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We have worked with just about every business model in the B2B space over the past two decades. Be that professional services, manufacturing, architecture, commercial real estate or financial services. With such a vast sampling, we’ve picked up some valuable insights into successful B2B brands along the way.

This article is meant to help CEOs, marketing managers and B2B business owners begin to think about their company value proposition, their ability to differentiate and how they might leverage a strong brand to build their business.

Defining brand

‘Brand’ may be the most ubiquitous and misunderstood business term in today’s B2B environment. For the purposes of this document, we will start with Walter Landor’s definition.

“Products are made in the factory, but brands are created in the mind.”

This is ultimately saying that the typical tangible brand assets that the majority of the public think of when hearing the word ‘brand’ (name, logo, product, advertisement) can be effectively managed by a marketing department, but the brand itself is created by the individual customer/user. From the experience a customer has with a sales rep to the receipt of an invoice, each interaction with a company builds a perception and expectation in the mind of the consumer. This makes a brand connected to every aspect of your business. Managing this perception is especially crucial for B2B companies. Let’s look at some numbers:

As you can see, while a majority (77%) of B2B marketing professionals recognize the importance of brand perception, they are missing critical tools essential to shaping that perception, and therefore influencing audiences.

Let’s take a deeper look at the invaluable process that strong brands follow in order to shape audience perceptions.

Gathering critical insight

TARGET AUDIENCE

39% of B2B marketers see the inability to reach the right people as
their biggest obstacle ⁵

While it may seem like common sense, understanding your target audience is essential to effectively marketing to and interacting with these individuals.  This is even more true for the B2B space, an industry notoriously fueled by relationships. This includes referrals, events and gatherings. You meet, you greet and try to engage with executives and decision makers that clearly need your services.

That said, these business development tactics are futile if you are not communicating with your target audience in a way which resonates with the individual. A more comprehensive understanding of your audience is essential. This can be accomplished through:

• Interviews/surveys of current and/or former customers
• Reviewing social media interactions and feedback
• Studying online reviews and/or critiques

With this insight, you can then document each of your target audience personas (executive,
buyer, user, etc.) and leverage that information to help create a brand you know will resonate
with each of them.

COMPETITION

The world we live in continues to get smaller. Today’s average consumer has immediate access to endless information, products and services. As such, businesses in a given industry are in near constant competition with one another.

The B2B space is no different. In most cases, your B2B company is competing with a sea of similar businesses offering similar services. That being said, no two businesses are exactly alike or function in exactly the same way. It is important to understand how your competition is differentiating themselves. An audit should be conducted of the 4-5 key competitors you routinely encounter. This audit consists of reviewing the following:

Positioning

B2B Companies can establish credibility for their brands by embracing and living by their values ⁶

BRAND PROMISE

A brand promise is a simple, yet powerful representation of the primary value offered by a company to its stakeholders, employees, vendors and clients. A single statement which drives every aspect of business, marketing, sales and office culture.

BRAND POSITIONING

“The reputation of a company (its brand by any other name) is so important that it could account for 50%…of the buying decision” ¹⁰

The next step is to focus on defining brand positioning. Your positioning dictates how that brand promise is communicated to your target audience and will serve as the genesis for all marketing and sales communications. These will in turn build your brand. Elements of a positioning include:

Brand design and communications

“One of the most commonly overlooked elements of a lead-generation engine is ‘The Big Idea’ – the creative expression” ¹¹

With a thorough understanding of your target audiences, key competitors and a powerful promise and positioning, it is now time to bring the brand to life. Utilizing all insights and materials prepared thus far, it is time to engage a creative agency to create the outward expression of your company, also known as a brand expression.

The brand expression is the verbal and visual definition of your positioning. This includes both visual (logo, website, business papers, sales materials) as well as verbal (tagline, website content, social media tone, messaging) and even interactions customers have with your staff (greeting on phone, transaction with a bank teller, etc).

