Value Proposition should be the fundamental DNA of your brand. To have a powerful and stand out brand is the aim of almost every business. Furthermore, strong brands shouldn’t be just the preserve of the big B2C guys. If you run a B2B business, you need a great B2B brand. But how to go about it? Where to start?
Here at M4G, we’ve helped lots of B2B brands find their voice. Our initial job (usually the most awkward part) is to unpick two key areas;
Firstly, its to get over the misconception that the brand is the logo. Many businesses feel that their ‘brand image’ is entirely represented by their logo and if they love their logo then the job is done! Sadly, not the case.
Secondly, we need to get past a set of buzz words about the B2B brand that are regularly offered up at this initial stage. Words and phrases like; ‘best’, ‘quality’, ‘value’, ‘innovation’, ‘class leading’, ‘world class’ and ‘customer focused’. These are our ‘red card’ words! Why? Because although your business could be any or all of these things, the words are meaningless in terms of defining your B2B brand. Countless B2B brands use these red card words in their branding. They are common words, easy words and lazy words. They’re not your words, they are everybody’s!
So lets set these words aside and get to the core and the foundation of your B2B brand; the Value Proposition. Clients ask us all the time; ‘What do you mean by ‘Value Proposition?’ We have a very simple answer. Your Value Proposition Is What You Are Really Selling! You Just Might Not Know It! This is a concept that can perplex and confound. Surely the answer is simply to be found in the list of products and services the business offers? Not quite.
To conclude; a key part of M4G’s marketing consultancy toolbox is a deep dive into what customers say about your offer. We also find the stories that your sales & product people tell supply vital insight. . Furthermore, there’s often an entirely different perspective and quite different language to the received wisdom in the business. These sources are a great way of understanding the real value of what your business offers. We’ll talk more about exactly how we do this in a forthcoming blog.
Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay