Many B2B companies focus more on the words they use than the design the deploy. This is a huge mistake and leads to inefficient communications both internally and externally and suboptimal user experiences. Great B2B brands, on the other hand, bake design into their organization from the very beginning, such that “form” and “function” are inseparable.
B2B marketing agency Renegade, LLC analyzes common marketing pitfalls in their new report, “How to Drive Effective B2B Brand Strategy in 2020.” Renegade’s CEO Drew Neisser provides 12 easy-to-digest tips on making your brand and marketing more effective. With business insights from over 350 CMOs, Neisser distills expert marketing wisdom along with agency experience into a powerful plan for struggling B2B businesses.
Tip #5 “Delight by Design” is a strong reminder to B2B marketers that design is an essential competitive weapon to be ignored at your own peril. Great design permeates an organization, leading to better user experiences and more effective communications. All the features in the world can make up for a poorly designed user experience.
- Brand Design: Take tips from big B2C brands and use color as your calling card in your logo design and brand guidelines. Memorable brands have done the work to get there. If your brand isn’t memorable, then how can you expect to stand out from the pack?
- Your Website: Assess your own materials that a potential client sees on first-touch. How does your website or other marketing materials sell your brand? If you can’t see your message in your materials, then neither can your customer.
- Good UX: Love great user experiences? Practice what you preach and make sure your clients can find what they need on your own website, too. If you’re unsure where to start, have a look at potential journeys through your site, or do some user testing to see where folks end up. If they bail, so will your potential new clients.
- Logo and Voice: Don’t underestimate how simplicity can speak volumes. Logos that are too busy or convoluted can make zero impression (or worse, tell clients that you’re sloppy). A basic exercise in tone and tenor can impact your company’s most unique ways of communicating, both directly and indirectly. If you find your company’s messaging is whispering when it should be shouting, then you have some work to do.
Read the full report online for more insights on B2B branding that works, as well as an interview on the subject from Neisser’s podcast, “Renegade Thinkers Unite,” with Morgan Norman, the CMO of Copper who recently rebranded successfully, but not until after a big self-assessment.