Your brand promise will ultimately serve as the connective thread for the expression of your brand. Creating a unique, yet unified presence across all platforms ensures that your audience builds confidence and trust through their various interactions with your brand.

Brand guidelines are another supportive document that are often used in tandem with the expression platform, which dictate brand and design standards for staff members to reference to ensure consistent, on-brand communications.

CONCLUSION

The importance of ‘Brand’ in the B2B space has become undeniable. That being said, it is essential to ensure an understanding of how a brand – and more importantly your brand – is defined. Focus first on understanding the industry, your competition, and your audience. From there, outline your core value points, identify a unique brand promise, and invest in a meaningful creative expression to fuel marketing and sales efforts.

REFERENCES

1. https://www.circle-research.com/wp-content/uploads/B2B-Branding-Research.pdf
2. http://www.cmo.com/features/articles/2014/1/14/15_stats_B2B_marketers.html#gs.KklwYQs
3. https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/2017_B2B_Research_FINAL.pdf
4. https://www.circle-research.com/wp-content/uploads/B2B-Branding-Research.pdf)
5. http://www.cmo.com/features/articles/2014/1/14/15_stats_B2B_marketers.html#gs.NKhRq_Q
6. https://www.emotivebrand.com/trust-barometer/
7. https://slack.com/careers
8. https://repositorio.ucp.pt/bitstream/10400.14/17246/1/Final%20Dissertation%20Maria%20Alves%20Pereira.pdf
9. https://www.uber.com/newsroom/ubers-new-cultural-norms/
10. https://www.socialmediamktg.it/2018/01/brand-as-assets-brand-positioning.html
11. https://www.marketingmag.com.au/hubs-c/smes-daunt-mk0617/

The Path to a Perfect Client Gift.

Back in October, when the D+i team first started brainstorming ideas for client holiday gifts, we were struggling to settle on a direction to go. We pride ourselves on going beyond the traditional each year, gifting our clients with something that they’ll remember more than your standard See’s Candy Sampler. Past holiday gifts have included custom-designed growlers of a special edition D+i beer, Larger-than-life coloring sheets of an animated Denver skyline and eco-friendly recycling bins complete with original art from D+i Designers.

Everyone needs a good drink.

We first started down the path of a spirits-related gift, as the holidays tend to be a time for overindulging – be that in celebration or commiseration! Booze-themed gifts tend to be another expected during the holidays, however, and we knew that some of our more productive clients were trying to clean things up with a healthier start to the New Year this year. This posed the question: should we play the role of the ‘bad influence’ this holiday season?

We decided to leave it up to our clients whether they’d be imbibing or hydrating this year, while we would simply provide the means to an end. We went in search of the perfect tumbler cup to serve any needs, and settled on a sleek, stainless steel rambler to keep your ice water chilled or hot toddy steaming.

To put a D+i spin on the rambler, we decided to design custom leather sleeves for each rambler to sport that not only brought a rustic Colorado feel to the mugs, but also allowed for a *shameless brand plug* for D+i! The process included creating our own custom branding iron with the phrase “Good Influence” and branding the hand-crafted sleeves by hand in the D+i office. Luckily, apart from nearly setting off the fire alarm about a dozen times, we all made it home for the holidays unscathed. 

The ramblers were a huge hit with clients, and we are happy to have played a role as a ‘good influence’ this holiday season, whether that meant providing a liquid coat for a Zoo Lights outing or a burst of caffeine before hitting the mountain biking trail.

Let’s talk about brand

Possibly one of the most overused terms when referencing companies, products, services or public figures.

For our purposes, and specifically as it relates to the B2B space, let’s define a brand as a promise – A promise a company makes to its stakeholders, employees, vendors and clients; A statement which drives every aspect of business, marketing, sales and inter-office relations; The indelible impression which is created with every interaction the aforementioned group of people has with a company. This promise reflects why any one of those people should care at all about your company, your services or your worth. Suffice it to say, it’s pretty important.

A few examples:

• Slack – Simple is better.
• Dove – You are beautiful.
• Uber – Everywhere for everyone.

