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This final chapter of the book provides an up-to-date overview of research on B2B branding. The chapter discusses the current academic endeavors and propositions from researchers in the field, while focusing on the discipline of B2B marketing. It furthermore elaborates on the importance of brands and branding for decision-making processes by discussing the role of B2B buyers and sellers. Additionally, branding as part of marketing has been reviewed from its historical background and the first attempts to develop its conceptual background. The chapter then focuses on business buyers and their main characteristics with regard to brand relevance. Finally, the key challenges of developing a strong B2B brand are presented and discussed, after which future research avenues and upcoming trends within the B2B branding context are considered. Digitalization and the digital context are identified as important areas to know in the future, as they are increasingly becoming important stages for marketing activities within the B2B domain. The digital context is a specific platform to explore further. In addition, the intangible aspects of B2B branding that are still unknown to many managers and academics, such as emotions in situations of interaction and sales are explored. From a thematic point of view, sustainability issues will become increasingly important to handle in organizations, which will put pressure on B2B marketers, as sustainability can be communicated through the corporate brand and related branding efforts.

This chapter describes the main issues in scientific literature related to industrial branding. First, we set the background focusing on industrial branding, followed by brand equity and measurement, and brand orientation in business markets. The second section relies on controversies and problems inherent in the gaps in theory and implementation of branding. The third section proposes several solutions and recommendations for academics and practitioners, followed by proposals for future research directions and conclusions. We also present a case study and several case questions arising.

The aim of this chapter is to investigate the transformations undergone by dual marketers in their marketing strategies, with the advent of new digital tools. In particular, the chapter wants to emphasise the shift from a dual marketing perspective to the omnichannel approach, based on the integration of communication strategies between business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C). To this end, the chapter first analyses the theoretical contribution of the integrated marketing communication paradigm in omnichannel marketing. Then, identifying the characteristics common to the B2B and B2C markets, it maps the use of touchpoints and digital content in the dual marketers' omnichannel strategies. Moreover, the role of online personalised marketing and big data analytics tools is illustrated in order to investigate the relationship between dual marketing and big data analytics towards Industry 4.0. Lastly, the dynamics and the perspectives emerged from the literature are traced within the case study of Unicredit Italia to try to bring out the best practices for an omnichannel strategy of dual marketers.

The chapter discusses online branding in the business-to-business domain and the benefits it offers to B2B actors. Online branding is a tool to interact and communicate with existing and potential customers. The authors also present content marketing as a marketing effort available to B2B marketers, as well as the nature of digital relationships in social media. The reader learns the importance of branding the company through digital channels and those benefits that can be reached through such actions. The digital tools presented in the chapter relate to social media, for example, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, blogs, search engine optimization, and paid advertising. These tools are discussed in detail, both related to their benefits and pitfalls.

This chapter covers a diverse range of alternative methods for capturing deep major account insights online. Increasingly in the twenty first century, B2B decision-makers remain abreast of industry innovations and product information through participation in online communities. Through using social mobile technologies businesses exchange product and service experiences online amongst peers not just vendor organisations. A key aspect of this chapter shares rationale for selection of a marketing versus research community, community objectives, online techniques to gain major account insights using big data, resourcing, integration with existing marketing systems and budgeting for ongoing maintenance of marketing communities supporting B2B sales and marketing initiatives. This chapter focuses on the emerging area of B2B sales activities for creation and management of online communities for Major Account management of energy supply customers. A case-based research strategy specifically honed towards sensemaking of major account activities through using B2B online communities in conjunction with emerging research methods is outlined and critiqued.

This chapter helps to establish a characterization system for industrial and consumer companies. Marketing science shows that industrial brands and consumer brands have to be managed in significant different ways. The reason is the variety of distinctions. Marketing literature often fall back to the same definition for companies. Usually, companies are defined business-to-business (B2B) when they deal with other companies and business-to-consumer (B2C) when they make their revenues with private consumers. However, both definitions do not represent the knowledge from marketing literature about the specifications in both market categories. The characterization system here separates companies by the demand drivers (derivate and origin) of their costumers, by their communication strategy, by the roles individuals play in the buying process, and recommend the appropriate branding strategy. The results of a survey about B2B knowledge show how important such a characterizing system for the discussion is. Often managers have no clear picture of a company in terms of B2B and B2C marketing. The system helps them to find a common basis for understanding the crucial issues, based on an empirical analysis.

