Abstract

The chapter presents how business-to-business (B2B) actors may use branding as a tool for maintaining strong, long-term business relationships with their customers. Current knowledge on how to maintain business relationships is presented, related to branding as a tool contributing to long-term and strong business relationships. The phenomenon is studied in detail through a case company, Verso Globe, which operates in the consultancy area and is specialized in sustainability issues. The authors conclude that shared values and norms lead to beneficial business relationships and help maintain them. Also, the case company is closely collaborating and co-creating with its customers, which leads to technological adaptation and increases mutual commitment. A reputation of sharing values, having interest to develop, and co-creating with customers benefits the company and builds the corporate brand. The company culture must, however, support the efforts that make the brand. It is therefore important for B2B actors to understand the customer’s values and use it as a basis for customer relationship management activities. Concurrently, the company’s own values and how it directs employees are elements of its culture, which is the basis for the corporate brand. The perfect match of business relationships is therefore lies in aligning values and norms between the partners.

Introduction

Technology and social media have changed the way we do business today and have also had an impact on how B2B relationships are constructed. For instance, strong competition and relationship network complexity are two challenges that businesses in the new millennium are facing (cf. Ndubisi & Nataraajan, 2016). One way of dealing with these complexities is increasing branding efforts, as well as the awareness of branding within the B2B context. In this chapter, we discuss B2B relationships in relation to branding in more detail in order to explore how business relationships can be maintained in today’s connected world. Branding and relationships are closely related; a strong brand reduces the perceived purchase risks and increases a company’s attractiveness (Backhaus, Steiner, & Lu¨gger, 2011; Cretu & Brodie, 2007). Brand relevance does, however, differ across industries and companies. Depending on the stage the relationship is in, different factors related to branding affect the relationship (Leek & Christodoulides, 2011; Mudambi, 2002). This chapter presents how B2B companies can benefit from branding and use it in building strong, long-term relationships with their customers. We introduce existing theories and findings concerning B2B branding and its effect on business relationships. We also present a case study, in which we highlight how branding can strengthen business relationships.