{"id":36152,"date":"2023-03-29T08:14:43","date_gmt":"2023-03-29T12:14:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hingemarketing.com\/?p=36152"},"modified":"2023-03-30T10:05:41","modified_gmt":"2023-03-30T14:05:41","slug":"top-6-b2b-marketing-benefits-of-doing-a-brand-study-research-roundup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hingemarketing.com\/blog\/story\/top-6-b2b-marketing-benefits-of-doing-a-brand-study-research-roundup","title":{"rendered":"Top 6 B2B Marketing Benefits of Doing a Brand Study"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brands can be intangible. In the B2B marketplace, we experience brands through a series of interactions like reading a blog post, attending a webinar, exchanging emails with sales reps, and ultimately receiving some kind of product, service or other deliverable.<\/span><\/p>\n

In my years doing research at Hinge<\/a>, I\u2019ve studied hundreds of professional services brands. These businesses range from complex conglomerates to tech-focused startups; traditionalist boot-strappers to global entities. Some of these brands thrived with boastful client advocates and enthusiastic employees. Others suffered from tarnished reputations, bad client experiences and incompetent staff. <\/span><\/p>\n

But one thing all of these firms have in common is they know \u2014 empirically \u2014 how their brand is perceived in the marketplace by doing research.<\/span><\/p>\n

In B2B, a brand study is an objective evaluation of how a company is perceived by their target audience. It looks at the big picture: the buyer\u2019s journey, client experience and beyond. A successful study will measure specific brand attributes like value, delivery, referral potential, reputation and visibility.<\/span><\/p>\n

When our clients go through this exercise with Hinge, we examine feedback provided by their buyers, referral sources, and employees. I\u2019m amazed by how intelligent and sophisticated buyers of professional services can be. The way they articulate and describe the business challenges they face, how they search for solutions and what criteria they use to evaluate vendors… It is incredibly insightful and proves time and time again to be powerful ingredients in building a strong brand. <\/span><\/p>\n

Many B2B marketers today take full advantage of conducting brand studies. But what insights do they gain? How does this kind of market research impact their business? <\/span>Here are the top 6 B2B marketing benefits of doing a brand study.<\/span><\/p>\n

Download the Professional Services Guide to Research<\/a><\/div>\n

1. To uncover differentiators<\/b><\/h2>\n

In our <\/span>latest research study<\/span><\/a>, we found differentiation to be one of the top marketing priorities of high-growth professional services firms. But differentiation is not so easily achieved. I see it all the time looking at company websites:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a one-stop shop for all your needs.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re dedicated to our clients.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cOur people are the difference.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cWe offer solutions that drive results.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Sound familiar?<\/span><\/p>\n

With over 40% of professional services firms viewing unpredictability in the marketplace as a top challenge facing their business, now is the time to think about what messages grab the attention of your prospective buyers and keep them engaged while setting you apart.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But how are these service providers supposed to know what <\/span>truly<\/span><\/i> sets them apart?<\/span><\/p>\n

Taking a sample of your ideal clients in a brand study will give you a glimpse into how your brand is viewed from outside your company walls. This data often surfaces compelling differentiators for your business, enabling you to position your business to add more value and increase billing rates.<\/span><\/p>\n

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2. To develop a relevant brand story<\/b><\/h2>\n

Target audiences aren\u2019t always prospective clients. Attracting and retaining talented employees is a growing concern among professional services firms. In fact more than one-third of the market today view this as a challenge or threat to their business.<\/span><\/p>\n

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See also: Culture Clash: The Employee Experience Problem and How to Fix It<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Your brand should give target clients a reason to care. What purpose does your business serve? How are you going to help them solve their most pressing challenges?<\/span><\/p>\n

A brand study can illuminate important values, themes and topics that resonate with your target buyer. In turn, these insights can be developed into a relevant brand story that positions your business as the expert needed to solve their most pressing business challenges.<\/span><\/p>\n

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3. To clarify your brand message<\/b><\/h2>\n

According to RAIN Group, a B2B sales training service provider, it takes an <\/span>average of 8 touch points<\/span><\/a> just to get an initial meeting with a new prospect. If a brand message is inconsistently articulated across these different touchpoints, brand stories and differentiators can get lost. Or worse, buyers become confused.<\/span><\/p>\n

By surveying your client-facing employees as part of a brand study, you are able to measure gaps in perception between clients and staff. For example, your employees may believe that responsiveness and cost are the biggest selection criteria, but clients may place more emphasis on experience and expertise. As you can imagine, these differences in perception can entirely change the direction of your marketing messages.<\/span><\/p>\n

Once these perception gaps are understood, many of our clients provide company-wide training initiatives to share what they learned in the brand study. This is a great way to foster communication and to close these gaps, resulting in a clear, cohesive brand message.<\/span><\/p>\n

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4. To integrate newly merged or acquired brands<\/b><\/h2>\n

If you hear staff use the word \u201clegacy\u201d when referring to a parent company or brand, be wary. This is a sign of misalignment among merged or acquired brands. Ignoring this can be damaging to your culture and erode brand strength and reputation in the marketplace.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last year, a regional accounting firm had grown rapidly by strategically acquiring smaller firms for their specialized service offerings. The services they added were complementary and the acquisitions brought valuable talent with them, but the resulting \u201chouse of brands\u201d lacked cohesive positioning and messaging. This firms faced a few common challenges when integrating newly merged or acquired brands. They needed:<\/span><\/p>\n