Brand strategy is a “promise to customers” that a company makes to meet customer expectations.
Brand strategy has many benefits not only for BtoC companies but also for BtoB companies, and many BtoB companies actually carry out
branding
.
This time, we will introduce what brand strategy is, the benefits of brand strategy for BtoB companies, and examples of successful BtoB branding.
What is brand strategy?
First, let’s take a look at what brand strategy is and what it means.
●Brand strategy is a “promise to customers” in which a company responds to customer expectations.
The word “brand” originally meant a branding iron placed on the side of a grazing cow to prevent it from being confused with someone else’s cow.
The origin of the brand is “identification” and “differentiation,” which allows you to instantly tell that your cow is your own and not someone else’s by just looking at the branding mark.
This is fundamentally no different from brand strategy in corporate activities.
By simply looking at a company’s symbol, customers can instantly determine what kind of needs the company meets and what sets it apart from other companies. This is the meaning of brand strategy.
However, a brand is more than just a symbol. It is also a relationship of trust between a company and its customers that is formed by the company gathering expectations from its customers through various activities and meeting those expectations.
Therefore, brand strategy can be said to be a “promise to customers” that a company fulfills.
●Brand strategy is positioned above marketing strategy
Brand strategy is more than just public relations.
Relationships of trust with customers are formed through a variety of business activities, such as products and services, responses from company websites and call centers, and customer service by sales staff.
Therefore, all business activities undertaken by a company must fulfill the promise to customers defined by the brand strategy.
For this reason, brand strategy is placed above marketing strategy. A company’s business activities are organically linked as it strives to fulfill its promises to customers as stipulated in its brand strategy.
Benefits of BtoB branding
Many people may think that “brand strategy is not necessary for BtoB companies.”
It is true that companies that are BtoB customers are less likely to “remember a brand name and make an impulse purchase” like general consumers.
However, as we will see below, the purchasing process in BtoB companies involves people involved in purchasing, such as on-site personnel, internal reviewers, and company executives.
BtoB branding allows the purchasing process to proceed smoothly by influencing these purchasers.
●Benefits of BtoB branding for on-site personnel
In a company’s purchasing process, the first step is to develop the item internally by field personnel.
BtoB branding has the following advantages at the stage of internal project development.
・Inquiry effect
When developing a case within the company, the person in charge of the field clarifies the company’s problem and considers which company can solve the problem.
At this stage, BtoB branding can be expected to have the effect of making it easier to make inquiries such as requesting materials.
・Open the door effect
Once the problem recognition has been clarified, ordering requirements will be defined next.
At this stage, BtoB branding has the effect of easing resistance to sales activities and making it easier to open the door to salespeople.
●Benefits of BtoB branding for internal reviewers
In a company’s purchasing process, the selection of business partners is carried out following the project formulation. BtoB branding has the following benefits at this stage:
・Nomination effect
When selecting business partners, candidate vendors are first selected and proposals are requested. At this stage, BtoB branding has the effect of making it easier for your company to be included in the list of candidate vendors.
・Confidence effect
The second step in selecting a business partner involves evaluating the proposals received from potential vendors.
At this stage, BtoB branding has the effect of making you evaluate your company’s proposals more positively and giving you confidence and security in choosing your company as a business partner.
●Benefits of BtoB branding for upper management
The final step in a company’s purchasing process is approval by company management. BtoB branding has the following effects at this stage:
・Consensus effect
BtoB branding has the effect of making it easier to obtain purchasing decisions from upper management.
When senior management selects business partners, they will not only evaluate the products and services themselves, but will also consider the candidate company’s strategies, long-term prospects, and management stability.
Therefore, it can be said that corporate branding is effective because it is a transaction between companies.
Branding success stories of BtoB companies
Check out the following examples of branding success stories for BtoB companies.
●IBM success story
IBM advocates “cognitive computing” as a branding for its solutions, which is linked to sales of its own artificial intelligence, “Watson.”
Cognitive computing refers to solutions that go beyond “improving the efficiency of fixed-form processing” performed by conventional computers, and can also handle “interpretation” and “judgment.”
If the understanding of cognitive computing, which is a new solution, deepens as a result of branding, the company’s product “Watson”, which actually realizes cognitive computing, will sell that much.
●Dolby Laboratories case study
Dolby Laboratories, which licenses and sells noise reduction technology, displays its trademark on products that use its technology, and is working to maintain a high quality image of its products.
As a result, the Dolby Laboratories trademark is recognized by general consumers as a symbol that guarantees high sound quality, and by boosting sales of products bearing the trademark, the company can earn more licensing income.
summary
◆ Brand strategy is a “promise to customers” in which a company meets customer expectations.
◆ Brand strategy is positioned above marketing strategy
◆ Brand strategy has many benefits for BtoB companies as well.