Being Known or Being One of Many

ied by numerous examples 
from various industrial areas. 
To lead you through this book we have created a Guiding Principle 
in chapter 4 that illustrates visually different stages on the branding 
ladder.23 It can literally be seen as the path you have to follow in 
order to achieve brand success. You will see that there are many 
things you have to consider in order to successfully climb the lad-
der to success. 
The beginning of the path is marked by the decision whether or not 
to brand your products, services, or business. If a company, espe-
cially the people at the top, is not convinced that it is the right thing 
to do, it doesn’t make any sense to continue. After making the deci-
sion to brand, you have to figure out how you are going to do it. 
But deciding on the best brand portfolio that fits your respective 
business/industry is not enough to ensure your company’s brand 
success. Therefore, the next stage addresses all the factors in prac-
tice that make branding successful. 
10 Being Known or Being One of Many 
What would a book on brand management be without presenting a 
number of success stories showing the potential rewards of holistic 
branding efforts? Chapter 5 provides illustrative brand success sto-
ries. At the same time it is important to be realistic and acknowl-
edge that there are many things that can go wrong – so be aware of 
branding pitfalls! Chapter 6 focuses on five pitfalls of branding. 
Finally, the future perspective will be dealt with in chapter 7. Key 
trends and developments related to B2B branding and branding in 
general will be discussed. 
Time 
Company 
Success
Branding
Dimensions 
B2B Branding 
Decision
Acceleration
Through
Branding
Success
Stories
Branding
Pitfalls 
 Future 
Perspective 
Fig. 2. Guiding principle (structure of the book) 
B2B Branding Decision – First of all, we are going to bombard you 
with arguments and evidence that clearly highlight the importance 
and relevance of brands in B2B markets whether you already have 
brands or if you are looking for guidance with the decision to 
brand. Brands cannot be created over night. The decision to brand a 
product, line of products, or company needs to be based on evi-
dence that brands do actually matter in the respective area. The en-
vironment for establishing and managing brands is complex and 
 Being Known or Being One of Many 11 
dynamic. Brand management is challenging – whether you are in 
the consumer goods, services or industrial products sectors. There-
fore, we will provide you with insights about actual brand rele-
vance in your area. 
Branding Dimensions – Since nothing can be done without know-
ing the fundamentals, this stage is to give you an understanding of 
the general branding dimensions especially aligned to cover the 
B2B area. Furthermore, we will point out factors that are necessary 
to accelerate the success of a company through branding efforts. As 
a foundation, you need to know the basics and understand what a 
holistic branding approach can accomplish if soundly realized. 
Acceleration Through Branding – This is finally the “How to do it” 
chapter in this book. Here you will learn how to plan, create, im-
plement, and manage your brand strategy. Moreover you will find 
examples of the first branding steps of other companies. 
Success Stories – No book on branding is without success stories 
neither is this one. Without the living proof that branding efforts in 
B2B can be successful some business companies would probably 
never think of creating brands themselves. In this chapter we will 
provide you with some insights into strongly branded B2B compa-
nies from various industries. Although no company can be success-
ful by imitating the brand management of another business it can 
gain valuable information and hints for their own brand. Important 
questions related to the point of differentiation, factors of success, 
and even similarities can be answered. 
Branding Pitfalls – Branding in general is a delicate matter. Brand-
ing in B2B can be even more delicate if one doesn’t understand 
what it is all about. There are some general pitfalls generated by 
common misunderstandings related to branding. We deliberately 
dedicated a whole chapter to branding pitfalls in order to demon-
strate the importance of taking careful and well considered actions 
related to brand management. Brands are just as fragile as they are 
profitable if well managed. 
12 Being Known or Being One of Many 
Future Perspective – In this chapter we will try to provide you with 
some outlook into the future. We will concentrate on depicting gen-
eral implications rather than making specific predictions of the fu-
ture. Future trends towards Corporate Social Responsibility and 
Design emphasis for instance are important developments that can 
change and redefine brand management of the future. 
The essence of this book is to infect B2B companies with the brand-
ing-virus – empowering them to make the leap to becoming a 
brand-driven and more successful company. There are many ways 
to measure overall company success: sales increase, share value, 
profit, number of employees, mere brand value (index), etc. To keep 
it simple and to limit alterations that may have been influenced by 
various other sources than the actual brand, we chose sales over 
time as measurement for a company’s success in our Guiding Prin-
ciple. The transition point represents a company’s rise to the chal-
lenge of building a B2B brand. 
