Whichever we are heading into the economic situation, we all know there is uncertainty in 2023. Many companies have started to freeze hiring, reducing marketing budgets.B2B marketers may be concerned about next year's marketing strategies and budget allocation.
According to the survey, companies with high growth rates plan to put more budgets on brand reputation. Some people argue that branding doesn't work in the B2B industry, but it is what B2B marketers look at to thrive in the competitive market. What is the best outcome that B2B marketers expect from the brand investment? And what marketers should consider a better branding strategy?
Brand Marketing in B2B
When thinking about CRM software, one or two companies will come to your mind. This is what brand power is. The brand stands at the top of the customer's mind, not through logical thinking. For a successful branding strategy, marketers should start with what your brand stands for and commit to it as your brand marketing strategy.
Brand Storytelling
A great way to build a strong brand is to tell a story. Storytelling can help your brand have an emotional connection with customers. A narrative report is not just about your product or service; it is more likely to talk about how your brand benefits the customers.
Branding is beyond Logo
One of the biggest misconceptions about branding is that logos and messaging are the main things to consider for the strategy. However, branding is involved a business plan, positioning, and long-term strategy. B2B brand strategy should be long-term plans that include where your product or service stands in the market, your primary audiences, and where you head in the future.
Align with stakeholders
The BCG survey shows that B2B marketers acknowledge that b2b branding impacts their business. However, they cannot get more budgets because stakeholders don't believe in brand marketing, and marketers debate that it may be challenging to prove the significance of brand marketing. For a successful brand strategy, stakeholders must remember that brand investment gives a good opportunity to stand out from competitors and stay on top of customers' minds.
Measurement
Branding is difficult to measure, but proper metrics will help you measure branding efforts.
Here is a range of KPIs that the marketing team should consider:
- Website conversion (Percentage of visitors who become leads)
- Website Traffic
- Marketing conversion rate (percentage of Marketing-qualified leads)
- Competitive analysis (share of voice- how many times that your brand mentioned compared with your competitors)
- NPS (measure customer loyalty)
Conclusion
Brand strategy is fundamental to determining where the marketing strategy will be heading. Branding strategy will help the company stand out from the competitive market. All stakeholders, marketing, and sales team understand brand investment is the key to success. In 2023, B2B marketers set a mindset on how to revamp their brand strategy. It is also crucial to decide the detailed direction for brand strategy and set up a clear brand vision.
