Grow Your B2B Business with Brand Positioning: A Guide

Brand Positioning = Brand Potential

According to protocol 80, “77% of B2B marketing leaders say branding is critical to growth.” The article also points out that consumers are more likely to conduct business with organizations that showcase personal values, because business values are not as distinguishable between different suppliers. What is the main takeaway of this major statistic? Brand positioning determines the growth potential for B2B organizations. We remember brands because they are unique, because they resonate with us, and because they are different.

Brand differentiation is the most effective way to raise brand awareness and make your brand stand out. Your market position, or how people perceive your company in relation to its competitors, may determine your potential for business and revenue growth. However, your brand position determines how much of that potential you will unlock. Think of your branding as the core of what your marketing spreads messages of.

You may already have strong branding, but are you positioning that branding in an effective way that meets your audience where they are? Brand positioning is so important because it is how your brand stands out, gets noticed, and is remembered. In sales funnel terms, it is how your company’s awareness becomes engagement and eventually consideration for closing a sale. Keep reading to learn about B2B brand positioning strategies to unlock growth.

Scope Out the Market to Differentiate

Before you position yourself, research and strategy come first. That’s why it is vital to understand your current position, then scope out the position you can elevate yourself to. 

Defining your target audience, while you may have already done this, is crucial in building your foundation for brand differentiation. Knowing your target audience’s interests, pain points, and desires is the secret in positioning yourself in a way that will make them remember you.

Once you define your target audience, it’s time to jump into customer research. Understanding why they have their interests, pains, and desires is helpful to know so you can see what you offer that caters to these reasons. It is also important to research the buying process that your audience typically goes through. See if you can find any published studies from major organizations in your field, and take notes.

Identify your key competitors as well as their current brand positioning. This will help you understand what they are doing well and what space you have to fit into the market. Analyze their branding and their brand presence, and ask yourself how your business’s brand is or can be different. Is there anything about your competitors that isn’t memorable? Make sure you take note of that as well and avoid those pitfalls.

Craft Your Brand Story

Again, if you already have a strong brand, you may already have a story. After your market research, it’s time to edit that story to truly differentiate yourself. If your brand needs a refresh, check out this blog for tips on how to rebrand.

Much like a thesis, crafting a Unique Value Proposition statement (UVP) will help you build the rest of your brand tale. Ask yourself these questions to get ideas flowing:

Where do you fit in amongst the messages your competitors put out?

What are your competitors not doing?

What are your competitors not doing that you do?

What stands out about this differentiation?

Developing a clear brand message relies on how strong and memorable your UVP is, as well as how it emotionally connects to your audience. What do they need and desire that your competitors do not provide to them? Use your research to help hone this statement.

Communicating your UVP in a concise and compelling way is the key to success in this stage. To learn more about how to bring personality and humanity to your branding, check out this other blog. We will dive into this next, but UVP communication can occur in forms like B2B content marketing as well as thought leadership.

Positioning Your B2B Brand to Stand Out

Your B2B Brand Differentiation will be strongest in your messaging. Consistency is key in the following strategies we’ll list. Ensure your brand messaging aligns across all touchpoints, whether that is cross-platform or even cross-content. 

Show how you are different and valuable through creating content that informs and entertains your audience. This is a great opportunity to shape your brand personality as well as hint towards your offerings.

Build thought leadership and credibility by establishing your brand as an expert in your industry. This can also take the form of social media content, case studies, whitepapers, or blogs. 

You can also showcase success stories by highlighting customer testimonials as well as those case studies I already mentioned. This is your chance to really shine and show how you solved a customer’s problems, catered to their needs, and fulfilled their desires, which especially appeals to your target audience. The more you craft your example to match your audience’s image, the easier it will be for them to picture themselves in that example.

Takeaways

Strong brand positioning comes from knowing yourself, knowing your audience, and knowing the market. It comes from scoping out where there is an opening, and strategically filling it with your presence.  With a differentiated brand position, you’ll unlock deeper connections, attract your ideal customers, and not only reach but fulfill the potential of your desired market position.

 

Enthuse Creative Can Help

Enthuse Creative can help your business develop the right messaging for your brand or marketing communications content that will position your brand to grow. Reach out to us today for a free consultation.