Outcomes make the difference: differentiate or die…
Just as no two individuals are the same, no two companies are the same. We are all different.
As individuals, we are not necessarily very good at describing ourselves. Because we often take them for granted, we tend to think that our experience, abilities and skills are either somehow self-evident or not particularly significant to those around us.
The same goes for companies. How a B2B company contributes to its customers’ success is often taken for granted – to the extent that the Value produced by its products and services is often ignored.
Drowning in a sea of features
Very often, outcomes are overlooked because too much emphasis is placed on the features of B2B products and services. Take a look at a selection of B2B brochures or adverts and what you will typically see is a collection of feature-lists.
For products, the main focus will be on listing their physical composition. There may well be some product shots or pack shots that carry the product’s name and even its part number. For services, there will be more lists that describe their nature.
Over time, the lists tend to become longer as increasing layers of features are added or new ones build upon the older ones. And outcomes – what customers are actually paying for – become more and more obscure.
Rescued by outcomes
For marketers to discover the outcomes being created by products and services they need to spend time listening to customers. If a customer says that a product’s reliability is important, find out why. What are the outcomes that reliability produces?
This presents opportunities to create marketing messages accordingly. Identifying how contributions are being made to customers’ success means that links can be built between features and the outcomes they produce.
Relevance. Relevance. Relevance
Are the outcomes the same for all customers? That depends on the similarities between their businesses. Reliability will mean different things to different people. For example, the ways in which a VAR benefits from reliability will differ from the benefits to an end-user.
In B2B, market reflections alter according to who is looking at the brand. In B2C, USPs can be honed down to a single, sharp slogan: ‘Whiter than white’. B2B can’t do that in such a catch-all way because one size does not fit all.
Many brands claim ‘reliability’ as an attribute, but do they all communicate its relevance to each component of their market?
B2B branding is not the same as B2C branding
For a start, credibility is more important in B2B. ‘More reliable than reliable’ is not a good approach…
Distinct messages concerning ‘reliability’ should highlight its significance to specific people, clearly explaining the contribution that reliability makes to them.
This may mean that there are several marketing messages related to the notion of reliability. Fair enough, because this creates credibility right across the market. The brand is no longer simply claiming ‘reliability’: it is now positioning itself in a united way that addresses all the reflections within its market.
More on brands, branding and positioning:
The Long Hello: building relationships with brands
Leveraging B2B’s buying motivators - results-driven marcoms
Brands are now more important than ever - branding and brand ownership
Positioning brands in B2B markets - a quick case study
Back to The Long Hello: making B2B marketing work for the bottom line
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Would be interested to see a case study or two on what you’ve achieved
Thanks Tracy. Will do.