I’ve never been a “GE glorifier”, but I have been paying a little more attention to GE lately, as a student of business. Specifically, the strategic leadership of CEO Jeffrey Immelt. In my opinion, he's finally stepped out of the giant shadow of his predecessor and mentor, Jack Welch. Since December 2002, Immelt has sold off more than $75 billion in GE businesses such as its plastics and insurance units, and most recently, appliances (a business once synonymous with its brand name) while spending more than $50 billion on acquisitions in faster-growing sectors including wind power and aviation. Strategy in action.

Mr. Immelt has a very good sense of what he wants the GE brand to stand for going forward - innovation in emerging businesses in the 21st century (for now, that means big investments in health-care and energy.) Much of the growth in GE’s strategy will come
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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
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Lately I’ve been riding the bus to work, trying to save on gas. A fringe benefit is that I can listen to podcasts on my MP3 player.

Many B-to-B marketers (including some of our clients) are using podcasts to reach specific audiences who want to be informed. It’s a great tool for companies to establish thought leadership. However, you should avoid the temptation to record a blatant product pitch or “audio brochure.” Instead, content should meet the audience expectation that they’ll learn something new.

Your podcast needs to be educational and entertaining. The sales pitch can come later, when the listener chooses to take the next step and request more information (maybe even in exchange for their e-mail address).

First and foremost, a podcast should deliver useful information.
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It looks like we are in for some uncertain economic times. At least that is what Wall Street and the major news outlets are telling us. So what do we do as business to business marketers as budget pressure builds and we are expected to remain stewards of our brand?

I recently had the opportunity to be part of a panel on this subject at a meeting of the American Marketing Association’s, Houston Chapter’s B2B Special Interest Group.

Here’s a brief recap of what was discussed:

The overall message of the meeting was that successful B2B marketers view these as times of opportunity. A period that requires an "uncertain times" strategy with the brand and protecting the brand is the driver. It is a critically opportune time to make sure your brand message is integrated into all communications associated with your brand.

Michelle Reed, Vice President Strategic Marketing,
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When was the last time you saw a company advertise itself as “combative and adversarial?” Have you seen any vision statements that say “We struggle with our customers for common ground?” How about a tagline that says, “Committed to losing your trust?”

Of course not. But more than half of b-to-b technology companies are branding themselves this way by their actions, according to a new study by the Chief Marketing Officer Council, reported in a recent online article in B2B Magazine.

According to the study, which surveyed 1,000 b-to-b technology buyers, IT marketing and customer relationship executives and their channel partners, 56% of vendors perceive themselves as being customer-centric, but only 12% of customers agree. Even more telling is that more than half of customers surveyed described their relationship with
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"Brand ambassador" is term generally used to refer to a company's employees and relates to their ability to represent the brand in a positive fashion. For example, when I did a  search on the term I got the following result:

"Every Honeywell employee is a brand ambassador. With every customer contact and whenever we represent Honeywell, we have the opportunity either to strengthen the Honeywell brand or to cause it to lose some of its luster and prestige."

I have also seen it used to describe celebrities that are hired as spokespeople. For example, that same search gave me these results:

"Toyota has roped in actor Aamir Khan as its Brand Ambassador for its utility vehicle Innova."

"TAG Heuer today announced Hollywood superstars Brad Pitt and Uma Thurman as brand ambassadors."

In the Web 2.0 world we are engaging new technologies to communicate with our prospects and customers.
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The term “branding” is often misunderstood and not always warmly embraced in the business-to-business environment. But B-to-B branding is vital to a marketer’s success. It is the process of defining and differentiating your company and how you add value to your markets and customers. Good branding is part of every successful B-to-B marketing program. Sometimes it simply uses “code.” Over the past weeks, we have talked to prospective clients and heard many of the “code words” that reveal a branding issue.

“We can’t hire better sales reps or dealers because of our standing in the market.”

 “We don’t have top-of-mind awareness at customers.”

 “We need a consistent message that conveys our value
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It’s not new, companies have been using sound as part of creating a brand experience since around 1950. NBC had the famous three chimes. United Airlines for years has integrated Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin in its branding efforts. According to a Business Week article, Fine Tuning a Brand’s Signature, companies are looking to add sound in new ways to enhance the brand experience. (see slide show) According to Derrick M. Kuzak, Ford Motor Co.'s global chief for product development, customers are incredibly attuned to the sounds of quality, but Ford hasn't been, and he believed it has cost them.
 
Think he’s crazy, think again. J.D.
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Roger Goodell just celebrated his first year as NFL Commissioner. He has faced some tough issues in his first year on the job. One thing is certain, Commissioner Goodell has demonstrated a pretty solid understanding about brand guardianship. He has faced the reality that illegal or irresponsible behavior – see Michael Vick, Adam “Pacman” Jones and others – can have an impact not only on the offender, but damages the reputation of the game and diminishes respect and support for the NFL brand, if not dealt with appropriately.
 
Using the commissioner’s language, “Protecting the Shield” has driven  his actions. (BTW - there is a new “shield” in the works.) I think Commissioner Goodell understands that brands need to
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The “push” of mass media is being replaced by the “participation” of the new media. B-to-B customers and prospects are taking advantage of the new technologies in all phases of the buying process, from research to vendor selection to spec comparison, all the way to making a purchase where appropriate. They are engaging in deeper, richer, two-way interaction. B-to-B customers may download a podcast that educates them about a new technology. Participate in your blog that addresses technical issues. They might contribute to your wiki. Or request RSS feeds from your web site. As a result, some are saying that branding is becoming less relevant. In our view, branding actually is more important than ever, and also a bigger part of marketing professionals’ responsibilities. Why? The new media and interactive technologies offer more ways for customers to make contact and experience your brand before making direct contact and experiencing your brand the
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