There is a particular irony in branding: when everyone tries to stand out, we all start acting the same.
This is especially true in B2B spaces, where there is a greater level of overlap in our categories, customers, products, and lexicon. While all brand trends may change with time, we all follow them together – and the trends that apply to B2B are generally narrower than in B2C. Or at least the willingness to buck or set a trend is narrower.
So how do we build an identity that not only creates, but also maintains distance from competitors? We can start by asking the right questions during the branding process. Here are three questions from some of our team members with deep branding experience.
“Branding is less about what you value
and more about what you rebel against.”Emily Kendrick, Associate Creative Director, tmp
If you give a mouse a cookie, it asks for a glass of milk. You’ve heard that one before.
If you ask a B2B brand what they stand for, we answer…innovation. Confidence. Human-centricity. You’ve heard that one before, too.
Brands in the same categories tend to share the same values – which is natural. People share the same values, too: happiness, community, purpose. But, much like a glass of milk, positive values don’t lend themselves to differentiation. When our brands are all built on the same values, we all end up in the dairy aisle.
We can all avoid this pitfall early on by flipping the question. Instead of just discussing what we believe in, we should ask what we stand against and define our line in the sand.
Our work with Cohesity, for example, emerged out of a shared dislike for the fear-based notions that plague the cybersecurity category. A rejection of fear, as our rallying cry, led to more tightly defined values, a stronger brand, and a breakout moment at Re:Invent 2024 in Las Vegas.
Ask yourself: What does your brand reject?
“Personas are one thing. People are another.”
Dan Schrad, Executive Creative Director, tmp
If I had a dollar for every time I’ve had to consider what “a process-driven 40-or-50-something mostly male decision-maker” wants…I’d be a mostly retired, mostly tanned beachgoer by now.
While targeting and relevance have an invaluable place in our process, generalizing an audience’s preferences is a recipe for bland branding. Worse, it can box people into an echo chamber, where we’re only exposed to what personas indicate we should like.
Decision-makers have vastly different influences, tastes, and lives. So when you factor their personas in too strongly at a branding stage, are you trading “targeted” or “relevant” for interesting and appealing? Many brands do.
For that reason, we need to look outside of target audience and competition for inspiration. Brands that people think of as “bold, brave and visionary” are often just more aware of the larger context. They see trends happening in unrelated industries and experiment with adopting them. They think about the indirect influences their audiences might be exposed to. True “innovation” comes from making a connection to something unexpected – something outside of the anticipated.
Ask yourself: What – and where – is my outside inspiration?
“Put your product fact sheets away.
Brand with emotion.”Ryan Cooper, Strategy Director, tmp
B2B brands tend to overcomplicate things.
In part, that’s the nature of our products – specialized services that require expertise to sell and to buy. That, and the overlap in our offerings mean that B2B brands often answer the question of “Why us?” with a laundry list of product details.
Brand is where it’s most important for B2B to fight this instinct. In fact, doing so will improve your recognition. The human brain is always scanning for signals – the simpler they are, the easier it is for us to register them. Capabilities and tech specs can’t break through at a basic level.
Instead, we need to dig deep and think on an emotional level. Take Slack as an example. Their functional benefits are the exact same as their competitors. But the fact that their brand leads with personality and point-of-view creates both connection and distinction. They answer the question “here is why you should get this product from us” without a single product detail.
It can feel woolly to discuss emotions in B2B. But that’s how you make an impression and build a brand that stands out.
Ask yourself: If I couldn’t use one product detail, why would people buy from us?
Creativity creates coherence in the chaos.
When working on a brand, we often say that we’re building it. And what matters most on a build site? Pouring a strong foundation.
Differentiation is not something that can be tacked on after the fact. It’s a part of that foundation. That’s why asking the right questions – from the very beginning – make a difference.
If you'd like to have a chat about some of the ways we can help you build a differentiated brand, reach out.
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