Tool Box
Issue No. 32 - December/January
Learning B2B brand-building from a B2C icon
by Kimon Lycos
Have you, like thousands of others, been through the sales juggernaut called IKEA? It’s a place where husbands wonder aimlessly while the kids jump around in a pool full of plastic balls and their significant other halves examine every nook and cranny.
My wife is Swedish, so have pity upon me, for I know IKEA and know it well, having spent what seems half of my natural life staring at book cases and tastefully mocked-up bedrooms.
Ah! But what brilliance resides within those walls! Observing others around me, watching their excitement, their hushed tones and whispers as they marvel at yet another clever (and affordable) idea, you can’t help but admire IKEA’s ability to deliver a complete brand experience while extracting money from wallets and purses.
And what they do is possible for anyone — even those who sell machinery, technology, bioscience or defence. Business-to-business companies should take note that the principles IKEA uses can be applied to any company that needs to build relationships with other companies in order to profit.
IKEA firstly understands who IKEA is, as a brand, and therefore what perception to develop in people’s minds. They back that up by delivering a fully fledged experience. Determined to deliver, IKEA even provides a Swedish food market, where if you are game, you can buy pickled herring marinated in garlic sauce.
It’s attention to every detail that makes IKEA a complete package and what IKEA does can easily be imitated by anyone wanting to own and operate a successful B2B company. This has nothing to do with the massive marketing budget IKEA spends. It has everything to do with ensuring that a clear relationship is formed and consistently delivers an experience that makes people want to come back for more.
B2B branding depends on relationship building, yet many companies seem to either ignore or neglect this area that can pay off handsomely, in terms of what the company i...
