Boosting B2B Marketing with Insights from Successful Consumer Brands

Not too long ago, when two faceless entities engaged in commerce, there were only two variables: the product and its price. Businesses were often perceived as places where employees sought refuge from the hustle and bustle, and in dire circumstances, could be held accountable for everything. As philosopher Yuval Noah Harari eloquently stated in his book "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind," companies represent some of humanity's most imaginative creations. The fact that these two imaginative constructs engage in trade with one another is nothing short of ingenious!

People often have a clear idea of what they want, but not necessarily what they need. This timeless adage rings true for many B2B companies navigating the realms of sales and marketing.

However, the approach to achieving similar outcomes might sound drastically different between a technology firm and a soap manufacturer. Perhaps this is why many B2B companies struggle to articulate what they truly require. Hence, we've curated the most effective commercial mechanisms from consumer trade to provide numerous B2B companies with a critical edge in the brand marketing race.

Value-Driven Branding: The Gateway to Emotion and Awareness

Growing expectations among buyers for high-quality, multichannel brand experiences have compelled consumer brands to roll up their sleeves. Consequently, it's only natural that the demands of B2B buyers have grown in parallel. Nonetheless, in B2B marketing circles, there has been a traditional belief that commercial logic and brand value, in relation to consumer trade, are somewhat dissimilar.

A simple text logo, a few stock images, and a business card website seldom suffice as a brand package when selecting a new partner for a B2B enterprise. Today, B2B customer experiences expect, at the very least, the same seamlessness as leisure shopping, and the impact of a high-quality brand is evident in purchasing decisions.

Whether it's a software company, a valve manufacturer, or a product on a store shelf, the mechanisms to connect with customers emotionally and consciously are fortunately very similar today.

Consumer brands built on emotionally motivating factors and strong values thrive in today's market because people crave shared meaning alongside products. Studies strongly suggest that both employees and consumers expect companies to take a more outspoken role in society; a purpose they can actively engage in.

The desire of people, and consequently businesses, to feel part of something bigger is also evident in B2B business. The more companies build their strategy and brand impact based on internal values, the less likely they are to do business with those who don't.

Thought Leadership and Social Selling

The guiding role of a value-driven brand in marketing naturally leads to thought leadership and the opportunities offered by social selling—a playground with plenty of opportunities for both management and sales.

Just like in consumer brands, in B2B businesses, a leader's visibility regarding the company's values, future, and societal role is personalized. The strongest B2B influencers dare to take the stage, support the company's vision, and influence as thought leaders.

The brand strategy and key messages also bring clarity to the management's public role alongside the company. The brand succinctly encapsulates the most important questions that the leader must be able to answer concisely: What is the deepest purpose of our company, and what is my mission alongside it?

While a visionary leader acts as the brand messenger, a multi-channel B2B sales process relies heavily on social selling today. Just like consumer brands, the innate need of B2B buyers to seek similar social experiences in their customer journey prompts them to connect with the teams and individuals behind the companies.

Social listening and presence online related to social selling are important in building customer relationships, especially in the prospecting phase. Social selling techniques have the potential to build trust at various stages of the sales process. At its best, a new customer relationship may be based on shared personal significance created through social selling.

Easy-to-Buy = Easy-to-Sell

The magic of the most effective consumer-targeted marketing lies in its simplicity. Behind simplicity always lies a good concept. A good concept is easy to understand and answers all the customer's 'what-how-who-when' questions. Complex and hard-to-sell service products are one of the most common stumbling blocks in B2B marketing.

Dyson's latest cordless vacuum cleaner isn't a huge success because customers are fascinated by its technology in detail. On the contrary, overly emphasizing it in the market might leave the product on the shelf. It allows every dog owner to enjoy a brief moment on the couch and in life without dog hair.

The most successful product and service concepts are always built through clearly illustrated and worded messages that further reinforce the simplicity of the concept. Especially the sale of expert services benefits from product-like visibility. Special expertise cannot be articulated briefly and clearly to a buyer who does not possess the expertise in that particular area. The customer is interested in their own problem and the value it creates for them, rather than the detailed and detailed content of the service.

How do I meet my manager's goals for better visibility in digital marketing without revealing my mediocre skills in the subject?

The best consumer and B2B products address the emotional goals of the customer, focusing on the buyer's personal and simple needs.

Seamless Existence

If in the past traditional digital and print advertising produced the desired results, today's new sales openings can very likely be found in social selling channels such as LinkedIn, Instagram, or even TikTok, just like consumer brands. For companies that have long relied on traditional channel choices, it can be difficult to understand that the best visibility could be achieved somewhere completely different from what they are used to.

Are you present where your customers spend their time?

Existence is strongly linked to the credibility of the company. A CEO who does not exist on LinkedIn may raise direct questions about the company's modernity and capability for potential partners. The same phenomenon is seen in consumer trade; when looking for a hotel, it is natural for the customer to first explore the hotel's Instagram account and make decisions about the next steps in the buying journey based on that. By being where customers spend their time, you can truly convince customers of the suitability of the company and its services for them and their values.

In the world of seamless B2B customer experiences, social media or other channels are not separate necessities but part of the customer's overall journey. While B2B sales has historically been built on impactful physical encounters between people and maintaining good relationships, new channels offer the opportunity to make this experience even more seamless.

The purpose of each encounter is to continue the story where it left off in a physical meeting or prepare for the next meeting. Clearly delineating the customer's buying journey and identifying relevant channels tell what should be emphasized in each channel. Bold testing and adoption of new channels can provide a significant advantage in B2B brand visibility and the ability to stand out from the crowd.