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Should B2B Businesses Invest in Brand?

It happened again this week. I was reading a copy of BtoB Magazine, and a CEO from a struggling B2B company was quoted as saying: "Brand is for consumer products; B2B is all about relationships and people, not products - because most of the B2B products category is made up of commodity products and services anyway."

Not so. It's just as important for B2B customers and prospects to know what brand of manufacturer, supplier, distributor or professional services provider you are as it is for a kid choosing a pair of basketball shoes. It's all about differentiating your company and products from your competitors. And if it's well done, buyers will pay a premium price for that distinction. It's a proven fact that purchasers perceive brand name products to be of a higher quality, more reliable and worth more!

B2Ber's have historically relied on direct sales relationships to move products. They assign sales reps to an area, give them some sales materials and encourage them to start calling on prospects. To increase sales, they must bump their competitors by developing a personal bond, expand their area, offer concessions or make special deals. But the successful B2B's are sending their salespeople out with more than sell sheets - they're arming them with a unique, deliverable claim of distinction.

According to some recent Harvard Business School research, B2B marketers are realizing that developing an awareness of a brand's distinction among their customers' customers can capture a larger share of channel margins and build loyalty that can protect them against lower priced competitors.

Consider these examples: Intel makes no sales to end consumers, yet the company built consumer demand pull for its chips that required every PC manufacturer to incorporate and advertise "Intel Inside" on their products and in their ads. Would Dupont's shareholder value be the same today if it had not made consumers aware of nylon, Lycra and Stainmaster and linked these innovations to the Dupont name? Definitely not.

Do you think that brand building is essential for B2B companies? Have you seen other benefits in successful B2B companies that have invested in brand development?

Join the discussion. We'd love to know what you think.

The Easiest Way to Ruin Your Brand

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Patty told me about a terrible experience she had with AT&T - and how she'll never do business with AT&T again as a result of her four week battle with customer service.

I never suspected that I'd have a similar story. But I had a run-in with AT&T customer service this week that has left me unwilling to do business with the company anymore - and I've been a loyal AT&T customer for a long time.

But our experiences aren't isolated. According to MSN Money, AT&T customer care ratings, as measured by J.D. Power, plunged from 4 out of a possible 5 stars in 2003 to 2 out of 5 this year.

AT&T is a pretty strong brand - one that has been around for a long time and spends incredible amounts of money on online and offline marketing. Yet it seems to have forgotten one of the basics of brand building: you have to deliver your brand promise at every touch point. And there are so many ways that your brand interacts with and makes an impression on customers, employees and other stakeholders. Every action, tactic and strategy that your brand uses to reach customers and stakeholders - whether through advertising, a cashier, customer service call or referral - represents a brand touch point.

AT&T's promise to its customers of continuous innovation, embodied in its most recent tagline, "Rethink Possible," implies that you'll get state-of-the-art service to go along with your technology. But clearly that isn't happening at one of its most important touch points - customer service.

So even if AT&T's advertising, offers, bills, website, technicians and R&D people deliver the brand promise but the customer service touch point doesn't, AT&T will continue to fail to deliver its brand promise. And the company will continue to lose customers - like Patty and me.

It's important for all organizations to realize that all brand touch points leave an impression of their brand on customers, employees and stakeholders - whether they want them to or not. So the question every organization needs to address is: Do you want to reinforce or strengthen what your brand stands for by identifying and controlling your brand touch points? Or do you want to risk ruining your brand and its promise?

Even big companies like AT&T can forget how easy it is to ruin their brand.

Should you consider mobile marketing for your brand?

I saw this question online this morning and thought it might make an interesting blog topic.

We believe that it's a good time to consider mobile marketing as part of your brand marketing mix - as long as your target market uses mobile phones and devices. Chances are that they do, since the U.S. alone has 250 million subscribers. And text messages to mobile phones have a read-rate of 94% - which is better than print, TV, e-mail or direct mail.*

After all, we're a mobile society; the mobile device is the fastest growing communications device in history, with twice the reach of the Internet. Smart businesses are saying about mobile marketing: "Why wouldn't we communicate with our customers the way we communicate with each other?"

Brands like Jameson and Nestle are using mobile brand marketing because it provides direct interaction and direct response from consumers - and provides a good return on investment. Quick service restaurants like Subway, Pizza Hut, Arby's, Papa John's, Burger King and McDonald's all have run successful mobile marketing campaigns and intend to run more.

