Through our mini-series on B2B brand building, five of the UK's top marketers reveal how they've helped build some of the best-known and most respected brands in the B2B space.
So far, these brand stewards have shared approaches to brand diagnosis and positioning, developing brand equity and tone of voice, and leveraging research and category entry points. But often the most important lessons are more about mindset than technique. Sometimes you learn them through failure rather than success.
In the final installment of the series, marketers from KPMG, RS Group, Vodafone Business, EY, and QuickBooks share the most meaningful lessons they've learned through their experiences building impactful B2B brands.
“Keep it simple”: Samantha Burns, KPMG Global CMO
With more than 20 years of experience building leading brands in the professional services industry, KPMG's Samantha Burns has learned a thing or two that can help B2B marketers.
First, keep your brand simple. “Like many large companies, we have brand attributes, values, purpose, and a mission. Considering all of this, it is very important to keep it as simple as possible, especially when delivering the brand through our employees. ,” she says.
Second, always make sure there is real purpose behind your brand decisions. “We have received a lot of positive feedback and have redesigned our visual identity. [was] It's not just about looking good, it's very important that every element has a reason. There must be a rational purpose related to one's position and actions. ”
In the end, Burns says she's a big believer in the old adage, “Show, don't tell.” “Preaching will get you there, but unless you actually live and breathe what you say, you will rarely get far enough.”
“Understanding your internal audience”: Jon White, CMO, RS Group
Looking back on his journey at industrial solutions company RS Group, CMO Jon White says the most important lesson he learned was making sure internal audiences understood the value of a strong brand before making changes. He says it's about receiving. He explains that brands were a “foreign concept” at RS Group four years ago.
“The mistake I almost made early on was assuming the organization was ready for marketing and branding and would figure it out. [talked about brand] If I had done it the way I always did, I would have felt a lot of resignation and resistance, and I think I would never have come close to what I was able to achieve with RS,” he says.
“After four years, we feel we have a world-class marketing approach. [where] Marketing is truly embedded in organizations and people embrace the value it creates. [But] If I had jumped that far down that evolutionary journey, they would have been lost. ”
“A consistent message creates more impact”: Amanda Jobbins, Global CMO, Vodafone Business
The idea of campaign 'attrition' is often discussed in a B2C context, but according to Vodafone Business's Amanda Jobbins, it's a misconception that can plague B2B brands as well. A brand's marketing team used to operate in six-month cycles, regularly producing new campaigns, creative and messaging, with significant investment each time.
“However, the evidence showed that this was not actually effective, not just on the business side but on the people side as well, leaving marketing teams ‘burned out’,” Jobbins said. To tell.
“Recent campaigns have shown that repeating creative, consistent messages and running the same campaign multiple times over a year or more can have a greater impact.”
“Build it with enough time”: Michael Benjamin, Marketing Director, Intuit UK
Financial software group Intuit uses a “very rigorous process” when creating brand campaigns, from research to ideation to concept to testing before launching into a go-to-market strategy. But UK marketing director Michael Benjamin said he discovered flaws in the process while working on QuickBooks' latest campaign.
“We didn't anticipate how much richer insight testing creative concepts could provide,” explains Benjamin. “We didn't realize how powerful that insight was in terms of changing the ideas we originally had.”
However, the original schedule did not take into account the need to return to the concept stage after testing. Ultimately, the team had to make the difficult decision to push the timeline further out so they could go back and change the creative.
“Then we had to go back and test again.” [the new creative] It was improved in the previous iteration. It was transformative,” Benjamin added. “So, in hindsight, I think you should set aside time to listen, listen, and apply, not only during the test but also after the test.”
“Building a B2B and B2C brand is not that different”: Piers Newson-Smith, director of brand strategy and planning, EY
Having gained extensive experience in the B2C world before joining professional services firm EY in 2020, Piers Newson-Smith is well placed to discuss the differences between brand building in B2C and B2B. But in the end, it makes no difference at all, he says.
“The nature of the audience is a little different, but only a little bit, because they're still human and they're still going to react the same way. And what you're trying to get them to do will probably be a little different.” “It will be,” Newson-Smith explains. “But many of the principles are the same.”
Brand strategists say some of EY's most exciting work in the UK is the result of staying true to brand but thinking more creatively. For example, in our partnership with EY and the ADHD Foundation, 70 umbrellas will be hung at the entrance to our London headquarters, and a screen will display one of its 'Better Questions': 'What if great minds don't think the same way? What will happen?'' was shown.
Newson-Smith says thinking creatively and using brand codes to create these big brand moments is “hugely important” for EY when used alongside the day-to-day content marketing that is its bread and butter. It states that.
Furthermore, he added: [can] You can create very strong brands in the B2B space, but I don't think any of the principles apply. [are different] In B2C. The audience and goals are a little different, but they'll still respond to something interesting and creative. [work] Just like anyone else. ”
This is the final part of a mini-series examining best practices for brand building for B2B businesses. Check out our previous articles exploring the importance of brand diagnosis and positioning, how to develop brand equity and tone of voice, and the value of research and category entry points.
