How do companies lining the shelves or popping up on your Instagram feed convince you that they’re the best at what they do? Through branding. There’s a reason that “Google” is synonymous with performing a search engine search, despite being a company name.
Though it may be obvious that consumer-oriented companies (B2C) need strong branding to stay afloat, research shows that business-to-business (B2B) companies are more reluctant to invest in branding. In fact, “the 14% of FTSE 100 companies that made no mention of the word brand anywhere in their annual report were all B2B companies” (via Brandcap). That means 100% of the FTSE companies that didn’t discuss branding were B2B companies! Branding is an asset, just like the ones on your company’s balance sheet, but this is one asset that’s not being leveraged.
The reality is that market oversaturation is just as, if not more, applicable for B2B companies as retail ones. It seems like everyone is trying to offer companies the same products and services. It can result in sensory overload for companies looking to purchase B2B services, and smaller, less dominant B2B companies can get stuck in obscurity.
So, how can you combat the slide into oblivion that many B2B companies face, accelerate growth, and improve sales with branding? Well, here are five techniques to leverage your B2B brand value.
1. Identify what makes you compellingly different.
Your company may know (or believe it knows) how it differs from your competitors’, but are you articulating it in a way your many potential clients can tell the difference? If you don’t know or can’t effectively express how your company differs from your competitors’, then how are potential clients supposed to tell the difference?
Maybe it’s that your company uses different technologies than others. Maybe your team has more certifications and degrees. Or maybe you specialize in slightly different deliverables.
Identify client needs and articulate what makes your B2B company different from others and market that difference on your website, sales tools, social media “about” pages, and company blog. What you always need to keep in mind is that you’re selling a narrative about your company at the same time you’re selling your services.
2. Define what makes you successful and publicize your successes.
For a company to want to hire you, you need to show them that you have a clearly defined standard for success. Around “53% of B2B marketers fail at measuring the output of their activities” (via Vivaldi Group); don’t be one of them. While it seems fundamental, without clearly defined performance measurements, it’s hard to know the value of your company’s offerings.
If you’re able to show your clients and prospects how successful you are based on tangible metrics, then you can justify your pricing and your methodology. It also builds trust between your company and new and existing clients. And in such a saturated market, that is crucial for B2B companies.
Once you determine the markers of success for the work you provide to different client segments, you should publicize that information. You can do that by writing a celebratory tweet, sharing that information directly with clients, including examples on your website, linking to case studies in your email signature, or developing strategic articles.
3. Connect with your network and share your company’s story
Whether reaching out to cold prospects, connectors in your network or the targeted decision-maker, you need to optimally arm your salespeople. The network opens its doors, as long as your company can answer: what do we stand for, what is our reason for being and how do we best talk about ourselves?
Ultimately, if you can address these and own them through a credible brand narrative, this will give potential clients the impetus to act, and it will enable your salesforce to increase and accelerate success.
4. Publish an SEO blog for your B2B company.
Writing an SEO blog is not only a great way to be found by potential clients, it’s also a way to show that your team is qualified to help. By publicizing your expertise, you show new and existing clients that you bring not only your services to the table but also your experience and knowledge. That builds trust and helps you stand out from other B2B brands.
Also consider posting those blog posts to blogging conglomerates like Medium or Ghost, so new people can find your company and your content, extending your digital reach. Using blogging platforms can also help establish your business as thought leaders in its area of expertise, which reinforces your reliability and quality.
5. Be approachable and accessible for potential clients.
Obviously if you want clients, they have to be able to find you. But, more than that, they also need to be able to contact you and learn about you, beyond easy-to-read and easy-to-find “about” and “contact” pages on your website.
Make sure to have updated pages on professional sites like LinkedIn and include links to your calendar in your email signature and in your social media descriptions. After becoming visible in multiple places, you should make it as easy as possible for potential clients to book a meeting and learn more about your company, no matter if they find you on social media or your website.
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Does your B2B company follow these techniques? Are there any unique ways you’ve leveraged your B2B branding that you would add to this list?
