Four Useful Tips For Brand Building Of Your B2B Product
Brand building takes time and dedication. An unwavering and consistent message will pay you huge dividends and throw your brand into the rack of the most valuable assets you own.
A brand is like an insurance policy if you look from the buyer’s perspective. A brand of a potato chip bag tells buyers what those chips will taste like. However, in B2B sales, buyers often don’t know what they need, what’s available, or how it works.
So a solid B2B brand communicates this message, You can count on us to help you figure out exactly what you need, provide a product that will fulfill or exceed that need, and show you how to use it. A reputable B2B brand, from the buyer’s perspective, insures the buyer against risk before and after buying.
From the B2B seller’s perspective, the basic purpose of a brand is to educate the potential buyer and reduce the impact of price on the purchasing decision. Research shows that people will pay more for products and services if they come from a well-known company. Consider the following.
The 4 benefits of well-branded B2B companies
Clients give well-branded companies greater leeway and more opportunities than their lesser-known peers. Clients let these firms have:
1. Access:
Anyone who has tried to see a C-suite executive would know half the challenge is getting in the door. Executives put rules that their staffs must use to filter vendors, such as “Have I ever heard of this company”?
2. Permission to take on Bigger Projects:
Clients place more trust in well-branded firms and let them extend themselves beyond their own stated capabilities and track record. That extra amount of trust gives branded companies permission to take on bigger projects than more experienced competitors.
3. Confidence in Potential:
Often companies will invest in emerging technologies and services simply because they come from a company with the potential to set a standard.
4. The Chance to Recover:
Clients want to pay for the tried and true experience. The difference between a lesser-known company that fails and a well-branded company that fails is that the well-branded company will have the opportunity to restore confidence.
Basic brand building
Brand building is a science and it’s not complex. It does require strict adherence to simple guidelines and – most of all – diligent monitoring and follows through. Brand building is like laying a small smart foundation and look for attention to detail.
Here are the four steps.
1. Start with a quality product
A quality product/service that delivers superior performance is the foundation of a strong brand. Quality is mandatory for entry; however, not enough to make your brand unique from your competitors. Make sure every product or service you offer is the best available.
2. Identify your brand’s differentiator
Once you’re sure you have a high-quality product, decide on the singular distinction for your product that is most important to your target market. Put a lot of thought into choosing this differentiator because you want everything you do to reinforce that singular distinction in the market.
If you have a brand that is not first in your niche, consider carving a new niche where the brand can be first.
3. Create a brand name
Avoid anything that sounds generic or inauthentic. Generic words can be American, the U.S., national, precision, technical, advanced, general, reliable, standard, etc. Within every industry, there are one or two other generic words that seem to creep into company names and brands. These are words that companies think resonate with prospects but usually don’t.
For instance, a brand of pop up mosquito net often includes derivatives of some words like effective and killer. These words are used in an effort to fight the notion that mosquito nets are the best for proper sleep.
In addition, you should avoid inauthentic words. For instance, the word fresh used for frozen foods is definitely not authentic.
The brand name doesn’t have to include the company name. In fact, the brand should focus on the product, not the organization. Consider an acronym, an abbreviation, the founder’s name, your differentiator, an alternative spelling, etc.
Lastly, before you begin using your brand new name and start investing in printed materials and signs, make sure the name is legally available. Legality is important in the area where you will be conducting business in the next decade.
4. Create a logo and tagline
Since you have a quality product with a differentiator and a compelling brand name, now come up:
- With a logo that is memorable, and
- Find some catchy tagline.
Your tagline and brand logo have to make a lasting and immediate impression. Due to this, simplicity and brevity are important.
When delivering your message, make an effort to own one word or any short phrase. You need that one word or a phrase to be etched in the minds of your target audience.
The logo should be simple and include the brand name in a legible typeface. For optimum visual impact, your basic logo shape should be rectangular. Make sure the signature color is unique from your competitors’ colors.
Other logo considerations include:
- Does it tie into your brand?
- Is it distinctive?
- Will it morphs easily for brand extensions?
- Does it reproduce well in black and white?
- Does it reproduce well in scanned documents?
- Is it scalable?
- Will it imprints or embroiders well on merchandise?
Think about creating a brand style sheet that spells out exactly where, when, and how the logo and tagline should be used.
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