Defining that promise, and ultimately the positioning, can be a very difficult endeavor. However, it’s a critical step to achieving a point of competitive differentiation in what is usually an extremely crowded B2B space. So, how do we get there? Let’s examine a couple of key steps in a process typically facilitated by a creative services and brand strategy agency:

1. Understand your audience and their existing perceptions
2. Know your competition
3. Leverage that insight to define your promise and positioning
4. Express the promise

Defining that promise, and ultimately the positioning, can be a very difficult endeavor. However, it’s a critical step to achieving a point of competitive differentiation in what is usually an extremely crowded B2B space.

Audience insight

Understand your audience and their existing perceptions.

Let’s face it, business to business is a relationship business. For B2B sales, the “Who” is often more important than the “Why.” We cultivate new clients and partners through referrals, events and gatherings. We meet, we greet and try to engage with executives and decision makers that clearly need our services. In order to create effective sales and marketing tools, we need to understand who we are trying to talk to and what they desire. This critical first step involves documenting insights about your target industries and audiences, including creating personas for each. It can be especially useful to reach out to current, former and even lost clients to interview and gain an understanding of their perception of your company.

Head-to-head

Know your competition.

In most cases, your B2B company is competing with a sea of similar businesses offering similar services. However, if we examine closely, we typically find four to five key competitors that we go up against  on a consistent basis. That is because they offer the same services and similar rates to the same target audiences. To differentiate, we must understand each of our competitor’s brand promises and positionings. We can develop an understanding by visiting their websites, reviewing marketing and sales materials, and auditing their design and content to identify gaps. This exercise helps to get a very good understanding of how your competitors are positioning themselves against you to the same audiences.

Find your why

Leverage that insight to define your promise and positioning.

With the prep work done, now comes the exciting part! Armed with the insight gathered about our audiences and competition, we can start to craft our own brand promise and positioning. A common pitfall for B2B companies is to fall back on the company’s services, expertise or staff as a way to define their promise. Here are some example statements for a phantom commercial accounting firm using that technique:

• Impeccable accounting.
• Decades of experience.
• Expert knowledge.

Each of these examples leverages the least differentiated aspect of this accounting firm. Any commercial CPA could boast the exact same things. To get a truly simple and powerful statement we have to look deeper and ask harder questions. What do we believe as a company? How do our clients feel about working with us? Why do we come to work every day? Answering these questions starts to help us define a promise; something powerful and meaningful that clearly separates us as a company. Bearing this in mind, here are some improved suggestions that could better differentiate for the same firm:

• Our customers’ foundation.
• People first. Numbers last.
• Delight in our customers’ success.

These examples put the client first. They define why the firm exists and provide a sense for the feeling a client will have with them. These are the statements which start to differentiate a B2B company and provide direction for marketing and creative teams to create effective sales communications.

A common pitfall for B2B companies is to fall back on the company’s services, expertise or staff as a way to define their promise.

Daring creative that matters

Express the promise.

With a thorough understanding of our target audiences, key competitors and a powerful promise, you can effectively design an expression of your company. Providing these assets to your creative partner is essential to their success.

At D+i Creative, we develop an Expression Platform. This is a holistic approach to creating the verbal and visual definition of the positioning. We explore color, typography, identity, photography, messaging and illustration across multiple marketing collateral to get a complete sense for how the brand will create a unique, yet unified experience across different platforms. While a brand guidelines document creates consistency in application, an Expression Platform creates the foundation for differentiated and effective marketing communications.

Conclusion

So what’s your why? Your promise? The reason your company exists? The answers to these questions are at the heart of your true point of differentiation. Start with this simple truth and let it inform and give meaning to everything the company does, from hiring to sales.

Selecting a branding agency to trust with the future of your brand can be a lot like dating

Everyone puts on their best face in the early stages, but as the relationship unfolds it can uncover some issues that become deal breakers down the line. It is important to identify exactly what you are looking for in an agency partner, and ensure that these expectations are shared. Often, misalignments between client and agency are revealed early in the selection process, whether realized or not. With that in mind, we’ve outlined some red flags to be aware of in evaluating a new agency relationship.

