"Your brand is your promise." - Dana DiTomaso
In 2016, 2 out of 3 B2B marketers rank "generating high quality leads" as their top priority for the year, and their biggest challenge. (MediaPost)
What does that have to do with branding? Only a lot. In the case of B2B companies, branding is your hook. In many industries, it's the only thing that differentiates you from the competition.
Think about it. There's only so much you can do to increase the quality of a manufactured product. At some point, all of the options level out and blur together. When you get to that point, how do you convince a buyer that your product or service is better than the other guy's?
That's where B2B branding comes in. Branding obviously increases brand awareness. Brand awareness means you have a leg up when your buyer is comparing vendors. They're more likely to interact with you, read your content, and convert into a lead or sale.
Think about this:
So. Are you taking that extra step?
Here are some other things to consider when building your B2B brand.
B2B Branding Statistics
What You Need to Know
- It takes an average of 5-7 brand impressions before someone will remember your brand. Action Card
- 64% of people cite shared values as the main reason they have a relationship with a brand. Harvard Business Review
- B2B brands that connect with their buyers on an emotional level earn twice the impact over marketers who are still trying to sell business or functional value. LinkedIn
- Color increases brand recognition by up to 80%. University of Loyola
- Versus traditional messaging, "professional, social, and emotional benefits" marketing has a 42% lift in perceived brand benefits. LinkedIn
- 75% of B2B buyers want branded content that helps them to research business ideas, but 93% of brands focus their content on “marketing” their own products and services. MarketingCharts
- 45% of people surveyed said they would unfollow a brand on social media if their platform is dominated by "too much" self-promotion. BuzzStream
- 65% of B2B buyers report that the winning vendor's content had a "significant impact" on their buying decision. DemandGen Report
- B2B decision makers consider the brand a central (rather than marginal) element of a supplier's value proposition. Forbes
- B2B customers are more than 2x as likely to consider a brand that shows personal value over business value, because they perceive little difference in the business value between suppliers. Marketing Week
What Your Peers Are Saying
- 84% of B2B marketers said brand awareness is their top goal. CMI
- Only 54% of businesses have a B2B brand program in place for measuring brand perceptions. B2B International
- 72% of marketers say branded content is more effective than advertising in a magazine. 69% say it is superior to direct mail and PR. Custom Content Council
- 77% of B2B marketing leaders say branding is critical to growth.
Main Takeaway for B2B Businesses
Businesses need to strengthen their brand & connect with buyers on a deeper level to stand out.
Want to generate more leads? You have to understand your buyer. There's too much impersonal B2B information online. To break through the noise, you need to appeal to who they are as a human being.