In business, the term branding one of the most misused and misunderstood marketing buzzwords. In recent years, the seemingly straight-forward but actually ambiguous phrase Return on Investment or “ROI” has made a run at eclipsing branding as the “concept de jour”– often discussed, but a lack of analytics or visibility to the right metrics creates a failure to follow-through (that is a topic for another post).

The fact is there are few strong B2B brands out in the marketplace today. During the “roaring 00s” (at least pre-recession) many businesses found success riding the economic tidal wave, but left their brand and brand strategy out treading water.

Now, companies are realizing while they achieved paramount success in the past decade, many B2B markets were left commoditized, and without a clear leader in many industries and product categories.

The result is a glut of organizations who are again prioritizing their brand, but without an understanding of where to get started. Many of the B2B organizations I encounter possess the foundational elements and raw materials on which a brand can be built. The challenge is getting them to start thinking and acting outside of themselves in order to articulate their brand in a way that has value and resonates with customers and prospects.

When preparing recently for the 2011 Marketing Technology Summit, I had an interesting discussion with Greg Head, CMO at InfusionSoft. He mentioned that the philosophy he has tried to instill within the leadership of organizations he has worked with is very succinctly summarized as “focus to grow.”

To me, this simple phrase says it all. It works when applied to the products a company sells, the services a company offers, the markets in which a company operates and the target audiences a company interacts with.

Of greater interest to me was the power the statement has when applied to creating and fostering a strong brand. The simple outcome that companies need to strive for is to create a focused brand position that:

• Is operationally coherent;
• Provides distinction from competitors;
• Aligns with the current and future needs of their industry; and,
• Allows room for the organization to evolve over time.

Many times companies feel that if they choose one thing to represent the essence of their company, they’ll be limiting themselves. The reality is that if you own one thing well in the minds of the customer, you’ll earn their trust to be able to offer them other products and services they value, as long as it relates back to that core brand promise.

The right brand position for any organization will not only allow you to own one thing well, but will also be flexible enough to act as an entry point to any number of conversations with customers.

The first step is to set a process by which you can identify, narrow and articulate the focus of your brand. That becomes the start, but the future becomes a branding journey that requires constant attention and through any ebbs and flows within the economy, acts as a life preserver to provide distinction and direction for your company, so that it is never left treading water.

Has your brand been neglected? Is it time to refresh your brand to align it with today’s market conditions?

As most of the world knows by now, Apple dropped some disappointing news on the world October 4 - we still don’t know when we can get our iPhone 5. Typically, Apple is famous for delivering nothing but outstanding news and PR gold, but the reaction to the lack of an iPhone 5 has been underwhelming at best, and vitriolic at worst.

So why was this one so different?

It is pretty hard to match the levels of anxiety and hype behind and new Apple products the last few years. It is obvious that Apple has become a master of both brand loyalty and innovation that has helped them create the craze behind their recent product launches. So when the world had been hearing rumors of the iPhone 5, and then was told Apple would be announcing “something big” on October 4, you can understand the disappointment when the “big” announcement, was in fact, not that big.

Sure, iPhone 4S is neat, it’s a bit faster with a nicer camera (and Siri seems cool, but is it a software or hardware upgrade?), but was this something that needed the hype Apple let surround it?

Sure, Apple may not be responsible for all the hype; after all, all the iPhone 5 rumors and leaks have been propagated by consumers and unofficial reports, not by Apple themselves. However, a company so notorious for delivering groundbreaking announcements of innovative products should have realized (not to mention, relying on Twitter and social media to build buzz for them), and pre-emptively attempted to dampen the excitement.

And I’m not just being negative to be negative. And this has nothing to do with Steve Jobs. Others feel the same way:

• http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20116004-37/apple-iphone-4s-gets-lukewarm-analyst-response/
• http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9220568/Buzz_kill_Online_reaction_to_iPhone_4S_trends_negative
• http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/225295/20111005/fans-demand-iphone-5-after-apple-iphone-4s-unveiling-pre-order-sale-buy-ios-5-download.htm

Image credit creativebits.com

It’s not that the iPhone 4S isn’t announcement worthy, but it wasn’t necessary to announce such a mediocre product on such a grandeur scale. By doing so, it only hurt the previously beautiful PR image Apple had.

The fact that Apple knew huge things were expected, yet knowingly disappointed the masses without any real attempt to curb the growing expectations, is what angers fans and consumers.

But will people vote with their wallets? Not likely – Sprint just committed to buy 30M iPhones over the next five years, so I’d wager that when the 4S finally starts hitting the palms of those waiting in line, all will be forgiven. But it’s a PR bug on Apple’s previously clean windshield. And that’s so unlike Apple.

Are you in line to get your iPhone 4S, or are you waiting for the iPhone 5? Will you ever trust Apple again? Do you have any PR bugs on your windshield?

