How B2B Branding Can Help You Reach Your Lead Generation Goals

A powerful brand can make the difference between having a successful business and having an unsuccessful one. 

Without strong brand identity, you'll have difficulty attracting customers and maintaining their loyalty.  But with a strong brand that resonates with your target audience, you can ensure that your company will thrive. 

Before digging into how branding can help you reach your lead gen goals, we’re first going to discuss the primary differences between brand awareness and lead generation. 

Brand Awareness vs. Lead Generation

In B2B marketing, lead generation is the primary goal. The trouble is, that many marketers don't understand how branding and lead generation work together to help them achieve those results. While it's true that brand awareness and lead generation are two different things, they're also closely related.

• Brand Awareness

The first goal of your B2B marketing campaign should be brand awareness. You want people to know who you are. This means making sure that they have heard of your company and that they understand what you do. If they don’t know who you are or what you do, why would they do business with you? 

Your goal with brand awareness, at the top of the marketing funnel, is to spread awareness of your business name and brand identity throughout the market.

• Lead Generation

Once someone has heard about your company and recognizes your brand, the next step is the consideration phase. This is the phase where people can decide to sign-up for a free offer like an eGuide or an email newsletter moving them further down the marketing funnel. 

Once they give over their contact information in exchange for your free offer, you can then nurture them through email marketing or other lead generation marketing efforts.

Quick Stat: 91% of marketers say that lead generation is their most important goal.

Market Your B2B Business the Right Way

As you can tell, both branding and lead generation play important roles in your business’s marketing efforts. But, to be successful you have to marry the two concepts together to continue to guide people down your marketing funnel towards a sale. 

Now, that you know the differences between the two, here are the five exact reasons why B2B branding will help you reach your lead gen goals. 

Reasons Why B2B Branding Will Help You Reach Your Lead Gen Goals

1) Your brand is your company's personality.

When you think of branding, what comes to mind? You probably think of a logo and maybe a brand color palette. But whether you know it or not, branding goes beyond logo design and color schemes. The logo will serve as the foundation for your brand which is why a quality design is so important. A good designer will be able to capture your company’s personality and communicate it in a visually appealing way. If you are using a logo generator, nail down your company's values before starting the design process.

Your brand is the personality of your company. It's what you stand for, and it's how well (or unwell) others perceive you.

It's about the way in which you present yourself to the world, who you hire to represent your company, how far outside of the box (or inside) you're willing to go when approaching business challenges, and how transparent you are with customers. 

This is branding at work! Branding works because it isn’t just about color schemes and flashy commercials—it’s about real emotion. This is real emotion is what causes potential customers to become more aware of who your brand is and to possibly purchase from your company later down the road. 

2) When you create a look and feel for your brand, it drives consistency.

Consistency is a key element of branding. It helps people recognize and remember your brand, as well as makes it easier for them to understand what you do. 

On average, it takes 5 to 7 impressions for people to remember your brand. This is why it’s crucial that when your brand does show up, your brand showcases your brand voice and image consistently so that customers can recall who your company is — easily. Once people are familiar with your brand, they connect with it, which in turn leads to more leads in your pipeline.

3) Branding helps you make an impactful first impression.

Have you ever heard the saying that first impressions are everything? 

According to statistics, you have 7 seconds to make a first impression. (That means that your first impression better be a memorable one — fast.)

Branding is your chance to make a positive first impression with potential customers. The more great first impressions your company has, the more leads you’ll have to convert to sales later on. 

4) Branding helps you get noticed by the right people.

B2B marketing can be tricky. Your target audience is comprised of individuals (or businesses) with specific needs so it’s important that when they see your brand identity, they know exactly what it is you do. 

You want them to be able to read between the lines and understand what sets you apart from every other company offering similar products or services. This will help you lead the right people further along in the customer journey. 

5) Branding helps you stand out from the competition.

Lastly, great branding helps you stand out from the competition. 

It’s no secret that it can be tough to get noticed when there are so many businesses offering similar products and services in the digital space. From having a great social media presence to having a professional, easy-to-use website, there are many factors that can cause your brand to break through the noise. 

Branding allows your business to instantly make an impactful first impression on anyone who comes across it. By placing your focus on brand awareness, you’ll start to see your efforts pay off through more sales or follows on social media. 

Brand Your Company for Success

To sum up, B2B branding can help you reach your lead generation goals. A strong brand will not only drive consistency and recognition in all of your marketing materials, but it’ll also help you make an impactful first impression with new leads and stand out from the competition.

Plus, if you have a look and feel for your company that resonates with the right customers, it’ll be easier to get noticed by them. 

How can you improve your B2B brand today? What things can you do to show up consistently?