The idea of branding as a practice that only benefits B2C companies is fading away, as more B2B companies are discovering how it can take their businesses to the next level. The business-to-business world is often thought of as a cold marketplace where companies trade products or services based on logical decisions. And some business owners still believe that the practice of branding is just a matter of putting up a catchy logo, a website, and a catalog of great-looking pictures of their products. 

Thankfully, as digital transformation has permeated the business framework, many companies have realized the intrinsic value that branding brings when developing new business opportunities, increasing sales, building loyalty, and sustained growth. 

Explore with us three reasons why branding matters for B2B companies: 

1. Branding helps to build trust and loyalty, securing your market position 

2. Branding accelerates the decision-making process, increasing sales and income

3. Branding improves internal productivity

Branding helps to build trust and loyalty, securing your market position 

Through branding, companies can develop emotional bonds with their customers, which will eventually translate into trust, loyalty, and segment of the market. These invaluable assets, however, take time and effort to cultivate.

According to a survey published by Gallup, only a mere 31% of B2B customers believe their supplier understands their needs, and only half of the B2B customers (54%) strongly agree that their sales or account teams are trusted advisors.

To become a trusted partner for your customers, your company should use branding to:

• Research and get clear insights into what your customers want.

• Define your values and mission and communicate them with a consistent voice across multiple channels.

• Use storytelling to develop a brand story that will separate your company from the others. Make your company matter to your customers, without relying only on your product offering.

• Speak with candor about your goals, capabilities, and limits. It will improve your trustworthiness.

• Measure performance and how you are delivering your value proposition to customers. A constant performance evaluation will positively impact your reliability.

B2B branding helps your company to create strong foundations that reinforce your position in the market. Competitors have a more difficult challenge to tackle when trying to grab a piece of your share if you have a company with a strong brand.

Branding accelerates the decision-making process, increasing sales and income.

While it is true that B2B clients tackle the buying process differently than a typical end consumer, their decision-making approach will operate in the same way, first by emotion and secondly by reason.

A report from LoSasso indicates the reputation of a company as “the most influential factor when choosing a company to do business with.”

A good branding strategy will build up the reputation of your business. A company that understands how to convey a superior value proposition, unique and differentiating qualities combined with branding initiatives focused on developing long-term relationships with their customers, will not only be more appealing over the competition but become the first choice when it comes to the decision-making process.

“By building the right brand associations in your prospects’ mind, you can help to close the deal before the selling even starts.”
Jon Miller – Marketo

A well-regarded company is undeniably going to be sought after by customers and prospects to do business, boosting sales conversions, and delivering better profits. The buying decision will be faster if your company has a robust brand that aligns with your customers’ beliefs.

Branding improves internal productivity.

Employees are, without a doubt, the best ambassadors your company has. To live up to your reputation, first, you need to count on a motivated and capable workforce that will help you deliver your promises.

And if your team does not believe in your mission, you will not succeed.

A 2016 survey from Gallup assessing the relationship between engagement at work and organizational outcomes at multiple organizations highlighted the following business unit performance measures:

• 21% more profitability,

• Companies with engaged employees showed an increase of 20% in sales production and 17% in production records and evaluations,

• 24% in turnover for high-turnover companies (those with more than 40% annualized turnover),

• 59% in turnover (low-turnover organizations),

• Consistent associations between engagement at work and life satisfaction, daily experiences, and health.

The report concluded that profitability is indirectly conditioned by employee engagement and more directly by parameters such as customer loyalty, productivity, employee turnover, safety, absenteeism, shrinkage, patient safety, and quality.

That is the reason why brand identity plays a big part in creating a strong culture that your employees can relate to and identify with. This connection not only will reinforce your employees’ trust in the company, but it will also power up their level of commitment and involvement, pushing them to go the extra mile to deliver better and bigger results, enhancing productivity, and making your company thrive.

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How do you improve your B2B brand’s value in the long term? If you have any questions, or just want to chat with someone, book a free consultation at MarkUpgrade, we are always happy to hear from you.