Last month, I went on a girl’s weekend to Sedona and tried something a little out of the ordinary. I decided to intentionally NOT talk as much and actually LISTEN. Not interrupt at exciting moments, but ask questions and listen attentively.  And I will tell you, it was enlightening! Even after the fact, I still remember so much about the girls I went with, the stories they shared with me and all the personal details I listened so intently to.

How often do we truly listen? To our co-workers, customers, and most importantly – customers prospects? Even further, how often do we absorb what we just heard and use it to our benefit? Sometimes we’re moving so fast that information goes in one ear and out the other.

In B2B Marketing, listening is our most powerful weapon. We B2B marketers most likely listen in one of three ways. How you improve your listening in those facets is the true test!

Photo credit: Orin Woodward Leadership Inc.

In-Person
It’s not every day that you get face-to-face time with a customer or prospect these days. Face-time to me also includes email, phone and Skype.  All are considered real-time situations where you have their direct attention. Take this as the perfect opportunity to improve your listening skills.

You might have perfect eye contact or the best e-mail voice, but if you’re not genuinely listening to what they’re saying, you’re only diminishing your chances. You need to make them feel most important. I really like these tips to improve your listening – I’ve also found them to improve my memory retention!

Online
Improve your listening by being where your customers are – online! There are an endless number of conversations happening online that impact your business that you should be listening to and monitoring. Go where your customers are and follow their conversations – listen to their challenges, opinions, and questions.

You can rely on social media networks like Twitter, LinkedIn, Google, and Facebook to see into the minds of your customers and prospects and conduct custom, keyword/phrase searches.  Contribute as you see fit, but mainly just spend some time online listening and tracking what people are saying, particularly about your brand.

Another great tool that I use daily is Google Alerts. Set up an automatic alert when your brand name or company is mentioned online. It actually gets pretty addicting and the conversation comes to YOU.

Post-Sale
Are you asking your customers/prospects to share their feedback with you? And if so, how frequently? Most importantly, how are you showing them that you’re listening?

Make surveys or focus groups a part of your strategic marketing plan. You can conduct these in person, online or even via video conference. After you decide on the channel, decide on the frequency – monthly, annually, after every sales experience, etc.

By asking them questions and showing them that you care about their opinion, you can listen reactively to your customers while simultaneously proving that you’re trustworthy because you value their input.

Ultimately what will you gain from listening better?

• Trust – it’s rather important
• Knowledge – insight into your customers’/prospects’ behavior, decision-drivers, needs and opinions
• Perspective – what do people think of your brand? What is the state of the industry?
• Ideas – listening might spark something you never knew you or your company needed

I’ll now leave you with four great quotes from Dale Carnegie on listening:

• “Learn to listen more than you talk.”
• “Many people listen, very few actually hear.”
• “If you aspire to be a good conversationalist, be an attentive listener”
• “To be interesting, be interested”

Which Carnegie quote speaks to you the most? What social networks do you use regularly to listen or what are some of your most useful listening tips?

Recently, I was able to attend my first industry convention, the Marketing Technology Summit, hosted jointly by the Phoenix Chapter of the Business Marketers Association and the Arizona Technology Council. For a relative newcomer to the marketing world, this was a really exciting opportunity. I had been working on several projects and productions in preparation for this event in the weeks prior, and now I was able to see how it all came together.

Long story short, the event was a great experience. The speakers that Arizona Technology Council and the Business Marketing Association put together were fantastic. This may have been a fairly small convention, but the quality of knowledge that I got out of just a few hours of speakers was fitting for even the largest scale of events.

Now it may be an obvious thing to claim, but my largest takeaway from this event was just how far technology has come, and just how relevant it is in the marketing world.

Embracing my millennial demographic, I pride myself being fairly technologically adept and informed, but even I was hearing about new things. For example, QR codes are becoming more mainstream and chances are, you know what they do or have seen them around before.

But even trendier, is augmented reality, where live, real world images/video are enhanced, or supplemented with digital images or tools. Facial recognition on you camera screen for example, is a very basic example of this. Just how technology like this is working its way into established marketing practices is still being decided, but the act that it has potential to add value is undeniable.

Not all information has to be new in order to be informative. Another topic at the summit-marketing automation-offered a lot of good information on a subject I was already aware of. The concepts of marketing automation like CRMs and e-mail marketing aren’t exactly new, but hearing the top minds in the industry share their input, experience, and insight on the subject, Make you realize just how important a good CRM and marketing automation program can be.

So the next time you’re thinking about ways to innovate within your workplace, think about how technology can factor in. Whether it’s implementing new marketing automation and CRMs, or optimizing your existing online content for mobile devices, technology plays a huge role in your marketing plan.

What are some of the recent technological implementations made in your company?