is important for your business. After all, you’re selling products or services to other businesses, not to consumers, right?
Wrong.
While it’s true that the B2B sales process is different from the B2C process, branding is still an essential aspect of any B2B business. In fact, a strong brand can be even more important for B2B companies because they often have longer and more complex sales cycles.
Creating a brand is not always the first thing on someone’s mind when optimizing their Business to Business company, but it is a key part of the company’s success! A strong brand can have great power in not only gaining and maintaining profit but networking and creating customer loyalty. Consider the following five reasons why creating a strong brand could make you an industry star:
- Emotional connection with customers: A strong brand helps you create emotional connections with your customers. According to a study by the Journal of Business Research, brands that create emotional connections with their customers have a 60% higher market share and a 50% higher return on investment. This is true for B2B companies as well, as business buyers are often influenced by emotional factors when making purchasing decisions. A strong brand can help you create emotional connections with your customers by resonating with their values and aspirations.
- Brand preference: Food brands are a good example of real or imagined preferences for a certain brand. Once someone knows they like a brand of peanut butter, they will continuously buy that same brand for consistency. Your company’s brand will make you more recognizable, and other businesses will associate your good services with your brand to increase customer loyalty. In fact, a study by Cone Communications found that 63% of consumers are more likely to purchase from a brand they are familiar with. By building a strong brand, you can create loyalty and repeat business from your customers.
- Financial performance: A popular brand can shorten the sales cycle, allowing you to get more customers to your sales representatives and creating greater revenue. With this abbreviated sales cycle, your brand has the opportunity to charge a price premium and also sustain it. The financial payoff for creating, marketing, and advertising your brand can significantly outweigh the associated costs. In a study by the American Marketing Association, companies with strong brands saw an average of 23% higher profit margins compared to those with weak brands. A strong brand helps you drive financial performance: A strong brand can help you drive financial performance by attracting new customers, retaining existing ones, and commanding a premium price for your products and services. According to a study by Interbrand, the top 100 global brands have an average brand value of $32.2 billion, which is a 10.2% increase from the previous year. By investing in brand management, B2B companies can create value for their shareholders and stakeholders.
- Loyalty and Trust: Building a business is tough work. Once your business and brand are established, the ups and downs of creating relationships should level out. As your brand matures, you should have a customer base, allowing you to focus on other aspects of your business. A strong brand creates greater trust across sectors, such as customers, employees, and distributors, because that brand becomes associated with a positive reputation. According to a study by Edelman, consumers are four times more likely to trust a company with a strong brand. By building a strong brand, you can create a sense of trust and reliability with your customers and partners. A strong brand helps you build trust and credibility with your customers: According to a study by the Branding Institute, trusted brands are perceived as more reliable, competent, and trustworthy. This is especially important for B2B companies, which often rely on long-term relationships with their customers. A strong brand can help you build trust and credibility with your customers by consistently delivering on your brand promise and providing high-quality products and services.
- Evangelists: Once your brand reaches the pinnacle of its market, businesses will spread the word about your services. Your company’s name can be easily spread with a brand, and become a well-known business in your industry. If you’ve created an outstanding brand and a product that reaches a special niche, expect a number of evangelists to follow. Adding more brand marketing at this point can make a lot of sense from a revenue standpoint. According to a study by the Branding Institute, companies with a strong brand have a 50% higher return on investment for their marketing efforts. By building a strong brand, you can create a group of loyal customers and advocates who are willing to spread the word about your business.
In conclusion, creating a strong brand is crucial for the success of a B2B company. A strong brand can help your business stand out in a crowded marketplace, create customer loyalty and preference, shorten the sales cycle, build trust and loyalty with customers and partners, and create a group of evangelists who will spread the word about your business. By investing in your brand, you can see financial returns, increased profit margins, and a higher return on investment for your marketing efforts. Don’t underestimate the power of a strong brand in the B2B world – it can make all the difference in your business’s success.
Though your B2B Company functions a bit differently than B2C company’s you are still marketing and building a brand for people within businesses. It is still key to build a brand that entices the people behind the businesses name, and that creates a stronger relationship with them. To learn more about creating a business, you can check out my blog post that tells you how you can get started with building a brand!
Recent Comments