Whenever people talk about great brands they invariably talk about Coca Cola, Federal Express, Pepsi, Harley Davidson, Nokia, Apple, Starbucks etc. If we carefully go through this list we can safely establish that most of these brands are consumer brands or business to consumer (B2C) brands.
Almost every expert in the field believes that brands in the B2C environment are essential to leverage market opportunities and boost company’s bottom line. But in the business to business (B2B) environment the managements are of the view that branding is not significantly relevant. This view has emerged from the belief that in the competitive business to business environment people invariably know the best supplier of the product and one who produce the best quality. With this access of information people often take their decision based on numerous trade inquiries and negotiations rather than call of emotion as in the business to consumer market.
Mokushla Consulting Research over 40 B2B companies has revealed that branding is as essential in the business to business environment as it is in the business to consumer environment. It plays an important role in not only business leads but also in negotiation process. Better branding not only positions the company in greater light to its other commodity market competitors but it also enables it to charge that premium in relation to its competition.
Some of the B2B brands have positioned themselves as consumer brands even though they essentially operate in business to business environment. These brands are Intel, Microsoft, HP etc. According to HP senior executive branding helps the company in not only better visibility among potential business customers but also gives sales people more time to convince them and close the deals.