1. Agency fails to conduct preliminary background on brand

While detailed research and background is often conducted during the Discovery stage of a project, an agency should come prepared with a high-level understanding of the client. If this agency truly aspires to win your business, they should be versed in basic company information, history, and positioning. Failing to do this initial preparation suggests they are not taking an interest in the company or product, or necessarily even excited about the project, only pointing to more issues down the line.

2. Client narrows agencies based on industry expertise

This one’s on you. Very early on in the selection process, brands can limit themselves by only considering firms who specialize in their industry segment. While there are certainly advantages to having experience in the space, it is important to evaluate based on agency capabilities and experience. If you are looking for an expert to design a hotel booking app, you should look for an agency with a great track record for mobile application design, not a creative agency who works solely in the hospitality space with a couple of app design projects in their portfolio.

3. Agency takes a cookie cutter approach to design

No two brands are alike. While there are certainly similarities within a competitive marketplace, brands rarely want to mimic a competitor. Case studies from past projects can give insight into project strategy and approach. That being said, if an agency takes a templated approach for design with no customization across clients, this firm is not invested in your brand. It is important to know they are entering new engagements with a fresh set of eyes, so to speak. No two business models, products, or target audiences are alike.

4. Agency doesn’t provide a primary contact

Having a project manager who owns your project is essential to a smooth design process. Balancing multiple contacts within the agency, as well as within your company, can be tedious and lead to inconsistencies as well as miscommunications. It is key for a firm to outline early on that you will have one primary contact. This doesn’t mean that you won’t have access to the lead creatives, it simply guarantees a seamless flow of the project as well as communication both internally and externally.

Selecting the right creative agency can be a convoluted process. Being mindful of certain red flags can help to eliminate troublesome agencies early on rather than discovering down the road that the relationship was never meant to be.

The historic McNichols Building’s grand reopening

In 2012, D+i partnered with Denver Arts & Venues to create a refreshed identity, signage and online presence for the historic McNichols Building’s grand reopening. The new identity and brand expression combined the most iconic architectural element of the building with modern typeface, color palette and a unique play on negative space. The website connects users with information about the history of the building as well as up-to-date information on upcoming events, programing and exhibitions.

Last year, the McNichols Building was temporarily closed for a reconstruction project to create additional courtyard and event space. Denver Arts & Venues enlisted our help once more to create a series of assets to announce the upcoming building reopening on September 15th.

ENGAGING WITH USERS IN A MEANINGFUL WAY

As a general rule, every brand believes that their product, service, concept, etc. is different or novel within its market in some way.

That being said, few brands effectively communicate this point of differentiation in all aspects of brand expression. This may be due to poor messaging and communications, a disconnect in online presence, or simply an ineffective brand strategy from the get-go.

The key to effectively engaging with users in a meaningful way starts with a comprehensive understanding of this point of differentiation and what it means to an audience. As mentioned in our blog The Importance of Understanding User Empathy, we explain how user stories, personas, and workflows ultimately guide the design process. An understanding of the user alone, however, does little to drive action or increase awareness. A clear point of differentiation must also be identified, defined and communicated to the audience in all aspects of expression.

We worked with Pursuit to design a hunting and fishing licensing app for avid outdoorsmen. During the Discovery phase, we identified a key differentiator in the Pursuit app – it allowed users to not only store their licenses digitally, but also organize multiple licenses by activity and state, and even renew those licenses directly within the app. This answered an unmet need for modern hunters and anglers – specifically millennials – who needed a more efficient way to organize licenses. We focused on this feature in crafting the Pursuit story and utilized beautifully simple UI design to allow users to intuitively navigate throughout the app.

In order to effectively interact with users, brands must not only communicate how they set themselves apart from competitors, but also must implement meaningful design which further emphasizes this differentiation and ultimately captures audience attention and incites further interaction.