In his introduction to April’s Referrers’ and Thank You Lunch, align.me’s Co-founder and Executive Director, Brett referenced the stage musical Les Mis for its excellent branding.
Part of what makes Les Mis
so memorable is its striking colour, music, and movement. Every time the curtain goes up, each audience member, new or old, sits in albania whatsapp number data their chair and expects to see a brilliantly produced performance. The Les Mis brand is a ‘promise’, and the cast and crew for each city’s Les Mis production deliver on . E the promise in every performance.
So, much like this iconic musical, B2B growth businesses need to prime their audience to know exactly what to expect when they interact . E and engage with them. Our lunch was focused on this topic, led by align.me Co-founders Hugh Macfarlane and Brett Bonser, and Tony Banks, a Creative Director formerly of M&C Saatchi Melbourne. We kaushal atodaria brought together this group of business leaders from across Australia. E New Zealand, and Asia to share insights on how to build and position their brands and the importance branding plays in B2B.
Why brand is so important today
Many consider B2B branding secondary to anything else in the business. Especially when compared to B2C businesses where branding is used to draw attention and make a sale.
The longer, more complex B2B sales funnel and buyer’s journey doesn’t seem to lend itself to eye-catching and memorable brands – but it is in fact antarctica business directory critical for B2B businesses to focus on building brand and positioning in today’s market.
Brett started us off by reminding us that most B2B buying motions are very ‘self-served’. He shared that:
79% of buyers wait until after they’ve
fully defined their needs to engage with a vendor
44% of millennials prefer no sales rep interaction at all in a B2B setting
The average number of customer stakeholders involved in the B2B buying process is 6.8
So, with the market more clogged than ever, and with buyers far more hesitant to reach out before they’ve made a decision, it’s vital to create a brand that positions itself well and can engage potential customers early.
So how can B2B businesses build up their brand to stand out in the crowded field?
Firstly, let’s define brand and position
If you’re a regular reader of our blog, you’ll know that Hugh is passionate about helping B2B growth businesses build up their brands and position themselves in their markets.
In fact, he’s written a case study into our own branding – with some great insights into the history and evolution of align.me – that demonstrates his own unique take on brand and where B2B businesses should prioritise it.
During the lunch, Hugh shared these views
in more detail and gave business leaders and advisors a framework for thinking about building brand and positioning businesses.
Before we dive any deeper, we’ll share Hugh’s definitions for four specific terms:
Your brand is what others think of you
Your position is whether they think about you at all
Branding is what you do to change what they think about you
Positioning is what you do to change whether they think of you.
