1. How B2B brands talk
past their customers
Any use of this material without specific permission of
McKinsey & Company is strictly prohibited
New York, 18 March 2014
CFG conference

2. Great
strategy,
business brands excel in
consistency,
and delivery

3. SOURCE: Interbrand; team analysis
20%of world's top
100brands have
B2B focus
+ 27%
in the
last decade
3How B2B companies talk past their customers

4. Strong brands generate impact across B2B stakeholder groups
Employees and talent
Regulators, suppliers,
business partners, etc.
Investors and
analysts
B2B customers
End customers
SOURCE: Business Branding Initiative
"A consistent
(positive) and
appealing short-hand
articulation of what a
specific company
stands for"
§§§
How B2B companies talk past their customers

5. B2B customers across industries recognize that brand influences their decision
SOURCE: B2B Branding Survey
1 Quality of customer communication, provision of information, media visibility, etc.
27
27 21
23 25 22
17 21
20
15 13 18
14
US
19
Germany
18 Brand
Customer information1
Price
Product/services
Sales/channel
India
Influence on
purchase decision
Percentage
5How B2B companies talk past their customers

6. Strong B2B brands generate higher margins
SOURCE: B2B Branding Survey
Supplier brands, that
respondents in our
survey considered to
have a "strong" brand
image, exhibit a
significantly higher EBIT
margin
EBIT margin,
2011
Percent
6
11
12
13
Strong
brands
Neutral
brands
Weak
brands
+20.7%
How B2B companies talk past their customers

7. Strong brands outperform the index in financial markets
7
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Total Return to Shareholders1
Index
1 Portfolio consisting of the 40 top-ranked, listed companies, picked from Interbrand’s "Best Global Brands" report, published each summer
since 2000. Stocks in local currency, equally weighted and adjusted every July 1st
SOURCE: Datastream; Interbrand, McKinsey analysis
Top Brand
Portfolio1
MSCI
World
+31%
Top 40-brands portfolio has
outperformed bench-marks overall
and in 9 of the last 12 years
How B2B companies talk past their customers

8. What makes a brand "strong" in the eye of the customer?
8SOURCE: B2B Branding Survey
 Acts responsibly across its supply chain
 Has a high level of specialist expertise
 Fits in well with my values and beliefs
 Is a leader in its field
 Is a driver of innovation
 Role models corporate social responsibility in its work
 Provides a broad product portfolio
 Promotes and practices sustainability in its products or services
 Shapes the direction of the market
 Promotes diversity and equal opportunities
 Has global reach
 Cares about honest and open dialogue with its customers and society
 Has low prices
GLOBAL
Influence on perceived brand strength – the customer's view
Correlation ranking (n = 1,408)
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Combination
of rational
"hard facts"
AND
emotional
aspects
???
benefits
How B2B companies talk past their customers

9. There appears to be a disconnect between what customers care about and what
companies talk about
SOURCE: B2B Branding Survey 9
 Honest and open dialog
 Responsibility across supply chain
 High level of specialized expertise
 Fits my values and beliefs
 Is a leader in its field
What B2B
customers
care about
 Corporate social responsibility
 Sustainability
 Global reach
 Shapes the market
 Innovation
But what
are B2B
companies
talking
about?
How B2B companies talk past their customers

10. Brand perceptions based on many touchpoints – not just sales reps
10
US
India
Germany
7 most
preferred
touchpoints
for each
step in the
decision
journey
SOURCE: B2B Branding Survey
Consideration Evaluation Purchase
Loyalty
Advocacy
1 Salesreps
(Personal)
Salesreps
(Personal)
Salesreps
(Personal)
Salesreps
(Phone)
2 Website Past usage Salesreps
(Email)
Salesreps
(Email)
3 Past usage Press
Coverage
Website Salesreps
(Personal)
4 Recommen-
dation (ext.)
Distributor Trade Fairs Website
5 Catalog Website Events Events
6 Trade fair External re-
commendation
Prof. social
media
Trade fairs
7 Sales reps
(phone)
Catalog Sales reps
(phone)
Call Center
GLOBAL,
ALL INDUSTRIES
How B2B companies talk past their customers

11. 6 Steps for the journey
11
Take stock of corporate strategy
Map primary stakeholders
Determine value proposition and brand architecture
Track impact
Define touch points that matter
Architect activation
How B2B companies talk past their customers

12. 12
Agnes Claye
Senior Expert
NJ
Agnes_Claye@mckinsey.com
Nils Hoffman
Partner
New York
Nils_Hoffman@mckinsey.com
Staying connected
McKinsey on Marketing & Sales
Read more: How B2B companies talk past their customers