Game-changing B2B branding strategy
It's much trickier to get right than B2C branding and marketing.B2B branding and marketing is much trickier to get right than B2C branding and marketing.
There – we said it.
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Now, arguably, the key to success for both B2C (business-to-consumer) and B2B (business-to-business) brands is to create a distinctive brand identity that…
- Resonates with your ideal audience
- Conveys clearly what you do
- And differentiates you from your competition
But on top of that, B2B brands have various other unique challenges to overcome. These range from more complex customer motivations to higher costs and longer decision-making processes.
Fear not, though, because at Root Fifty-Two, brands are our thing.
We’ve put together this ultimate guide to B2B branding to help you ensure that your business can flourish, no matter who your audience is…
What is B2B and B2C branding?
B2B is a business model where businesses sell products or services to other businesses to help them operate more efficiently.
Examples may include:
- A marketing agency (like us!)
- Software and SaaS providers
- IT and technology services
- Manufacturing and supplies
- Health & Safety service providers
B2C, on the other hand, is a model where businesses sell products or services directly to consumers rather than to other businesses.
Examples may include:
- A restaurant or cafe
- A clothing retailer
- An e-commerce website
- A personal trainer
B2B branding: What makes it harder than B2C branding?
There are numerous reasons that B2B companies require a more thoughtful and strategic approach to branding than B2C companies. Let’s take a look at some of them…
1. A lack of emotion-driven impulse purchases
Emotion-driven purchases are far less common in the B2B sector than in B2C. In the consumer world, emotions like fear, insecurity, or attraction often lead to impulse buys.
However, in B2B transactions, the decision-making process is mostly influenced by logic, a thorough cost-benefit analysis, and strategic planning. In most cases, this means that B2B brands are urged to create narratives strong enough to satisfy the rigorous demands of logical scrutiny.
That said, emotions haven’t completely left the building…
If there’s one significant emotion influencing B2B decisions, it’s the fear of making a costly mistake or investment. This fear can lead to hesitancy and longer decision-making processes.
Recognising this, we find that B2B brands do best when they can assert themselves as thought leaders and experts. By using compelling statistics, facts and figures, they can help their audience navigate past their fears and make informed decisions with trust and confidence.
At Root Fifty-Two, we also use this emotion as an anchor within our B2B branding projects. With this in mind, we shape colours, tone of voice, and brand messaging to offer reassurance, reliability, and feelings of safety to your audience.
2. Longer decision-making processes
Secondly, have you ever wished a customer would just hurry up and sign the dotted line?!
The nature of B2B transactions means that you’re often selling to a group of people, not just one individual. Whether it’s a product or a service, when company funds are on the line, multiple stakeholders usually have a say.
This naturally leads to a longer decision-making process, as each stakeholder’s concerns and considerations must be addressed.
Again, this point highlights the importance of your brand positioning itself as a reliable authority. By doing so, you can speed up these complex discussions, pacify any concerns and get your audience to agree on a conclusion more efficiently.
3. Nicher target audiences
If that wasn’t all – the harsh reality is that many B2B brands simply aren’t as exciting as B2C brands. Think about it, which are you most likely to rave about to your friends and colleagues:
- A new, mouth-watering pizza joint opening up nearby
- Or an innovative cloud-based project management tool you’ve read about online?
We know which product we’re more readily reaching for our wallets for…
The broader target audience and mass appeal of many B2C products and services means that branding strategies can be easier to get right.
Instead, B2B brands must pay close attention to their messaging, brand promise and brand story to really speak to the specific audience they want to reach.
4. Long-term relationships are harder to build than one-off B2C transactions
Finally, in the B2C world, a customer might be swayed by a one-time advertisement or promotion to make an impulse buy, and that could be the entirety of their interaction with the brand.
Meanwhile, B2B brands often rely on ongoing contracts or relationship-based transactions, where services or products are provided on a continuing long-term basis.
These typically require more strategic and thoughtful branding approaches than B2C products, where the sales cycle is much shorter and often revolves around single transactions.
