Impact of brand adoption by sales managers and repsBy: Dario F. Priolo, Chief Strategy Officer

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Why does brand matter in B2B?

Brand Influenced

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B2B Buyers frequently search by brand name

Buyers will visit your company website...In addition to the 55.8% of respondents who go direct to company websites, 87% search on general search engines and 68% search on targeted industrial sites (e.g. ThomasNet.com). Of note, company websites were ranked #1 or #2 by 61.3% of respondents as having the most relevant search results when searching for industrial products or services.

Buyers use 3 keywords on average when searching...When searching for industrial products, 58.8% (40.7% use 3 words and another 18.1% use 4 or more words) of respondents use 3 or more keywords. Similarly, when searching for industrial services, over half (34% use 3 words and 18.7% use 4 or more words) of respondents use 3 or more keywords.

Buyers include product specifications in keyword searches...Nearly half (44.2%) of respondents said that they always or frequently include detailed product specifications (e.g. "1/2 in. x 2 in. galvanized carriage bolt") or detailed capabilities specifications (e.g. tolerances or machinery) when searching for what they need. An additional 47.3% said that they sometimes included detailed specifications.

Buyers search by brand names...53.6% of respondents state that they always (4.3%) or frequently (49.3%) include brand names (e.g. "3M" or "Baldor") as part of their search keywords. An additional 43.2% said that they sometimes included brand names.

Buyers include geographic locations in search keywords...A little more than one-third (37.7%) of respondents state that they include a geographic location (e.g. specific state) when searching for industrial products or services. An additional 52.9% say that they sometimes include a geographic location.

Source: Thomasnet

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What factors drive B2B brand equity?

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Source: Sales Force Impact on B-to-B Brand Equity, June 2010Prof. Dr. Carsten Baumgarth, Prof. Dr. Lars Binckebanck,

Influence

Sales rep behavior had the highest impact on B2B brand equity.

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What factors drive sales force brand adoption?

1. High expected customer demand (ECD)

2. High sales manager brand adoption

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Source: Understanding the adoption of a new brand through salespeople: A multilevel framework; Journal of Academic Marketing Science (2008) 36:278-291

Jan Wieseke & Christian Homburg & Nick Lee

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Summary of the research

• Brand equity continues to be very important for businesseso Influences ability to be found and consideredo Influences ability to differentiate

• B2B salespeople play a major role in shaping brand perceptiono Their behavior is among the strongest influences with customers

• B2B salespeople have a greater chance of adopting a new brand if:o They believe the new positioning will drive higher customer demando Their sales managers demonstrate a high-level of brand adoption

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Recommendations for improving brand adoption

1. Develop distinct internal and external launch strategies• External: Clients and prospects• Internal: Managers and reps

2. Influence positive attitudes toward new brand among sales managers• Take extra measures to get them bought in• Provide training and support resources to help them model behavior

3. Create expectations that new brand will drive high customer demand• Show explicably how brand attributes will translate into more sales • Increase demand generation activities in early stages of launch to reinforce the

perception that the brand is driving higher demand

4. Provide training to help sales reps “deliver” the brand with customers• Ensure they know what to say to differentiate your message• Ensure they know what to do to differentiate your expected behavior

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Recommendations for RVP’s

1. Look and listen for signs of brand initiatives in your clients• This is a trigger event, an indicator of a

training and coaching need

2. Talk to me about how to proceed• We’ll create a plan to proceed