Harvard Business School's John Quelch Hit the B2B Marketing Nail on the Head

John's "How to Build a B2B Brand" post on the Harvard Business blog (Nov. 20, 2007) is worth a quick read. The characteristics unearthed by the HBS research team's recent study of top B2B global brands are key for any B2B marketer's success.

They are:
1. The CEO is a willing brand cheerleader, loves the brand heritage and is a great storyteller. The CMO sees his or her purpose as helping the CEO achieve this role.

2. The CEO understands that building brand reputation reduces commercial risk, insulates the company in a crisis and provides the common purpose that can bond all the company’s stakeholders.

3. Efforts are focused on a single, global corporate brand rather than individual product brands.

4. The payback on marketing expenditures is measured rigorously to the satisfaction of the hard-nosed engineers and finance staff who run the typical B2B enterprise.

5. Coordination of company websites worldwide to present a consistent face to stakeholders is the best way to get control of marketing communications that may have become too decentralized.

To read the full article click here to continue.

posted by Mike Neumeier, APR @ 11:51 AM
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