Summary 
• Branding is just as relevant in B2B as it is in B2C. Brands like 
Microsoft, IBM, Intel, Dell, SAP, Siemens, FedEx, Boeing are vivid 
examples of the fact that some of the world’s strongest brands 
do exist in B2B. 
• Branding is not about stirring people into irrational buying deci-
sions – it is rather an effective and compelling means to com-
municate the benefits and value a product or service can provide. 
• Branding is about taking something common and improving 
upon it in ways that make it more valuable and meaningful. 
• Trusted brands act as touchstones, offering orientation the 
flood of information, and many other benefits and advantages 
to buyers. 
• A brand is much more than a product, a brand name, a logo, a 
symbol, a slogan, an ad, a jingle, a spokesperson; these are just 
tangible components of a brand – not the brand itself! 
 Being Known or Being One of Many 13 
• “Brand” comprises various aspects. A brand is a promise, the 
totality of perceptions – everything you see, hear, read, know, 
feel, think, etc. – about a product, service, or business. It holds 
a distinctive position in customer’s minds based on past ex-
periences, associations and future expectations. It is a short-cut 
of attributes, benefits, beliefs and values that differentiate, re-
duce complexity, and simplify the decision-making process. 
• Branding should always start at the top of a business. Build-
ing, championing, supporting and protecting strong brands is 
everyone’s job, starting with the CEO. 
• Brands do pay off. Companies with a strong brand can benefit 
tremendously from it. A vibrant brand and its implicit promise 
of quality can provide businesses with the power to command 
a premium price among customers and a premium stock price 
among investors; it can boost their earnings and cushion cycli-
cal downturns. 
• The most important brand functions in B2B are increased in-
formation efficiency, risk reduction and value added/image 
benefit creation. 
Notes 
1 David A. Aaker and Erich Joachimsthaler, Brand Leadership, 2000, p. 22; 
Mia Pandey, “Is Branding Relevant to B2B?,” brandchannel.com (27 Janu-
ary 2003). 
2 As quoted in Gerry Khermouch, Stanley Holmes and Moon Ihlwan, 
“The Best Global Brands,” Business Week (6 August 2001). 
3 Gerry Khermouch, Stanley Holmes and Moon Ihlwan, “The Best Global 
Brands,” Business Week (6 August 2001). 
4 Web site of The Boeing Company, Chicago, IL, cited August 2005. 
5 Paul Hague and Peter Jackson, The Power of Industrial Brands, 1994. 
6 Peter de Legge, “The Brand Version 2.0: Business-to-Business Brands in 
the Internet Age,” Marketing Today, 2002. 
7 Scott Bedbury, A New Brand World, 2002, p. 14. 
14 Being Known or Being One of Many 
8 James C. Anderson and James A. Narus, Business Market Management: 
Understanding, Creating, and Delivering Value, p. 136. 
9 Dan Morrison, “The Six Biggest Pitfalls in B-to-B Branding,” Busi-
ness2Business Marketer (July/August, 2001): p. 1. 
10 Tom Blackett, Trademarks, 1998. 
11 Jim Collins, Good to Great. Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others 
Don’t, 2001. 
12 Gerry Khermouch, Stanley Holmes and Moon Ihlwan, “The Best Global 
Brands,” Business Week (6 August 2001). 
13 Mia Pandey, “Is Branding Relevant to B2B?,” brandchannel.com (27 Janu-
ary 2003). 
14 Michael Dunn, Scott M. Davis, “Creating the Brand-Driven Business: 
It’s the CEO Who Must Lead the Way,” in Handbook of Business Strategy 
(Vol. 5 No. 1, 2004), pp. 241-245; Duane E. Knapp, The Brand Mindset, 
2000, p. 7. 
15 David A. Aaker and Erich Joachimsthaler, Brand Leadership, 2000, p. 8. 
16 Scott Bedbury, A New Brand World, 2002, p. Intro. 
17 David A. Aaker and Erich Joachimsthaler, Brand Leadership, 2000, p. 9. 
18 Source: BBDO Consulting Analysis 2005 – reprinted with permission. 
19 Gerry Khermouch, Stanley Holmes and Moon Ihlwan, “The Best Global 
Brands,” Business Week (6 August 2001). 
20 Rita Clifton and John Simmons, Brands and Branding, 2003, p. 5. 
21 Mirko Caspar, Achim Hecker, and Tatjana Sabel, “Markenrelevanz in 
der Unternehmensfuehrung – Messung, Erklaerung und empirische 
Befunde fuer B2B-Maerkte,” 2002, p. 13. 
22 Ibid. 
23 We understand the Guiding Principle as the leading idea and guiding 
help to follow our thinking and the structure of the chapters.