Why “Branding” is Even More Important for B2B
Posted on Mon, Oct 04, 2010 @ 08:24 PM
By: Jay Gronlund
Everyone seems to want to enhance their “brand”, do more “branding” or simply “re-brand” these days. But most people in both B2C and especially B2B marketing misuse this term or don’t understand the basic concept of “branding”, and therefore miss the real opportunity to distinguish their product or corporate brand.
Recently I’ve heard statements from executives like “we must start a branding campaign”, or “our problem is one of branding”, or “branding is only good for consumer goods”. What they’re really talking about is a communications or marketing execution issue – e.g. building awareness, lead generation initiatives, changing the name, or reaching a wider audience. This is not branding per se. Instead it is a misconception that distracts from the real opportunity (or problem) to build their business
In a recent blog by Seth Godin on “We’ve Branded Ourselves to Death”, he prudently recognized the “glut of brand advertising…and customers no longer want to be spammed with information about the product or service; they want to feel the connection of it”. What he means is that most advertising and even selling initiatives communicate a diatribe of product “features” and do not offer a distinctive value proposition or a focused, compelling benefit. It’s called “clutter”!
(Click “read on” to learn what Branding is really all about for B2B companies and why it is so important to develop a more meaningful corporate brand)
Jay Gronlund is a Principal at Global Partners who focuses in the areas of brand development, new product launch and marketing in emerging economies,. Jay has been an Adjunct Professor at NYU since 1999, teaching a course on “Positioning and Brand Development”. He has also written many articles on different international themes, as well as a book on Branding in the Over-the-Counter pharmaceutical industry. For more information, interested readers can contact Jay at jgronlund@globalpartnersinc.com