Firebrand

Sometimes we think that business to business is not comparable to business to consumer sales because organizations are much more rational about their purchases. We think a proposal is weighted on it’s value proposition versus cost and the best combination of the two will win. Business clients are wooed into emotional purchases, and swayed by flashy advertising campaigns.

I wholeheartedly disagree. Consumers generally have a much better to make an apples to apples comparison; all of the tomato sauces in the grocery are laid out in a row for me, and their nutritional information, ingredients and price are clear. With business to business sales, the value and price is much more convoluted and this opens up the door for personal scrutiny that can be swayed to emotional. “Well company X has a shorter timeline an requires less cash down, but company Y has a track record of delivering on budget.” I would argue that brand plays even more of role in B2B than B2C.

To build your B2B brand, you have to create great customer experiences. And that starts with how you treat your clients when they come visit you. You need to think about their experience in a way a hotel or a restaurant thinks about your visit with them.

When I stayed at the the Swan and Dolphin resort at Disney World in Orlando for a conference, I was amazed at how much thought was given to making sure I had a positive brand impression of them. A shuttle picked me up and took me right up to the door. The entry way was beautiful and the path to the check in desk was clear. I was greeted with a smile and great service, and clearly shown where my room was. In my room, the TV was on with a video looping through pictures and video of the hotels services, set to serene music. I actually took notes on it, because it was so powerful at positioning the hotel as relaxing and inviting.

You get the impression that no stone has been left unturned to create a great experience with really great places in the hospitality industry. Experiences like Disney World and the Mandarin restaurant actually seem synthetic because of their how fine tuned every part is. But I’ll err on the side of a great controlled positive experience rather than a casual experience.

Take a walk in your clients shoes. Is there easy access to parking? Are they greeted at the door promptly and curtiously? Is the office well decorated and clean? Is the office laid out in a simple way? Is the meeting room easily accessible? Is the meeting room open, well lit and have windows, or does it feel claustrophobic? Are the clients offered a coffee, tea or water? If they require a tour, do the salespeople know how to give it professionally and stick to points the client would car about? Is your branding places prominently around the office?

You may think that you don’t need to think about that fluff, and you can concentrate on your product and operations to compete. Admirable, but spending a little time thinking about the experience can have a high return on investment (ROI). Spending a few thousand dollars and some man hours tuning up the client experience can all be paid by getting one contract you wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.

Your clients are coming to see your location because they want to judge how professional it is; if they didn’t want to know that then they would stay in their office and let you come to them. Manage their experiences.

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By Colin Finkle. Colin Finkle is an award winning industrial designer who works with large multinational brands everyday designing retail displays for FX Displays in Toronto, Canada. He is the principle designer at Firebrand Creative. He also writes for AMD’s FireUser.com blog.

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