Is Branding relevant in a B2B scenario?

Let’s start with the Basics:

There are 5 key attributes in B2B Branding:

A. Intangible Attributes-
1. Trust
2. Relationship

B. Tangible Attributes
3. Price
4. Product
5. Logistics

Prices fluctuate, products rust and supply chains merge –
The only thing that keeps a Brand in the mind of the customer is the relationship that it enjoys with the Brand and whether it can trust it for using it in its most complex applications


B2B Brands:

In a B2B scenario, marketing strategies and the need to build a B2B brand cannot be achieved through advertisement. It depends on the price-sensitivity of primary and secondary customers:

¡ When both buy mainly on price factors, work on reducing their cost but not your price.
¡ when both buy mainly on non-price factors, competitive advantage depends on building relationships throughout the value chain, emphasizing service, product enhancements and the contributions of your processes and systems to customers' business success.
¡ When the primary buyer responds to value-added and other non-price appeals, but the secondary customer is a price buyer, your job is to provide the systems and product enhancements that help the primary customer cut its price to secondary customers.
¡ When the primary buyer is price-driven, but the secondary customer seeks value enhancements and other non-price reasons to buy, promote cost-justifiable product enhancements that improve the primary buyer's value-added appeal to the secondary buyer

Therefore, Creating Value for the customer is the Key to success



Creating Value

— Understand the value-chain and the effect of your product on the value-chain
— Create the next best alternative
— Make it important to all the stakeholders in the organization
— Innovate continuously
— Work with the customers to reduce their cost of manufacturing
— Be a solution provider and not just a product / service seller; work as a Consultant
— Upgrade your customer to the next technology by yourself
— Touch your customers’ emotion! – Be there whenever they need you!!!

Last but not the least

In a B2B market, the sales person is an extension of the Brand. So, take care of
i. Your looks
ii.Your clothing
iii. Your etiquette
iv. And most importantly, the customers’ cultural background

Therefore,

1. Empathize with the customers’ problem and be their ‘Good Friday’
2. And, remember the success of a B2B product is only achieved when not only the customer is successful – but, everyone down the value chain is successful.


Consider yourself successful when

1. The end-user demands your product to be part of the final product at her hand, e.g. Intel
2. Your Brand has become synonymous to the generic product category, e.g. Xerox