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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:

Targeted: your value proposition must be relevant to your target market, which means that the target market has to be clearly defined. While this seems rather obvious, your targeting may require some refining and refocusing. You have to find the right balance defining your target market in a way that will make enough people feel that you really talk to them. In most cases, this means narrowing down your target market, which requires some willpower and discipline (see our article on Positioning in the November issue).

Value Based: while branding in the B2C world can trigger impulsive purchase, B2B technology purchases require demonstrable justification (see our "Accelerated Proof" article in the September issue). Association with a clear value proposition is a requirement for a strong B2B brand. Success stories and testimonials with quantifiable benefits are the best tools to promote such value association.

Differentiating: there is no market without competition. Being able to compare and contrast is an opportunity for your customers to understand why you are best positioned to deliver on your value proposition. It is also an opportunity for you to position yourself against the competition that helps you clearly demonstrate your advantage, but be careful to make sure this competition is relevant in the mind of the customer.

Coherent: translating your value proposition and differentiation into a coherent message is what makes your brand stick in your customers' minds. The only way to know if you got it right is to test it. Ask your customers and prospects (or better get someone unbiased to do that) if they understand your value proposition. See if they understand why you are different. This could be a scary exercise, since in most cases you are already invested, both financially and emotionally, in your current message. But just think how scary it could be if you never found out!

Memorable: this is the ultimate test of your brand strength. Even if you did all the right things, and built your value proposition and differentiation into a coherent message that speaks specifically to your target customers, you still haven't done much if they cannot remember it. This is where we get to the role of marketing communication.

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?