2B or not B2B – there’s no question: how to get on board the B2B brand boom

Seventy-five percent of consumers wouldn’t care if B2C brands didn’t exist, according to Havas’ inaugural B2B version of its longstanding Meaningful Brands report ‘Decoding B2B’s Brand Boom’. But the opposite is true in the B2B space: 81% of professionals would mind if B2B brands disappeared. And that’s because they’ve shifted from a sales-led approach to a recognition that B2B brand-building ultimately boosts growth.

Showing up & showing off

The pandemic didn’t just nudge B2B brands into the digital world – it shoved them in, headfirst. Social and digital spaces became survival kits, not add-ons. Combine that with the collapse of the traditional sales funnel and disruptive new technology, and the B2B space starts redefining how sales are won and relationships are built. The result? For B2B brands, ‘always-on’ isn’t just an option – it’s the new norm.

So it’s little wonder that, these days, brand image accounts for 40% of the decision-making for B2B sales. In fact, companies with strong brands financially outperform those with weak ones by almost 20%, according to McKinsey. Meanwhile, B2B marketing spend is set to soar to $70bn in the US by 2026.

Speaking at the Drum’s B2B Worldfest event in Chicago, Chase Cornett, chief strategy officer, Havas Chicago, said: “We’re seeing so much excitement around transformation, and how technology and innovation are enabling B2B. People are feeling equipped for those changes. They're feeling excited about them. But the questions that we have to answer are: is their brand ready? Is their brand meaningful enough?”

Change makers, not just buyers

Not surprisingly, the players operating in this B2B boom don’t just see themselves as functional buyers anymore. They see themselves as ‘agents of change’ for ‘progress within their organizations and the world at large’, according to Havas’ B2B Meaningful Brands Special Report’ which reveals how B2B organizations are embracing brand, community, storytelling, and more, to accelerate growth.

This shift is giving B2B marketers a sense of hope, despite the market pressures and challenges they face. Seventy-five percent say they feel optimistic about their career progression and evolution over the next five years. Meanwhile, 83% think they have a strong impact and influence on business decisions and the future of their company.

As Tony Mattson, global strategy partner at Havas, said, when speaking at The Drum’s B2B Worldfest event in London: “Put simply, building a strong B2B brand is critical for building a strong B2B business. The question is, how?”

Decoding the new rules for B2B brand success

1. Flex and adapt: In a fast-moving B2B world, brands can no longer afford to be rigid. Flexibility across the entire buyer cycle is the new power play. Marketers should also think of their brand as a series of engaging experiences with buyers and their customers – each one capable of driving real growth. “You need to think about how your brand is showing up in those tiny moments…that matter,” said Anna Harris, vice president of strategy at Ledger Bennett, a Havas company.
2. Get personal: The B2B purchase journey is loaded with emotion and is highly personal. Research has shown that marketers do well when they engage with buyers and talent as humans. Fifty-eight percent of B2B professionals recommended suppliers after having a positive experience previously, according to the Havas report. Which means that B2B marketers must have a more robust understanding of who their buyer is.
3. Balance human and the machine: Increased automation could depersonalize these relationships and purchases. So tailored, human-to-human approaches that leverage AI tech, are even more crucial – hence the rise in account-based marketing (ABM) in B2B. “As you automate, as you digitize, as you become an aggregator, you have to make sure that you are layering in that human touch and that consultative behavior, otherwise you're going to be disrupted by peer players,” advised Bre Rossetti, chief strategy officer at Arnold and EVP, Havas Media.
4. Lean into the power of partnership: Sixty-nine percent of the respondents in the Havas B2B report believe a long-term, trusting relationship with a partner/provider is more valuable than introducing a new supplier or fresh approach. Being a partner first and a salesperson second pays off, said Mattson: “It gives people the confidence to make sure that they can feel that you’re in service of the jobs that they’re trying to do.”
5. Design for the journey: The B2B customer journey can take as long as 10 or 15 years. Continuity is crucial for these protracted purchase cycles. A strong brand will unlock growth during that oft-quoted 5% of the time when B2B buyers are actually in-market. “What are you doing during the remaining 95% of the time when your buyers are in their awareness phase?” asked Harris.
6. Value people, purpose, & progress: A sense of purpose is becoming a key lever for B2B buyers’ decision-making. Marketers should focus on how they can align with the values of the brand they are targeting. Cornett describes this as a “table stakes” necessity, to “get in the door” these days as buyers “want a partner that has a vision, that sees where progress is going, where the industry is going.”
7. Be a village, not just a vendor: From Slack’s emojis to WeTransfer’s Future of Creativity events to Salesforce’s Sheryl Crow digital concerts, B2B companies are finding that successful engagement and ongoing loyalty come from developing a genuine community around their brand. Externally, this means 46% of B2B professionals recommended individuals they trust to their peers. Internally, it means thinking beyond leadership to empower and connect the next generation of B2B communities at every level.

For more of the latest research and insights into how B2B marketers can build powerful brands, empower talent, and develop rich communities, visit ‘Decoding B2B’s Brand Boom Meaningful Brands Special Report’.