How Does Your Brand Speak to Multiple B2B Audiences? 2006 Qtr 2
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How Does Your Brand Speak to Multiple B2B Audiences? |
Brands in a B2B marketplace have varying levels of complexity when it comes to their target audiences. Some have just one or two, but other brands have a half–dozen — or more — distinct audiences.
Brand Case Study
MarketShare Financial has defined their brand position:
MarketShare Financial helps independent financial advisors grow their businesses and meet their personal and professional goals by providing a wide range of the latest equity and protection products, industry knowledge and back–office service and support.
In addition, MarketShare recognizes their core audiences as prospects and current financial advisors, but they also understand the importance of partners/influencers and industry trade groups and media representatives. Thus, by developing key messaging by audience, MarketShare is able to more accurately speak to each audience’s interests, and engage them in a relevant dialogue that helps position the MarketShare brand as a category leader.
The message to the advisor may be “we help grow your business,” while the message to the partner may be “we deliver an immediate distribution channel.” In addition, the message to the industry may be “we’re an innovator, offering an alternative to the traditional sales model.”
Each message is relevant and allows the recipient the permission to believe that “they’re talking to me.”
The temptation is to communicate the exact same set of messages to all audiences. On the surface this sounds logical: keeping the brand messaging consistent so everyone hears the same brand position. But there is a difference between brand position and brand messaging.
Brand position is the core value proposition…what the brand is promising to deliver. But it’s through messaging that you make the brand relevant to individual audiences. For example, a distributor audience is interested in things like pricing, promotional programs, fill rates, shipping and return policies, special order procedures, spiffs and so forth. Not to mention things like how popular the brand is with its customers, pull–through advertising, the brand’s new product strategy etc.
But the distributor’s customers are interested in a different message: quality, performance, purchase price, after–the–sales support, warranty, and a host of other possible issues. And, different customers may even have specific issues that require even more targeted messaging.
Let’s use an example of a building products company:
- It sells to one–step and two–step distribution (requiring two different programs and approaches)
- Building pros that purchase from distribution include:
- Production builders
- Custom builders
- Remodeling contractors
- Specialty contractors
- Architects
- Multi–family developers and owners
Production builders typically limit product selection for their homebuyers to a standard product and one or two upgrade options; custom builders and architects want the opposite — the more choices, the better they can satisfy their clients; multifamily property owners or managers are certainly interested in the total cost of ownership.
There is usually one thing they all have in common, however: the desire to do business with a brand that they — and their customers — can trust to deliver on its promise.
In other industries, like technology, brand messaging faces a similar challenge, even within one customer: a brand must resonate with senior management on a strategic value level; with IT or technical capabilities, integration and support; and with users on ease of understanding/learning, user friendliness and support.
The challenge is to make sure that as messages are tailored to specific audiences they don’t stray from, or contradict, the core brand position. The best way to assure consistency may be to develop key messaging by audience at the same time you are developing the core brand position.
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