This makes the overall branding strategy, in our opinion, much more crucial to get right.
So, what makes a great B2B branding strategy?
As explored in a previous article, branding is so much more than just your logo.
But that doesn’t stop many clients from asking for a new logo with the expectation of completely revamping their business.
However, as you’ll see above, B2B transactions are typically much more complex than that.
In truth, if you are looking to revamp your branding strategy, you need to consider a series of complex factors.
Let’s take a look at some of these…
1. B2B branding: Colours
Firstly, the colours you choose for your brand can have a profound psychological impact, influencing how your brand is perceived.
For many B2B brands, choosing colours that depict professionalism, reliability, and trust is key.
This can help overcome hesitancy by creating a sense of security and stability, which is essential in long decision-making processes and forming long-term business relationships.
Some very simple examples of the emotional weight that colours carry…
Red = Excitement, passion, action
Green = Growth, vibrancy, nature
Blue = Calm, depth, peacefulness
Orange = Fun, intimacy, warmth
Yellow = Friendliness, optimism, confidence
Purple = Spirituality, quality, royalty, exclusivity
We invite you to examine your current B2B brand and consider what the colours say to you.
- Does the icy hue of your blue send a cool and detached message to your customers?
- Or does the warmth of the dusky orange unintentionally imply that your operation is smaller or more intimate than you intend?
Making strategic colour choices can significantly influence how your brand is perceived, aligning it more closely with your desired brand image and messaging.
2. B2B branding: Tone of voice
Secondly, your brand’s tone of voice is crucial in communicating your brand personality and building trust with your B2B audience.
It should reflect your company’s values and expertise while also being adaptable to address the fears and meet the specific needs of your niche target audience.
A consistent, authentic tone of voice can help in making complex decisions feel more straightforward and reassuring.
→ Curious what a great brand tone of voice looks like? Check out our article on Monzo’s tone of voice guidelines to find out how they’re crushing it.
3. B2B branding: Brand promise
Next up, what is your brand promising your clients?
Research shows that B2B firms that make an explicit promise have a 48% higher chance of increasing their brand health metrics.
Your brand promise is a declaration of the value clients can expect to receive when they engage with your services or products.
For B2C brands, this promise could be relatively easy to deliver – for example, that you’ll have a great experience eating at their restaurant or that you’ll enjoy the taste of their new chocolate muffins.
However, for B2B brands, this promise must resonate deeply and confirm your commitment to delivering the best solutions to their problems.
Typically, all brand promises are a variation of the following three promises:
1) To deliver better value or quality
2) To be easier or simpler to use
3) To make you feel something different
Interestingly, research from LinkedIn’s B2B Institute and WARC shows that around 60% of brand campaigns do not make explicit promises to their consumers. This means that by really drilling down on what your brand has to offer and how you can address customer pain points, you can set the stage for your brand to stand out.
4. B2B branding: Brand story
To take it one step further, a compelling brand story that illustrates your brand’s journey, values, and how you’ve helped other businesses can be a powerful tool in B2B branding.
Your story is what humanises your brand, creating a deeper connection and understanding with your audience and demonstrating the long-term impact and success of your solutions.
Therefore, to create winning branding strategies for our clients, we’ll always consider the story of your business and how best to convey that to your ideal audience.
Questions to ask yourself when thinking about your brand story include:
1) Why does your brand exist?
2) What are your brand’s values?
3) What is your brand’s mission statement?
4) What are the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
5) What is it that makes you different from the rest?
An important point to emphasise is that in marketing, authenticity wins! Rather than showcasing a polished highlight reel, the most compelling narratives and brand stories are ones that show your passion, getting met with obstacles, and then finding a way to succeed anyway.
Has B2B branding got you feeling overwhelmed?
B2B branding can feel like a headache sometimes.
We get it.
With trickier niches, more complex stakeholder relationships and higher price tags, if you are struggling with creating a B2B or B2C brand identity that speaks to your ideal clients, you’re certainly not alone.