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Developing a strong brand is an essential part of building value. Your brand is the most outward-facing, recognizable element of your company, and in the end, that is what people respond to. Of course, a good product is the building block of a good brand, but the brand itself is what conveys trustworthiness and quality.

However, according to an article in The Economist, research shows that decision-makers feel that brand is a central element of the seller’s value proposition. B2B products, do not elicit the same kind of emotional connection that consumer product do—but a strong brand can nonetheless facilitate access to prospects and speed up the sales cycle by clarifying benefits and reducing perceived risks.

Needless to say, brand strategy is something to take seriously. Chief Outsiders offers a look into how to make your brand as strong as possible:

1. Determine what the criteria are for your target customers’ decision-making. What are the things that they care about most? What business problems are they trying to solve? When you truly understand your target customers, you can position your product and develop your brand in a way that speaks to them most.
2. Assess where your brand is currently positioned. Are there gaps in your brand strategy, and are there new opportunities to be had? Being able to make an accurate evaluation relies on a complete knowledge of the current trends in your target market, as well as a good view of where the market is heading.
3. Choose where you would like to be positioned and adjust your messaging accordingly. You should be able to relatewhat your company does and how that’s different from other providers in a way that is supremely relevant to your target. Especially in B2B, one target market could have radically different priorities than another—but they each need to understand the value of your product.

The goal for a brand strategy is to have your brand reflect quality, which in turn will help convince more customers to buy from you. But that’s no easy task—your message needs to deeply resonate with your target buyers. By truly understanding the markets you wish to enter or lead, you will be able to clearly articulate the value your product provides in a context to which your targets can personally relate—winning you more loyalty and more deals.

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