Branding in B2B
Branding in B2B Markets
Business Marketing Term Paper
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 3
A MODEL OF BRANDING IN B2B MARKETS 4
CURRENT BRANDING PRACTICES 5
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN B2B BRANDING AND B2C BRANDING 7
IMPORTANCE OF BRANDING IN BUSINESS TO BUSINESS MARKETING 11
AVOIDING THE PITFALLS 15
REFERENCES 20
INTRODUCTION
With the growth of e-commerce and global competition, business-to-business (B2B) marketers are asking whether branding, especially corporate branding, can help improve their competitive position in the new economy. Although the power of branding is widely accepted in consumer markets, the nature and importance of branding in business markets is unclear and under-researched.
The key question motivating the research is to whom is branding important in B2B markets. The assumption is that branding is important to some, but not all, business customers. Price and tangible attributes of products in highly competitive markets often differ only slightly. To prevent their products from becoming commodities, companies seek to differentiate themselves with service, with the company brand, and with brands at the product level. Organizational buyers have long been known to consider service and other more intangible aspects of the offer, in addition to price and product quality. To Aaker, “Many industrial purchase alternatives tend to be toss-ups. The decisive factor then can turn upon what a brand means to a buyer.” Some industrial buyers may be more receptive to branding than are others. This paper provides an exploratory study of to whom branding is important.
The business literature, although limited, does include explorations of brand naming, industrial brand value, and brand equity. Brand-naming strategies were found to have mixed effectiveness. Beyond brand naming, industrial brand value is a function of the expected price, the expected benefits of the basic product, the expected quality of the augmenting services, and the brand
Business Marketing Term Paper
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 3
A MODEL OF BRANDING IN B2B MARKETS 4
CURRENT BRANDING PRACTICES 5
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN B2B BRANDING AND B2C BRANDING 7
IMPORTANCE OF BRANDING IN BUSINESS TO BUSINESS MARKETING 11
AVOIDING THE PITFALLS 15
REFERENCES 20
INTRODUCTION
With the growth of e-commerce and global competition, business-to-business (B2B) marketers are asking whether branding, especially corporate branding, can help improve their competitive position in the new economy. Although the power of branding is widely accepted in consumer markets, the nature and importance of branding in business markets is unclear and under-researched.
The key question motivating the research is to whom is branding important in B2B markets. The assumption is that branding is important to some, but not all, business customers. Price and tangible attributes of products in highly competitive markets often differ only slightly. To prevent their products from becoming commodities, companies seek to differentiate themselves with service, with the company brand, and with brands at the product level. Organizational buyers have long been known to consider service and other more intangible aspects of the offer, in addition to price and product quality. To Aaker, “Many industrial purchase alternatives tend to be toss-ups. The decisive factor then can turn upon what a brand means to a buyer.” Some industrial buyers may be more receptive to branding than are others. This paper provides an exploratory study of to whom branding is important.
The business literature, although limited, does include explorations of brand naming, industrial brand value, and brand equity. Brand-naming strategies were found to have mixed effectiveness. Beyond brand naming, industrial brand value is a function of the expected price, the expected benefits of the basic product, the expected quality of the augmenting services, and the brand
References: 1. B2B branding: Avoiding the pitfalls by Morrison, Daniel P. , Marketing Management 10. 3 (Sep/Oct 2001): 30-34 2. An exploratory investigation of the elements of B2B brand image and its relationship to price premium by Niklas Persson 3. The rise and rise of the B2B brand by Rick Wise, Jana Zednickova 4. Challenges of branding in a b2b context by Sheena Leek and George Christodoulides 5. Managing Brand Equity, by D Aaker, Free Press(1991) 6. Branding importance in business-to-business markets by Susan Mudambi, Industrial Marketing Management (Vol. 31, 2002) 7. B2B Marketing Techniques by Derek Daye, The Blake Project (2007)