BY MEL DUNN
Compared to the B2C buying process—which is characterized by impulsive purchasing decisions and, thanks to one-click ordering, can be completed in just a few seconds—the B2B buying process can be a slog. Because of the complexity of industries and the sheer financial investment of a high-consideration product, a typical B2B sales cycle can last months or even years. But the greater the risk, the greater the reward, making the B2B juice worth the squeeze.
During the slow and steady B2B buying process, a prospect interacts with your brand multiple times across various channels: Sees a LinkedIn ad. Reads a blog post. Visits a conference booth. Talks to a sales rep. Gets technical support. Google simplified the process to a research-backed rule known as 7-11-4: 7 hours of interaction, 11 touchpoints, 4 separate locations. That’s a lot of chances to deliver a consistent brand experience. And, a lot of chances to create a slippery slope toward brand confusion.
Always showing up as your true self, both narratively and visually, builds brand familiarity and, eventually, trust. B2B leaders are realizing brand marketing generates more financial value than short-term performance marketing, so the ability to demonstrate brand consistency and accuracy is crucial.
First, invest time to define who you are as a brand. Then, write it down.
We recommend producing a few foundational assets to ensure all your brand representatives—your employees, freelancers, and board members—are painting the same picture and singing the same tune.
Writing Guidelines Never Go Out of Style
Think of all the places you distribute brand messaging and content: social media, email, website, press releases, bylines, job descriptions, investor decks, and many more. Also, think of all the people who write for your brand. Marketing creates lots of opportunities to share your story but also to stray from the brand personality. A writing, or narrative, style guide provides prescriptive direction on what to say (voice) and how to say it (tone).
The structure and length of your style guide will depend on your organization’s needs and the maturity of your brand. We’ve come across style guides that range from one page to more than 100 pages in length. Either way, the document should inform users how to communicate as your brand. A great example is Salesforce’s “Writing Guidelines,” which instructs its employees to make enterprise software documentation sound like a conversation with your buddy. (That’s not a topic among my friends, but to each their own.)
Style guides typically provide basic punctuation and grammar rules too. For more detailed guidance in that area, most brands choose a side: either The Associated Press Stylebook or The Chicago Manual of Style. Of course, there’s always room for exceptions in your style guide. The polarizing Oxford comma is a good example of that.
A Solid Messaging Framework Needs a Strong Foundation
Mixed messaging leads to a poor audience experience, which can lead to confusion and frustration—feelings every brand wants to avoid. A messaging framework is fact-focused documentation of carefully crafted words and phrases that define your brand. It codifies key language that drives a single compelling message when anyone, from the intern to the CEO, shares your brand story.
The format of frameworks can differ, but we recommend including some of the basics: company bio, mission statement, positioning statement, elevator pitch, and value proposition. A lot of these details may seem obvious: “Of course we know who we are and why we’re here.” But you’d be surprised how many times we see small inconsistencies across brands’ websites, marketing platforms, and the language used by their employees.
Beauty Is in the Eye of the Brand Guidelines
Like crafting your messaging and telling your story, creating a unique visual identity plays a significant role in portraying your brand’s tone and personality. Repetition drives brand recognition, and your visual brand components show up everywhere, so ensuring they are uniform and cohesive is especially crucial.
Visual brand “guidelines” might sound like a good way to squash creativity. But setting standards can help users hone in on ideas and convey the brand consistently. Brand guidelines establish and organize all the visual elements of your brand—including logo, color palette, typography, and photography—which different designers in separate locations can seamlessly apply to various marketing assets and platforms.
If your brand is missing any of these essentials, add them to your to-do list. And once you’ve created the tools, share them with colleagues, business partners, and even the public to drive home the importance of brand consistency.