The Fundamental Purpose of B2B Business: Enhancing Customer Awareness and Creating Customer Value

The Importance of Branding

In our daily lives and work, we are more familiar with the brands of consumer products due to the overwhelming amount of advertising. However, in the B2B sector, the power of branding is equally important. It determines the value presentation of products and whether you can engage in high-level, value-based competition with your peers.

Differences between B2B and B2C Brands

B2B product brands differ significantly from B2C brands in their definition, role, and establishment methods. In a B2B context, brand marketing activities are more subtle and pervasive. Many actions we take at work are aimed at building the company brand. This includes proactive brand building led by the company's branding department, as well as various marketing activities directed at customers by the solutions department, such as seminars, company tours, and case studies. Every interaction between employees and customers contributes to this effort.

First: B2B Brands Carry More Information

In B2B business, a brand is far more than just a logo or slogan. It embodies the overall strength of the enterprise, its technical level, service quality, and reputation.

For example, Huawei’s brand represents not only advanced technology and high-quality products but also personalized solutions, excellent service, and a strong reputation.

In the B2B sector, a brand is a multidimensional entity representing all aspects of R&D, production, sales, and after-sales service.

Thus, the information or value carried by a B2B brand typically includes the following aspects:

• Technical Strength: Showcasing industry-leading technology. For instance, Huawei’s brand value in the field of communication technology mainly stems from its continuous technological innovation and outstanding R&D capabilities.
• Product Quality: High-quality products are the foundation of a brand. Enterprise customers have strict requirements for product stability and reliability, directly affecting their business operations. For example, Siemens' industrial automation products are renowned for their high reliability and durability.
• Service Level: Excellent pre-sales, in-sales, and after-sales services are essential components of a B2B brand. Enterprise customers expect comprehensive technical support and quick response services. For example, Schneider Electric provides 24/7 technical support to customers through its global service network.
• Market Reputation: A good market reputation is at the core of a brand. This reputation is built on long-term customer relationships and consistent business performance. For instance, IBM has established a strong brand reputation through its long-standing accumulation and stable service in the enterprise IT solutions field.
• Emotional Value: While B2B brands primarily focus on business value, emotional value should not be overlooked. Well-known brands can evoke emotional resonance and recognition from customers through their mission and vision. For example, Huawei’s vision and mission are “to bring digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world,” which not only showcases its technical goals but also conveys its commitment to connecting the world. This emotional resonance can enhance customer brand recognition and loyalty.

In summary, a B2B brand is not just a name or logo but a reflection of the enterprise’s comprehensive image and competitiveness in the market. Understanding its true meaning is the first step to successful brand marketing. By continuously improving technical strength, product quality, service level, market reputation, and emotional value, enterprises can effectively build and strengthen their brands, gaining the trust and loyalty of customers.

Second: B2B Brand Marketing Is Not Just the Responsibility of the Marketing Department, but a Company-Wide Concern

The target customers for B2B brand marketing are enterprises. Compared to individual procurement, enterprise procurement decisions are complex, often involving multiple departments and decision-makers, with relatively long decision cycles. During this lengthy procurement cycle, it is necessary to continuously introduce the brand to customers and enhance their understanding of the brand and its value.

This divides brand marketing into two parts: brand image work led by the company's branding department and brand marketing work led by the solutions marketing department.

When the company's brand is not well-known or the brand investment is not substantial, the solutions marketing department often shoulders most of the brand marketing work. However, this goes far beyond just advertising or attending exhibitions. It requires in-depth planning and coordination through company visits, high-level visits, demonstration sites, on-site meetings, seminars, and exhibitions to ultimately achieve customer recognition of the company brand and its value.

Let's delve deeper into how to subtly build the brand from the solutions perspective and help drive sales success.

Third: Creating Value Is Essential for Sustainable B2B Business

Unlike B2C brand marketing projects, which aim to increase recognition and reputation in the target market to drive product sales, B2B brand marketing is not just about spreading product information but also conveying the core values, business capabilities, and market commitments of the enterprise. This needs to be closely aligned with project expansion needs.

The main tasks of solutions brand marketing, while similar to B2C brand marketing, also have significant differences:

• The core of brand marketing is to build and maintain trust. Imagine buying a bottle of purified water: one is a well-known brand, and the other is an unknown one. Which would you choose? Although both bottles of water can quench your thirst, you might trust the well-known brand more because it gives you confidence in its cleanliness and health benefits. Similarly, when your company wants to purchase a big data analysis system, you need to ensure that the system is not only usable but also capable of solving your specific problems, user-friendly, powerful, and backed by reliable after-sales service. You wouldn't want to deal with a vendor that might exit the market soon. Given the choice between two brands, you are likely to choose the one with stronger capabilities and a better market reputation. Therefore, brand marketing is not just about promoting products but, more importantly, about showcasing the company’s expertise and problem-solving abilities to build a good reputation and customer trust.
• Raising brand awareness is a major goal of brand marketing, achieved through diverse means. In the field of solutions marketing, brand awareness is enhanced through the publication of white papers, technical articles, industry reports, or participation in industry exhibitions and technical seminars to demonstrate professional capabilities and the latest research results. Communicating with industry analysts and using their reports to prove the company's strength can also help boost brand awareness. For instance, tech companies like Microsoft, Google, and Mate often share their latest research in cloud computing and artificial intelligence through technical blogs and white papers, attracting significant attention from potential customers.

