5 Ways B2B Businesses can achieve long-term brand awareness

B2B brands have always followed where B2C brands first dared to go – embracing social, using storytelling, adopting influencer marketing. And whilst B2B brands are catching up, they still lag behind in one key area: their brand messaging.

Consumer brands have long understood the importance of making emotional connections with their audiences and used these to differentiate themselves. Many B2B brands on the other hand are still focusing too much on rational product messaging and not enough on having a brand narrative that taps into business buyers’ emotions. The reality is, business-people are consumers too, and as such do not leave their emotions and personality at home when they go to work.

Moreover, purchase decisions are not made off the cuff – the emotional investment is often even greater for B2B buyers, as the purchasing costs are higher and getting the decision wrong can have serious implications. This means creativity, storytelling and long-term brand building are just as important for businesses as the product they are selling.

The most successful B2B brands understand the value that marketing plays for businesses and know that brand building is a must for their acquisition strategy. They ensure that they build a connection and offer some value and learning in both the short and long-term and are adept at employing ABM strategies and storytelling to achieve this.

Here are my five tips to achieve improved brand messaging:

1. B2B marketing needs to appeal to both hearts and minds – make sure your brand resembles your business’s personality. Does your brand help to explain what you do and how you do it?

2. Create an authentic brand story around your ‘why’. This should be the reason your company came to be, and a transparent view into the people behind the business. Use storytelling to bring this to life. IBM are great at using storytelling to humanise their company, and were early adopters of this approach. Their TV ad highlighting the struggles within the American Education system and IBM’s efforts to improve schools across the country is twenty years old but is still a powerful example of brand storytelling.

3. Learn from B2C brands; be creative, especially on digital channels your prospective customers use. Use innovative solutions and smart content to inspire a customer to give you their attention. Visual storytelling is great at making highly-technical ideas more relatable and engaging. GE are particularly good at this; their Instagram pages are full of inspirational photos and videos that show how they impact our day-to-day lives.

4. Put your customer first. In order to relate to your target audience and humanise your brand, put yourself in their shoes. What are their challenges, and what inspires them? What value will they get when engaging with your product or service?

5. Have a clear and consistent message across every piece of content and every channel; from social posts, website content, emails to event collateral and sales decks – and everything in between. Accenture do this brilliantly; their signature branding is immediately identifiable and their consistent approach to their branding means audiences know exactly what to expect in terms of quality and insight, building ongoing trust in the brand. Start with the channels your customers engage with the most first. Consistency will build trust and a positive reputation.