An exclusive preview of research
We all know the story – the pandemic has changed the way we work and do business for good. It’s harder than ever to reach prospects, hold onto customers, attract, and retain employees – and brand is the interweaving thread. But how has B2B as an industry responded to this?
Setting out to learn more about brand building within B2B, Transmission partnered with Jigsaw to survey over 500 B2B marketing decision-makers across the United States, Europe, and Asia Pacific. All respondents were senior decision makers and managed budgets or influenced brand marketing within their roles.
“There are lessons learned from the pandemic, but the path forward is the context for the inquiry,” Steven adds. “There was this massive inflection point in the way we do business and the way that brands have to connect. We need to check in: What’s the state of B2B brand marketing now?”
Transmission will introduce key findings at Ignite USA from ‘The State of B2B Brand Building 2022’ report. Joined with clients who are brand stewards themselves, Steven will moderate a commentary around research highlights, debating and discussing key findings from the survey.
“It’s not a research presentation where I go through the results (…). There are a few things that pop that are going to make for a more interesting conversation with panellists.”
Here’s a taste of some of the insights you can expect.
The changing role of brand
Steven puts it simply, “In the B2B landscape, brand execution is all over the place.” As he outlines, “We’re slowly moving away from a sales-driven business model. Brand is no longer seen as just logos and colours whipped up by marketing, but as a tangible impact across business. Brands are still focused on growth, but the role of brand is growing.”
As Steven outlines, “There’s an increasing understanding that positive brand perception in the marketplace helps feed the sales cycle all the way from initial meetings to close. Case and point with the enduring, emotive strapline ‘nobody ever got fired for buying IBM.”
The State of B2B Brand Building highlighted this increase in perception of the value of brand; more and more companies fall higher on maturity scales, and some respondents have allocated parts of their budget to support brand.
How do you measure brand?
The understanding of how brand building plays a role in driving business growth and ROI is gaining visibility in the boardroom, yet marketing leaders are still challenged with how to measure and prove it’s worth.
“Brand marketing has been seen as intangible and more about creating a feeling or connection with a customer,” Steven continues. “But the boardroom wants performance metrics and clear confirmation there is an ROI on investment. Marketing leaders need to prove the value of brand, and that’s an interesting tension”
“Brand performance and value need to be proven! There are ways to do that – it’s not a black box.” Steven continues, including:
- Brand awareness studies.
- Regular brand trackers that start with benchmarks.
- Brand equity measures.
- Influenced pipeline.
- Account engagement.
“I’ve seen robust trackers where they go through all kinds of emotionally based, motivation-based questions around a brand. I think it’s interesting and I think brands need to do that quarterly,” Steven elaborates.
Marketing meets environmental and social issues: A mixed bag
Transmission respondents addressed the role ESG (environmental, social, governance) in their brand identity. As Steven outlines, “There were some really interesting admittances about how they assess their stance on these issues and how they think their brand is doing with regards to making cause-related claims. That’s going to be interesting to talk about.”
“The most interesting thing about this is the optimistic metrics from respondents on how their brands address social and environmental issues.”, Steven adds, stating that the majority of respondents are currently taking a stance or plan to in the next 12-months on social issues.
But not all that glitters is gold. Over half of respondents admitted that their brand may make misleading comments around cause-related messaging. “If you combine that with the number of people currently taking a stance or planning to, that means a brand is being inauthentic. That’s going to be very transparent for people like Gen Z and younger millennials who are more and more motivated by social and environmental causes.”
Ignite USA – A meeting of minds
“From a professional standpoint, I can’t wait to be at Ignite USA! I’m excited for in-person intellectual stimulation – that’s still the best way of doing it!,” Steven states.
For Steven, events like Ignite are a meeting of minds – a chance to have “intellectually engaging conversations” on topics new and old, hearing different opinions and spins. “That’s why we did a panel format,” he adds. “I want to talk with peers about topics I find interesting – to learn how others think about it, if they’re paying attention to it, if they should be, they’re approach, etc.”
An exclusive preview to key learnings from an in-depth, global report and a chance to discuss the findings with the best in business. What more could you want?
