I must confess. I’m a believer in Marriott Hotels. I recently discovered, I've stayed at Marriott properties over 100 times in the last 10 years. It’s not that I see other hotel brands as being inferior. I just find myself almost “automatically” making reservations at a Marriott when traveling. Why? Because, through experience, I believe the experience will be positive and I’ve not been disappointed.
 
Looking at it from a big-picture perspective, isn’t building belief the essence of what good B-to-B branding is all about? Without belief, there can be no trust, without trust there can be no loyalty. If a company, regardless of the products or services they offer, is not seen as having credibility, can any reasonable person be expected to believe that doing business with them is a wise decision?
 
Sure there are other elements that go into effective B-to-B branding like consistency of expression, positive touch point experiences and employees living the brand. At the end of the day, however, don’t all these things add up to building customer belief? Branding has become an ambiguous word in our lexicon. Perhaps when we hear the word “branding, we should think “building customer belief.” It may be a lot easier for many folks to grasp.
 
On a lighter note, I ran across this simple illustration – the stairway to brand heaven or hell on a blog I sometimes visit. Humorous but true. (Note: you may need to scroll up to see the graphic.)