🤔 Is B2B Falling Behind B2C?
Let’s face it, when it comes to brand image and contribution, B2C companies are just better at it; they’ve had more time in their industry to get used to how they communicate with and market to their consumers. Brands like Coca-Cola and Meta (previously Facebook) have had years upon years to master the art of interacting with them, figuring out the best ways to advertise and catch the eye. They’ve been able to establish solid relationships, retaining and turning their consumers into loyal advocates, whether it be through social media, TV advertisements, or billboards.
B2B brands, on the other hand, haven’t had so long to get used to this concept of brand representation. Yes, B2B businesses have always existed, but for the most part, they’ve worked from behind a theatre curtain, in the shadows, and away from actual consumers. It worked for a time, there was no need to really think too hard about branding because your values as a business were mostly communicable through meeting with clients.
But times have changed, and social media has played a massive role in that.
According to Ascend2’s 2023 State of B2B Digital Marketing study, half of US B2B marketers said that social media contributes the most to achieving top-of-funnel goals, with email (43%) and in-person/live events (34%) coming in at second and third.Â
👀 What Are B2B Brands Missing?
It’s time for a bit of jargon now, so strap yourselves in.
New research by Brand Finance suggests that B2B businesses have about $1 trillion in untapped business value in their brands! Brand Finance calculates brand value using the Royalty Relief methodology, which determines how much a company would be willing to pay to license its brand if it did not own it, calculating it using a brand’s strength score, the royalty rate for its respective sector, and the brand’s revenues (told you, lots of jargon).
- Microsoft is the world’s most valuable B2B brand, worth $137.5bn (£109bn)
- Amazon comes in at second, worth $70.6bn (£56bn)
- The most valuable British B2B brand is Shell (eighth globally), coming in at $37.2bn (£29.5bn)
So here’s the thing, whilst they may be worth the most, their Brand Strength Index – which Brand Finance calculates organisation’s marketing investment and input, equity, and perception amongst stakeholders, and output performance measures – is nowhere near as strong as Deloitte, the world’s strongest B2B brand.
🤯 So What Do B2B Firms Need to Do?
B2B needs to keep at it. They need to really focus on and observe what brands from all different sectors are doing, not just their own. Take a look at B2C and see how they’re marketing and branding themselves – the only way to grow is to surround yourself with different points of view, otherwise, you’ll end up in an echo chamber which only breeds stagnancy and an inability to do anything different.
The world of B2B is just begging for disruption, it’s ripe for it, so let’s start directing our marketing efforts into our brands and think about what we can do to really stand out. After all, there’s a bunch of untapped potential in our brands, so let’s try and tap into it. Turn that business value dial up to eleven and really go wild.
Sam Hollis is a Writer for Fame, SaaS Marketer, as well as his own fictional short stories. He lives and works in Birmingham with his three cats and his dog (way too many pets, if you ask us)