Of course, B2B companies can also enhance their brand power through advertising and sponsorship, but the main purpose here is to showcase the company’s strength and use it as a platform for building customer relationships. For example, many F1 race sponsors are B2B brands, such as Oracle, Juniper Networks, and EMC. These companies use sponsorship rights to invite key customers to watch the races, then introduce and discuss products and solutions, thereby advancing project progress.

Another crucial goal of brand marketing is to establish customer loyalty. In the B2B sector, companies cannot launch loyalty programs like those in B2C businesses. Instead, they maintain close contact with customers through regular visits, teleconferences, and emails—so-called high-touch approaches. For example, sales representatives regularly visit customers to understand their latest needs and provide corresponding solutions. This not only improves customer satisfaction but also strengthens customer loyalty to the brand.

The above content covers the main goals of solutions brand marketing, but underlying these goals is the fundamental purpose of creating value. The attributes a brand carries and the objectives it aims to achieve are ultimately meant to encourage customers to purchase more products and services. Thus, the core purpose of brand marketing is to make value explicit and to convey that value. This aligns with the fundamental purpose of solutions marketing.

Brands can create value by enhancing the pricing power of products and services and increasing customer recognition. Both B2B and B2C companies face this scenario. For example, even for the lowest-end switches in an enterprise, Huawei’s products are more expensive than other domestic brands, yet customers accept this. Why? Because, in their perception, the Huawei brand represents better performance and higher quality. Even if other brands’ equipment is perfectly adequate for the use case, customers are willing to pay a premium for Huawei. This is the value created by the brand.

Fourth: B2B Brand Marketing Starts with Raising Customer Awareness

A successful brand requires not only planning and packaging but also promotion and marketing. B2B products, like B2C products, need to be promoted and marketed, albeit with different methods and content.

Solutions marketing includes traditional advertising, media relations, exhibitions, and website content marketing, addressing brand awareness issues similar to B2C brand marketing. However, the primary objective of solutions brand marketing is to build customer trust and create brand value, requiring an increase in brand recognition among customers. Therefore, the core goal of solutions brand marketing is to drive the brand from surface recognition to deep-seated acceptance.

Brand recognition originates from the daily work of all employees. Every employee interaction with customers and the industry, whether consciously or unconsciously, either builds or damages the company’s brand. Brand marketing activities do not have to be deliberate; every customer-related task contributes to brand building and is part of the company’s brand marketing efforts. The professionalism displayed during customer visits, the documents provided to customers, the conduct during customer receptions, every step in handling pre-sales and after-sales issues, and the proposals submitted during tenders—all these can be viewed as part of the company’s brand marketing efforts and influence customers' recognition of the company.

In addition to daily work, brand marketing involves several strategic initiatives, including:

• Content Marketing: Publishing white papers, technical articles, and industry reports to showcase the company's expertise and industry insights. This content not only enhances the company’s professional image but also provides valuable information to potential customers, aiding their purchasing decisions. Success stories and customer testimonials effectively demonstrate the practical results and customer satisfaction with the company's solutions.
• Digital Marketing: Utilizing search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) to improve the brand's visibility among target customers. Effective SEO and SEM strategies ensure that the company’s solutions rank highly in relevant searches, attracting more potential customers. For instance, a software tools company can optimize its SEO to rank higher in related searches, thereby drawing more prospective clients. In the digital age, professional media platforms have become essential for establishing the company’s expert image and brand influence. Sharing the latest technologies, industry insights, and customer success stories on these platforms can attract significant attention from industry professionals. In China, typical professional media platforms include WeChat public accounts, video accounts, Bilibili, Xiaohongshu, CSDN, 51CTO, Zhihu, Juejin, and Jianshu. Posting the latest technical articles and customer success stories on these platforms can significantly enhance the company’s influence in the professional field.
• Industry Activities: Participating in and sponsoring industry exhibitions and forums provides an excellent platform for directly interacting with potential customers and partners. It allows precise showcasing of the company’s latest products and technologies while keeping abreast of industry trends and competitors. It also helps establish connections with industry leaders and potential clients. Online seminars (webinars) are also a cost-effective communication tool. Sharing the company’s latest technologies and success stories through webinars can effectively attract target customers, engage in-depth technical discussions, and build the company’s professional image. Webinars allow companies to interact with a broader audience at a lower cost and answer customer queries in real-time.
• Customer Relationship Management: The nature of B2B business often involves a customer-intensive sales model, which requires actively visiting customers to maintain close contact. Face-to-face communication with customers can effectively drive project progress, even when there are no ongoing projects. It helps maintain customer relationships and ensures customers have a positive understanding of the company.

Through these methods, companies can effectively establish and strengthen their brand image, enhancing market competitiveness and customer satisfaction. Whether through content marketing, digital marketing, industry activities, or proactive customer relationship management, brand marketing must be customer-centric, consistently delivering high-quality products and services to stand out in a competitive market.

Conclusion

The business model of B2B companies dictates that brand marketing activities revolve around specific target customers and projects, with the core objective of conveying and creating value. This differs from the traditional goal of B2C brand marketing, which focuses on building brand awareness among customers.

The essence of B2B brand marketing is to transform customer perception from brand awareness to brand acceptance. Therefore, brand marketing efforts must be integrated into every aspect of customer-related work, without being confined to specific formats. This reflects a customer-centric business philosophy, which dictates that B2B brand marketing activities can take various forms, and all customer-related work can be defined and expanded as part of brand marketing efforts.