How can you improve your B2B brand reputation using research?

1 Understand your market

Before you can improve your brand reputation, you need to understand your market and your customers. What are their needs, challenges, preferences, and expectations? How do they perceive your brand and your competitors? What are the gaps and opportunities in your market? You can use various methods of market research, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, or online platforms, to collect and analyze data from your potential and existing customers. This will help you identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and align your brand strategy with your market reality.

2 Define your value proposition

Once you have a clear picture of your market and your customers, you need to define your value proposition. Your value proposition is the core message that communicates how your brand solves your customers' problems, delivers benefits, and creates value. It should be clear, concise, relevant, and differentiated from your competitors. You can use tools such as the value proposition canvas or the lean canvas to articulate your value proposition and test it with your customers. You can also use research to validate and refine your value proposition, by asking for feedback, measuring satisfaction, or tracking behavior.

3 Build your brand identity

Your brand identity is the visual and verbal expression of your value proposition. It includes your name, logo, slogan, colors, fonts, tone of voice, and style. Your brand identity should be consistent, coherent, and memorable across all your touchpoints and channels. You can use design research to create and improve your brand identity, by exploring different concepts, testing different options, or evaluating the impact of your design choices. You can also use research to monitor and maintain your brand identity, by auditing your brand assets, checking for consistency, or updating your guidelines.

4 Create your brand story

Your brand story is the narrative that connects your value proposition and your brand identity with your customers' emotions and motivations. It tells who you are, why you exist, what you do, and how you do it. Your brand story should be authentic, engaging, and compelling, and inspire your customers to take action. You can use storytelling research to craft and share your brand story, by finding your purpose, defining your audience, choosing your format, and measuring your results. You can also use research to enhance and evolve your brand story, by collecting stories from your customers, employees, or partners, or adapting your story to different contexts or platforms.

5 Deliver your brand experience

Your brand experience is the sum of all the interactions and impressions that your customers have with your brand throughout their journey. It includes your products, services, content, communication, support, and culture. Your brand experience should be seamless, satisfying, and superior, and match your value proposition and your brand story. You can use experience research to design and deliver your brand experience, by mapping your customer journey, identifying pain points and moments of truth, prototyping and testing solutions, and measuring outcomes. You can also use research to optimize and innovate your brand experience, by gathering feedback, analyzing data, or exploring new possibilities.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?