My notes from the MarketingProfs B2B panel "Getting Strategic with Your Brand."

Presented by Lois Brayfield, President, J Schmid & Associates; Susan Doctoroff Landay, President, Trainers Warehouse

Lois asked us to accept three ideas: Your brand defined is the perception of your customers. Forget B2B, you’re selling to people with real lives and real problems. “You’re not selling to a building.” We’re experiencing a new era where momentous social and cultural changes are occurring.

Constantly ask yourself, “Do you still matter?” How does your customer want to interact with you? You have to understand and focus on what they want, not on how you’ve been doing business in the past.

No matter how they decide to interact with you, ultimately it’s about the customer experience. Traditionally we’ve struggled with the idea of how to monetize the customer experience. Lois referenced a study that showed companies who actively managed their customer experience were twice as likely to succeed.

You’re selling to a business, yes, but you’re selling to individuals who are overwhelmed with messages every day. Customers have more choices than ever before yet less time. The customer mindset has shifted from, “What am I going to pay attention to?” to “What am I going to ignore?”

Lois says the problem is we’re talking about the wrong stuff. Nothing is sticking. “You better say something that matters, and you literally have two seconds to do it.” Lois referenced another study that said only 20 percent of brands had a relevant or differentiated message.

“Our brains are hardwired to notice what is different,” she said.

Never try to differentiate on a “cost of entry” benefit, Lois advises. Quality, service and value are not differentiators, they are table stakes. You need to find a differentiating brand benefit that is 1) important to the customers, 2) you are uniquely suited to deliver and 3) your competitors aren’t providing.

The “trifecta” is customer, company and competition, and you need to focus most of your attention on your customers. To do that, you need a realistic view of your customers. The more you know about their lives and how they make decisions, the easier it is to differentiate to them. And never assume you know them.

You can get to know your customers by one-to-one interviews, talking on the phone, speaking with your people in the field and going to the conferences they attend.

Never assume customers get your message just because you’ve said it. You need to “brandwash” your customers. Train your sales force to deliver the message over and over in different ways.

Lois recommends creating a “customer experience team” that brings together all the touch points, not just marketing. The experience needs to be consistent, and it helps to have one person in the company be a champion.

Four final thoughts from four cultural icons:

What can we learn from Elvis? “I don’t sound like nobody.” Be original.

What can we learn from the Blues Brothers? Have a mission. Know your reason for being.

What can we learn from Ace Ventura? He was a pet detective. Specialize. You can’t be all things to all people. A great brand will alienate people because they stick to what they are.

What can we learn from Pee Wee Herman? Be consistent. (And be careful, because people are watching. Your reputation can be ruined overnight.)

Susan, who was once a clown (really) woke us up by taking a big pratfall off the stage.

Trainers Warehouse started as Office Images, selling acrylic frames for office cubicles. Trainers started using them as certificate frames, so they developed more products for trainers.

Trainers Warehouse uses fun to help sell their message. Their customers tell them that doing business with them is a fun experience. They understand their customers and their needs, and how the offer something unique.

They've identified their key attributes: innovative, effective and fun.

They don’t have a direct competitor because of the way they’ve differentiated themselves to their customers.

They’ve articulated a strong brand promise: “Only Trainer’s Warehouse delivers innovative, playful tools and ideas to facilitators of learning seeking to enliven the learning process.”