A “challenging year” is what CEOs say in their introduction pages of leaner annual reports on the back of a difficult one. Indeed, it has been a challenging year for the B2B industry. The collapse of business airline Silverjet, and across the pond, Eos and Maxjet, illustrates how B2B business spend moves when pennies are tight. And of course, how elusive the business audience can be when it really counts. And it’s not over yet.
But it need not be all doom and gloom. While economic recessions are inevitable, B2B brand recession need not be. In this climate of uncertainty, a considered and well-founded approach to building brand equity is the best antidote to the affliction of business cut-backs.
Brand check-up
Brands first need to diagnose the condition of their immunity – their capacity to withstand a battering – before considering which survival strategy to adopt. So, how do you check your brand’s vitals?
A business brand’s true success resides in the minds of its customers. A brand is only valuable if it can translate the view of the market into shareholder value. We advise clients to examine their brands through a filter that takes growth, direction and protection into account.
Whilst it is frequently the first to be trimmed, resisting the urge to slash the marketing budget is vital. Research shows brands with foresight to invest more – at best, the same – in marketing and ad spend in a climate of competitor cut-backs, stand to gain the most in the long term.
In the likelihood of customers doing more shopping around than usual, brand messages need to refocus on quality and value. Take advantage of a louder voice on a quieter stage as competitors pull back on marketing spend. Try cranking yours up a decibel, using cost-effective tools permitted by digital media and online marketing, but craft your messaging accordingly.
Likewise, be prepared to readdress your marketing plan if necessary, asking key questions on how each item of your action plan supports or drives up loyalty and ultimately equity. If you cut back now, be prepared to have to overcompensate – and over spend – at a later stage in order to recover. Brands that continue to build their equity during a slump will be streaks ahead in the long run when the economy inevitably turns a corner, setting you up for your growth strategy.
Integrity, the platform for growth
Recent research from BDO Stoy Hayward suggests that technology, media and telecoms companies – key components of the B2B market – are forecasting growth of more than 20 per cent over the next three years. There is every reason to build growth into your strategy – indeed it should be at the core of your plans in a downturn.
Google, for example, is one B2B brand that has set itself up on a growth trajectory and stands to reap the benefits of the good times through the trust it has established with its loyal fan base. Google Video, touted as the YouTube for business (see p16) has an instant leg-up on Google Enterprise’s existing foothold in its market.
But there is no room for mistakes: look for opportunities to earn more trust by truly doing what you say and looking for opportunities to exceed your customers’ expectations through adding value.
In today’s climate of uncertainty, never has brand integrity been more important. ‘Buy once, buy well’: businesses can’t afford mistakes and will remain loyal to the brand that has delivered on their needs.
Focus and direction
Critical to your future is for your brand to have a point of view. And to have a point of view is to have a direction. How is it that brands with lucid points of view triumph over non-descript, less distinctive peers? Because in a market of increasing commoditisation where competing brands borrow from each other’s product benefits, it can be a key differentiator and your brand’s best ability to cut through the clutter.
A point of view – which tells your customer why it is different and how it adds value – is what will keep your brand honest in this climate of scepticism. It should be a long-term view for growth, while protecting what you have. It needs to be relevant, coherent and powerfully marketed.
There is no apply-all solution. Some brands have high growth opportunities and an appropriate growth strategy would help them fulfil this potential; others need direction; while those that are already in good health need to pursue a strategy of protection.
Recessions are never desirable, but they are inevitable. And the wheel will turn. Will your brand come out largely unscathed or will it end up on the B2B scrapheap? To a large extent the answer depends on you. Don’t let an economic downturn equate to brand downtime.
