3 ways a strong brand can help you master the long sales game.

September 04, 2024

In the B2B world, the sales cycle can be a slow (and often winding) road to success.

Consider this: 74.6% of B2B sales to new customers take at least four months to close, and 46.4% take seven or more. This stands in stark contrast to B2C, where sales cycles are more often measured in days or even minutes.

Why the difference? Most companies’ sales strategies are aligned with the basic structure of the sales funnel: awareness, consideration, and decision. But in the B2B space, each stage usually involves multiple stakeholders across different departments.

With so many cooks in the B2B buying kitchen, how can you keep them all interested over a protracted period of time—and ultimately win their business and loyalty?

A strong brand identity helps ensure that your B2B brand stands out and remains engaging and attractive to potential buyers at every touchpoint. Here are three steps to build, maintain, and communicate yours.

1. Re-examine your brand platform.

Your brand is the platform for all your sales and marketing efforts—so it must present a cohesive, compelling image and story conveying the value you provide. The ROI can be significant: One report found that presenting a brand consistently across all platforms can increase revenue by 20% or more.

Start by taking a fresh look at your brand, from your messaging to your logo and imagery. Does it reflect the company you are today? Is it in step with your target customers’ needs? Does it highlight how you can solve their challenges and make their lives easier? Customer surveys and one-to-one conversations can help you pinpoint where your brand may be falling short and reveal ways to enhance and improve it.

The heart of your brand identity should be a clear customer value proposition (CVP) that succinctly communicates your brand’s unique benefits. If you don’t have a strong one, gather key stakeholders within your company to create it, including a cross-section of employees with insight into your customers’ needs and what differentiates you from your competition.

Round out your brand identity by defining your voice, crafting or refreshing your messaging, and developing a unique visual style. Then, invest in brand guidelines that provide direction for consistently reflecting your brand identity across all sales and marketing channels, with guidance for tailoring it to different stakeholders. This will help you build the trust and recognition crucial for nurturing long-term B2B customer relationships.

2. Create tailored content for diverse stakeholders.

Sixty percent of marketers say content is “very” or “extremely” important to their overall strategy. Why? Content is a powerful tool for guiding prospects through the sales funnel. By providing valuable insights tailored to their specific concerns, you can establish your brand as a trusted advisor and the top choice for their needs.

However, content creation requires a significant, ongoing commitment of time and resources to realize its full benefits. Knowing where to focus your efforts is key—and that starts with understanding your target customers.

Crafting the wrong types of content doesn’t just waste time and energy—it can actually create a disconnect with the prospects you need to attract and engage. So begin by developing a content strategy aligned with their needs and concerns at each stage of the sales funnel. Examples include:

Awareness: Blog posts, social media posts, white papers, e-books
Consideration: Product videos, case studies, customer testimonials (written and video)
Decision: Webpages featuring your offering, product demos, FAQs

Remember that your prospects are bombarded by content everywhere they click. Set yours apart by making sure it’s distinctive to your brand—reflecting your unique point of view and infused with insights based on your expertise and experience.

And if you haven’t already, use market research and customer surveys to create buyer personas that enable you to tailor your communications to real people rather than a faceless crowd. Personalizing your content makes prospects feel understood and helps them relate to your brand—leading to increased sales and repeat customers.

3. Use the power of storytelling to engage stakeholders.

Stories evoke emotions—and in the B2B space, emotions drive buying decisions, just as they do in B2C. So telling strong, emotionally driven stories can help you connect with prospective customers in lasting ways.

Storytelling also makes your brand relatable and memorable, making it more likely that buyers will remember your key messages and share them with other stakeholders involved in the decision-making process.

Incorporate storytelling into your branding efforts at every stage of the sales funnel, aligning it with the content strategy discussed above. Share success stories and case studies that highlight how your solutions have made a difference for your customers. Offer webinars that teach prospects how to solve a problem you know they deal with on a regular basis. Consider creating “behind the scenes” videos that provide a look inside your company, showing how you develop ideas for new products or partner with customers on real-world projects.

And make your stories as personal as possible. An authentic customer testimonial—on video or in writing, in their own words—can have a more persuasive and immediate impact than even the most well-designed website or glossy brochure.

More than a competitive edge.

When you’re navigating lengthy B2B sales cycles, a strong brand identity is more than a competitive edge—it’s a necessity.

By ensuring your value is clear, your messaging is consistent, and your image is cohesive and compelling, you can connect more effectively with buyers at every stage of the sales funnel—and build customer partnerships with staying power.