From Brand to Business Architecture: Rethinking B2B Brand Strategy

In B2B that architecture is tested every day Marketing must endure long buying cycles navigate complex decision committees and overcome environments where logic outweighs emotion Strong B2B brand strategies are vital like castles built on bedrock sitting on a foundation of earned trust investment and time Weak ones can resemble castles built on sand easily swept away by shortterm pressure or shifting prioritiesStrong brand strategy gives decision committees the confidence in their choices and helps businesses earn trust before the first conversation beginsThat conversation inspired me explore how B2B marketers build strong brand strategies as a foundation for growth What do they get right Whatamp8217s holding them back Many want to lead with brand and may struggle with proving its impact connecting it to business performance or linking it to the daily work of sales and product teamsSome of those gaps became the focus of our latest release The Confident B2B Marketer Report which explores what effective B2B marketers amp8220Confident Marketersamp8221 do differently from the rest Here are three of their best practicesThe Foundation Invest for Today and TomorrowIn B2B marketing brand strategy forms one of the strongest layers of a foundation by anchoring performance today while guiding growth for tomorrowThe Confident B2B Marketer Report shows that Confident Marketers are intentional builders Nearly 47 percent maintain an equal investment between brandbuilding and demand generation compared with 37 percent of their peers They understand that strategic brand work creates consistent yet adaptable messaging that makes performance marketing more effectiveAccording to Amy Summy Executive Vice President and CMO at Labcorp amp8220Brand building is less about traditional advertising and more about building valuable relationships with customers through relevant content and customer experienceamp8221 Her view captures the essence of modern B2B brand strategy Itamp8217s a structural element that connects how the company communicates serves and earns trust with customers reinforced from strategy to executionThat mindset shows up in how Confident Marketers invest Sixtyone percent say their organizations will increase longterm brand strategy spending in the next 12 months almost double the share of lessconfident peers 36 percent Confident Marketers are also twice as likely to have measurement systems that connect activity to revenueOnce the foundation is secure the operational structure must work as a wholeIntegration of Systems Aligning Brand and DemandIn B2B brand and demand cannot be separate floors of the strategy One builds credibility the other converts it into revenue They are interconnected systems that put brand strategy in motionNearly half of Confident Marketers 47 percent report an equal split between brand and demand tactics compared to 37 percent of their less confident peers This supports healthier near and longterm outcomes Alignment with sales follows the same pattern Confident Marketers are nearly four times more likely to be fully aligned with sales 22 percent vs 6 percentAt Broadridge Global Chief Marketing Officer Dipti Kachru brought sales and marketing onto a shared platform to track how brand credibility translated into measurable demand By focusing on qualified decision committees rather than individual leads her team accelerated sales and elevated marketingamp8217s role as a growth driverBut even the most sophisticated structure need customers to believe in it Thatamp8217s where the human connection completes the designReinforcement Through MeasurementMeasurement gives strategy the reinforcement needed to keep it strong Itamp8217s proof that connects intention to impactAccording to our report 61 percent of Confident Marketers have advanced or intermediate attribution systems that link marketing activity to revenue compared to 32 percent of their peers They are more likely to be fully aligned with sales using shared goals collaboration and unified views to evaluate performance through a common lensBut even Confident Marketers face challenges Many admit that attribution systems donamp8217t yet capture the full value of brand strategy Integration remains uneven with 60 percent saying data fragmentation limits their marketing effectiveness underscoring how siloed systems make it difficult to see the whole picture Still Confident Marketers are using data and measurement to learn what moves the business forwardLivability and Usability The Human FactorBrand strategy only matters when it appeals to the customer While B2B marketers like to believe decisions are rational customers ultimately buy into stay loyal to and advocate for a brand when thereamp8217s trust and connectionConfident Marketers are more likely to work in organizations that treat creativity and originality as business drivers rather than a disposable expense Creativity fuels differentiation It connects strategy to emotion and makes experiences memorable and relatableErik Petersen director of global brand advertising and media at a leading AIpowered B2B platform and one of the leaders interviewed noted amp8220You are not going to rationalize me into something unless I feel good about itamp8221ServiceNow embodies this humancentered approach As it evolved from an IT workflow brand to a transformation partner its team built a creative platform around one simple idea amp8220The world works with ServiceNowamp8221 Every touchpoint from storytelling to orientation was designed to feel helpful relatable and optimistic That reposition elevated ServiceNowamp8217s brand value earning it recognition in the Kantar 100 Most Valuable BrandsLooking Ahead Building the Blueprint TogetherEvery great design starts with connection On December 2 at the ANA MembersOnly Conference on B2B Brand Strategy at SAS in Cary North Carolina weamp8217ll keep building the blueprint for brand strategy together Weamp8217ll learn how Labcorp unites sales and marketing under one plan how Michelin turns human connection into brand strength how Evidenza turns data into trust and how ABB and Mower are building smarter frameworks for brand relevanceIf youamp8217re an ANA member we hope you39ll join us to add your perspective and help shape the next layer of the architecture of modern B2B growth And if you havenamp8217t yet download The Confident B2B Marketer Report to explore the insights that inspired this conversationPosted at MediaVillage through the Thought Leadership selfpublishing platformClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageorgMyersBizNet

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From Brand to Business Architecture: Rethinking B2B Brand Strategy

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