A rebranding or ‘refresh of the corporate identity ‘, as some may call it, is quite an undertaking. Regardless of whether your company focuses on the private market or on companies.
But branding for B2B is a bit more difficult
It is less obvious for a B2B company to get an informal, friendly online image than for a B2C company. This was confirmed once again when our team built a new website for 365 Cleanit , a temporary employment agency for the cleaning industry.
Below I share some things we learned. These tips and our honest opinions can be taken into consideration when (re)branding your own B2B brand.
1. Too quirky, too cold, just right
Branding for B2B starts with finding the right balance. You don’t want to come across as too quirky and wild, but you also don’t want to come across as too cold and businesslike. The balance has to be right.
365 Cleanit has both private individuals and companies as customers, but the focus is on the latter. Should we strike a serious tone after all? No, the cleaning company had the ambition to rise above the soulless competition. We therefore wanted to give 365 Cleanit an appearance that would make B2B customers say: ‘Wow, the cleaning industry can be fun!’
Branding for B2B: who do you want to be?
I know, it can be a difficult process to figure out who you want to be as a brand. Luckily, chances are you at least have a starting point (the brand you already are) and you know what you like (you’ve probably found some branding inspiration online and offline).
You also probably know what’s not working and what could be improved for your brand. For 365 Cleanit, for example, we knew we needed a warmer color palette, a more approachable logo and font, and graphic elements that would tie it all together.
A positive colour palette for 365 Cleanit
Branding for B2B starts with a brainstorm
How do you start creating branding for B2B? First of all, it’s important to brainstorm, create a mood board and ask for different opinions. Because let’s be honest: others probably see what you don’t. We’re not saying you should let too many chefs into your branding kitchen, but a critical assessment from a few other graphic connoisseurs never hurts.
Playful and cheerful can quickly come across as childish and unprofessional. The line of business of your company is often an indicator of how far you can go in this area. For example, if you have an investment bank, trust, integrity and the knowledge that your company has everything under control are things you want to convey. Your design should support that, not undermine it.
That doesn’t mean that as an investment bank you suddenly have to look ‘boring’ or ‘ordinary’. You always have room to push boundaries and improve things. If you have reservations, that’s fine. It means that you’re on a path that you hadn’t considered taking before.
Still in doubt? You can always present your idea to the rest of the team. Asking a client for feedback can also help. Your team members and clients will be happy to let you know if your design idea is a hit or if you need to go back to the drawing board.
Reading tip: 20 statistics that prove you should invest in branding
2. It’s the little things that make the difference
Lesson 2 in B2B branding: differentiate yourself with details.
Simple graphic elements that you can add to As far as our how to phone number data is concerned, collected by people; hence we can ensure 100% accuracy in database. We provide how to build phone number list you with a full-fledged database at the end therefore, accelerating your business to the pinnacle of betterment. It refreshes weekly in our database. All database are fresh & recently updated 2024 My all databases are GDRP base so you can buy here at low price. your corporate identity are super important to get a certain look. We all know the iconic Google Doodle . Google has created a space within their search engine that lends itself to countless variations and unique creations. These are graphic details that set Google apart, but do not detract from the integrity of the brand.
When we added the almost liquid-looking, organic squiggles to the house style (it took some time to get it perfect!), we initially only did it in a big way as a background filler. But then we got the idea to subtly add that shape to small graphic parts, like the photos of the people giving a review.
The ‘water drop’ has also been used as a frame around images
You stand out with details
The above may be a small detail, but it does a lot. The house style becomes more complete and coherent by these kinds of small actions.
I’m not saying that every brand should add a fluid squiggle to their corporate identity. However, chances are that you can also add fun, surprising details to the graphic design of your B2B brand that you can use in many places – both online and offline.
Related: How to Make a Good Logo: The Do’s and Don’ts
3. The font must be correct
Selecting and implementing the right font is a third important tip for B2B branding. This tip means that you should test the chosen fonts in all places where a customer might encounter them. In the past, the font of 365 Cleanit was not easy to read on a computer screen. It clearly originated from a pre-digital era.
We ended up with the sans serif font Ubuntu. This font has a clean look (perfect for a company in the cleaning industry) and contributes positively to the UX thanks to its high readability .
By selecting a font that enhances the look and feel you want, all of your branding elements will stand out even more.
When determining your font(s), it is wise to ask for feedback from multiple people. Get all the chefs in the kitchen. If someone has trouble with the font, chances are that many other people will too.
4. Illustrations have advantages over photographs
Not all designers are illustrators, and that’s okay. Finding the right illustration style for a B2B brand can take months, even if you’re an experienced illustrator.
Before we gave 365 Cleanit a new corporate identity, that mexico phone number resource company did not use any illustrations. Not offline, not online. I took on the task of creating illustrations myself. I had already gained experience in that area, including by creating the well-known illustrations for Velo Antwerp .
Branding for B2B: are illustrations a good fit?
Illustrations, simply by the nature of the medium, automatically give a more informal feel to a corporate identity. And that is what we wanted for 365 Cleanit. There are aleart news already enough cleaning companies that communicate like stiff rakes.
Why did we choose to add illustrations to the 365 Cleanit branding? We had three reasons:
With illustrations it is easy to dose how formal or informal you want the images to be, and that from behind your computer. If during the design I felt that the style was getting a bit too stiff, I added a touch of schwung to it, and vice versa.
With illustrations, you don’t have to do photo shoots where you have to set up entire sets, arrange models, provide a photographer, etc. One person (me in this case) can just do the whole staging with a computer screen and a digital drawing pad. That also makes it easy for 365 Cleanit to just order an image in the future. They just have to tell me: ‘We need an image of a cleaner in a cowshed’ and I’ll draw it. To achieve the same with a photo shoot would take a lot more.