Knowledge management (KM) is an important topic in the age of big data, and this study adds to the existing body of literature by providing a novel KM perspective on the technological phenomenon of artificial intelligence (AI). This study aims to discover how AI might facilitate knowledge-based business-to-business (B2B) marketing. In this chapter, the authors take a close look at the building blocks of AI and the relationships between them. Future research directions and also the effects of the various market information building components on B2B marketing are discussed. The study’s approach is theoretical; it tries to provide a framework for characterising the phenomenon of AI and its constituent parts. Additionally, this chapter provides a methodical analysis of the three categories of market information crucial to B2B marketing: knowledge of customers, knowledge of users, and knowledge of external markets. This research looks at AI through the lens of the conventional data processing framework, analysing the six pillars upon which AI systems are founded. It also explained how the framework’s components work together to transform data into actionable information. In this chapter, the authors will look at how AI works and how it can benefit B2B knowledge-based marketing. It’s not aimed at AI experts but rather at general marketing managers. In this chapter, the possible effects of AI on B2B marketing are discussed using examples from the real world.

This chapter examines the empirical evidence about business-to-business (B2B) brands and offers implications for value creation. Brand marketing texts typically emphasize the competitive advantage of strong brands but often assume a consumer branding (B2C) perspective. However some of the world's most valuable brands are predominantly B2B in nature, and the question arises regarding the importance of branding in B2B marketing. This chapter examines the following question. How do B2B brands create and deliver value for firms in interorganizational transactions? The chapter begins by examining the relevance of current theoretical frameworks of branding in the B2B context and the stages of the brand value chain. Next, the chapter considers extant research showing the impact of B2B branding at the various stages of the brand value chain. The chapter also suggests areas for future research in B2B branding and concludes with a reader case study.

The chapter presents how business-to-business (B2B) actors may use branding as a tool for maintaining strong, long-term business relationships with their customers. Current knowledge on how to maintain business relationships is presented, related to branding as a tool contributing to long-term and strong business relationships. The phenomenon is studied in detail through a case company, Verso Globe, which operates in the consultancy area and is specialized in sustainability issues. The authors conclude that shared values and norms lead to beneficial business relationships and help maintain them. Also, the case company is closely collaborating and co-creating with its customers, which leads to technological adaptation and increases mutual commitment. A reputation of sharing values, having interest to develop, and co-creating with customers benefits the company and builds the corporate brand. The company culture must, however, support the efforts that make the brand. It is therefore important for B2B actors to understand the customer’s values and use it as a basis for customer relationship management activities. Concurrently, the company’s own values and how it directs employees are elements of its culture, which is the basis for the corporate brand. The perfect match of business relationships is therefore lies in aligning values and norms between the partners.

The research and the authors spotlighted in this book represent a series of recent exciting developments in the topic of business-to-business (B2B) branding. The papers in this book enhance our understanding of practice in this important facet of the marketing discipline. Furthermore, each author presents areas for future research and important managerial implications. The papers in this book cover a broad spectrum of industries and continents as well as both product and service offerings. The papers address a wide range of B2B applications including resellers, retailers, logistics service providers, subcontractors, hairdressing services, and a producer of high-tech materials. In addition, two papers address branding in B2B markets and pricing more generally. These papers provide details of the research background, methodology, analysis of each study. The topic coverage of this volume is extensive as the following list shows: (1) Building a Strong B2B Brand; (2) Building a Strong Brand to Resellers; (3) B2B Brand Equity: Theory, Measurement, and Strategy; (4) Effective Strategies for B2B Service Brands; (5) Brand Meaning and its Impact in Subcontractor Contexts; (6) Brand Image, Corporate Reputation, and Customer Value; (7) Internal Branding Theory, Research, and Practice; (8) Pricing Theory and Strategy Applications in B2B Brand Management.

Collectively these papers address most aspects of the marketing mix for B2B and industrial marketers. Each of the papers provides valuable brand management insights for managers.