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 proposition.”

“We need to correct lingering perceptions of who we are, not who we were 4-5 years ago.”

Do any of these sound familiar?  Are there other code words that indicate a branding issue, or evidence of good branding practice?