Jiffy Lube ran a successful mobile campaign contest with a keyword-short code call-to-action to win a year of free oil changes. Non-winners were offered a mobile coupon, which had a unique code for tracking at the point of sale, for discounts on wiper blades, a tire change or an oil change.

Mobile marketing gives brands another highly targeted marketing tool and an opportunity to engage and interact with customers on the move.

So if you haven't considered mobile marketing yet for your brand, you really should. What are your thoughts about mobile marketing for your brand? Have you done it and, if so, what were the results? We'd love to hear from you.

*Mobile Marketing News, February 2009

Power to the People Will Build Your Brand

The president of our firm told me an interesting story about one of her shopping experiences last week-end. She and a friend went to Nordstrom's to do some Spring clothes shopping and met a wonderful salesperson who gave them terrific service and made their shopping experience fun and memorable. Not surprising since Nordstrom's brand promise is exceptional customer service - every time.

What did surprise her and her friend was that, after they were done shopping, the salesperson asked if they'd had lunch, and when they said they hadn't, she gave them passes to eat free at the Nordstrom Cafe. Both of the ladies were so impressed and grateful that they sent her an e-mail thank you. And both of them have been talking about it to their friends and colleagues ever since.

What a great brand ambassador that salesperson is for Nordstrom's! And you can bet that those ladies will come back - with more of their friends. Not only did this salesperson deliver on Nordstrom's brand promise, but she also exceeded her clients' expectations. And in the process, enhanced the brand's image and built customer loyalty.

What Nordstrom's will get in terms of brand building is well worth the cost of the two free lunches at their Cafe. But none of this would have happened if Nordstrom's hadn't empowered this employee and given her the tools to deliver the brand promise of exceptional service - in this case, by offering her customers free lunches.

Visionary marketers, like Nordstrom's - and Kraft Foods, XM Satellite and John Deere, to name a few - are building their brands by involving and empowering their employees because they know that brand value, and therefore, increased company value, is created and delivered by employees. How about you?

The #1 Reason to be an "Undercover Boss"

I've watched a few episodes of the reality TV show "Undercover Boss," and one thing about the show rings true. It's critical for the head of a company - and the rest of upper management, for that matter - to understand how their employees deliver the company's brand promise every day.

Why? Because a brand is built from the inside out. Brand value, and therefore the company's value, is created and delivered by employees. They can positively (or negatively) affect your brand's perception and acceptance. One of my favorite stories that illustrates this point comes from a friend who was looking for a conference room at a Ritz-Carlton hotel. A busboy noticed that she needed assistance, put down his tray and led her through the hotel to the right room. When my friend thanked him, he replied, as all Ritz-Carlton employees do when thanked: "My pleasure."

That employee knew exactly how to deliver the Ritz-Carlton promise of anticipatory service - reflected in the hotel's motto: "We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen."

Over and over again on "Undercover Boss," heads of companies discover that there's a disconnect between upper management and the people who deliver the brand promise on a daily basis; that there are some employees who deliver that promise consistently and others who simply don't buy in. And once they gain that understanding, they're in a better position to do something about it.

Employees are your company's brand ambassadors and your best advocates. Their buy-in, cooperation and collaboration with each other and willingness and ability to deliver your company's brand promise can make or break your business.

So whether your company is big or small, get into the trenches and start working on understanding how your employees deliver your company's brand promise. It's the first step in ensuring higher customer advocacy, productivity and profitability for your business.

How Social Media Can Build Your Brand

With more than 74% of the U.S. population using social media,* more and more businesses are coming to the realization that social media can help them build their brands and customer relationships. And that's a good thing. When a customer has a good relationship with your brand, it's an opportunity for predictable and sustainable growth.

But simply using social media isn't enough. Smart businesses view social media as another communications tool in their arsenal and use it to convey messages that support their brand image and promise. The key is consistency. Whether it's a TV spot or a tweet, messages must reflect the core values of the brand, its distinction and brand promise.

An example of a company whose social media messages support its brand image is Whole Foods Market. In addition to offering coupons and deals on natural and organic foods through social media, Whole Foods Market reinforces their brand promise of promoting healthy food and a healthy planet by offering their customers healthy recipes, by providing tips about how to protect the earth and by inviting them to company-sponsored events that support communities where they operate.

Social media can be a great way to build brand awareness and develop long-lasting relationships with customers - as long as you stay true to your brand and think of every brand messaging effort as mutually supportive. This is critical for building trust in your brand, positively influencing consumers' perceptions and awareness and ultimately motivating them to choose your brand - again and again.

*"Using Social Media to Deepen Your Customer Relationships," Infor, 12/08