When we think of the concept of branding, we’re quick to think of the usual suspects, the big-name, household brands. Nike. Apple. Coca Cola. How many commercials just replayed in your head? We don’t always think of the B2B companies of the world — like Salesforce or Slack — but that doesn’t mean they brand themselves any less, or need to brand themselves any less.
B2B tech brands, especially, are fighting for their own space within a very crowded market. They need the differentiating power of a strong B2B brand to attract the attention of their business customers and rise to the top. In this blog, you’ll discover why breaking through requires the strategic support of a B2B branding agency.
What is B2B branding?
B2B branding is the strategic process of creating a distinctive brand that expresses the unique identity of a B2B company. The best way to illustrate the nuances of the B2B branding sphere is to compare it with B2C branding. What’s the difference?
B2B brands can certainly have a lot in common with their B2C counterparts, but they also have major differences that demand unique approaches to branding strategies. The most obvious is the audience.
Think about the target persona for a B2B brand like Salesforce versus the target persona of a B2C brand like Airbnb. Both are major tech companies, but each is after an entirely different audience. The actual journey for their different audiences is entirely different, too. Let’s look at a quick comparison of the B2B customer vs. the B2C customer.
The sales cycle for the B2B customer is typically longer and involves more key decision makers, each coming in with their own set of challenges, pain points, and goals. B2B investments typically have higher stakes than a B2C offering, too, so there’s greater emphasis on building long-term relationships in the B2B world. Because of this, there are usually far more touchpoints along the B2B customer journey than there are for the B2C customer journey.
Where B2C sales and marketing strategies focus on appealing emotionally to their audience’s personal attributes and wants, a B2B sales strategy is built around the nuances and professional motivations of particular job roles. And while it’s impossible to keep personal motivations out of it (like, the desire to win a promotion), a B2B customer is usually making decisions on behalf of an entire team and organization.
Even the way a customer discovers and first engages with a company can be starkly different. B2C customers will typically encounter a brand through some form of an outbound marketing campaign — usually informed by their own purchasing or search history — and will engage only after the product or service appeals to them. A B2B customer on the other hand, having independently identified a need for their team or company, is likely to already have done their research into their options before reaching out to a B2B brand for more information.
Knowing these differences in the customer personas and anticipated journeys, we have to tailor the approach to B2B branding and marketing accordingly.
Why do B2B tech companies need a brand strategy?
Every company needs branding. This is especially true for B2B companies, but it's doubly true for B2B tech companies. The B2B tech space is crowded and growing fast. Rising above the competition means creating a brand bold enough to withstand the pressure of the industry and thrive in it.
Break through the competition
A compelling B2B brand will drive differentiation in a competitive market and give businesses a reason to choose you over other options.
Create organization-wide cohesion
Getting your company’s various leaders and teams onboard with your B2B brand strategy will reinforce a strong stance in the market.
Build customer relationships
Once your teams are all on the same page, you can approach your B2B customers with a cohesive brand that builds trust and credibility.
Drive long-term growth
A well-built B2B brand will have the capability to scale with your growth and evolution — even if that means making changes to it along the way.
Why do we care so much about B2B tech brands?
As a branding agency, we’ve worked with a lot of different brands in a lot of different industries. There’s a particularly unique transformation — one we love to be a part of — that happens when B2B tech companies trust us to build or elevate their branding strategies. We know how to tell their stories and how to get the attention of their audiences. We see the endless opportunities for these brands to carve out their own spaces in a highly competitive market and share with the world unique identities that align with their unique approach to addressing industry challenges.
You can hear more about our focus on B2B tech brands in this blog post from Gail Barlow, one of Mutiny’s founders.
B2B brands we love working with
AI / SAAS
Melody Arc is an AI-powered customer support operations platform that came to Mutiny to strengthen their brand messaging and revitalize their visual system to build an identity that would better reflect their position as a leader in the space.
FINTECH
Worldpay is a global payment solutions company that collaborates with Mutiny to bring a new perspective to the payments space and build a brand businesses can connect with and trust.
MEDIATECH
LTN is a global leader in media technology solutions that leans into the strengths of Mutiny’s strategic brand narrative development to deliver clear, cohesive messages that resonate with the world’s top media companies.
HEALTHTECH
DoseSpot is a growing ePrescription platform for healthcare providers that works with the Mutiny team to navigate the next phase of their growth and establish a new brand architecture, following a series of acquisitions.
If you’re a B2B tech brand, you’ve come to the right place
We’re a B2B branding agency on a mission to help other B2B brands break through boundaries, limits, markets, noise, and norms. Branding is powerful at any stage of business development, but can be particularly valuable for brands pursuing their next phase of growth.
Whatever phase you’re in, we want to help you build a brand that breaks through. When you’re ready, connect with us here.
