Openion - Why B2B Organizations Need Prioritize Branding

The business-to-business world is fragmented, and inconsistency in branding has been a challenge facing B2B brands for decades. It's easy to jump to conclusions and say “well, it's just a B2B brand, it's not like buyers are basing their decision on the brand over the quality of the product or service.'”

And perhaps five years ago that would have been true, but let’s face it: B2B buyers have changed, today is there really a difference between your B2B buyer and your average consumer? In the past, it was safe to say that buyers were hyper-focused on the sales process and the quality of the purchase. If the sell lead or product made sense and was going to take their business to the next level, it was a done deal.

Today, it’s an entirely different story. The role of the B2B buyer has evolved along with the rest of the world, and importantly, power has gradually shifted to the hands of millennials. Despite 73% of millennials making purchasing decisions, we are still seeing the world of B2B approach these individuals as if they are the same buyer from 5, 10 and even 20 years ago.

So it’s no surprise that marketers are missing the mark when it comes to this new generation of buyers—millennials don’t make their purchasing decisions the same way their parents did, even in B2B. The all-encompassing world of consumer marketing has changed their perceptions and millennials want a quality product, an experience, a story with emotion: a brand, and not just in their personal life.

We know who the new buyer is, and we know what they’re looking for in a purchasing decision, so why hasn’t branding become a priority for B2B trade sites? Do marketers not understand how their buyers are changing, do executives not buy into the importance of branding, or is there a fundamental roadblock in the nature of B2B marketing that’s driving the prevalence of inconsistency in B2B branding?

If the executives aren’t buying into the importance of branding, maybe it’s time we did a better job of explaining just how critical branding can be to an organization’s success. Branding is at the core of how people react when they think about your name, product or service because of what they see, hear and feel when they interact with your brand. This means all marketing efforts must fit within brand guidelines and address the needs of potential buyers, all while trying to stand out from the competition.

If marketers do find the right way to connect with their buyers, they’re still facing a significant challenge—they wear too many hats within their roles. Not only do they have to come up with all of the creative ideas, but they also have to execute them promptly with limited resources and a stringent budget.

It’s no surprise that some things slip through the cracks as marketers are jumping from one project to the next without any room for failure. When content is required, and the turnaround is tight, it’s understandable that B2B marketers don’t focus on developing strategic content that fits into the brand - instead, they’re just delivering what’s been asked of them because that’s all they have the time and resources to do.

Unfortunately, marketers get stuck balancing a bunch of spinning plates, and priorities can shift—this renders some aspects of brand strategy untouched or neglected, which can leave the audience without the full picture of a brand.