Building a warm and competent B2B brand personality

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to investigate how business-to-business (B2B) companies build brand personality via the products they provide and via their interactions with customers. Design/methodology/approach A multiple case study, which spans 10 years, investigates via interviews, observations, workshops and document analysis how two fast-growing B2B companies selling industrial equipment to manufacturers build brand personality. Findings The studied companies concentrate on different brand personality dimensions depending on the activities in which they engage. By focusing on brand competence in the realm of the actual product and brand warmth in the realm of the augmented product, the companies manage to create a complete and consistent brand personality. Research limitations/implications The research approach provides in-depth knowledge on how the companies build brands for a specific type of B2B product. However, the article’s perspective is limited to that of management and therefore does not take customer reactions into account. Practical implications The study describes how firms can build strong B2B brands by emphasizing competence in product design and R&D and warmth in activities related to sales and customer service. Originality/value The study introduces a conceptually consistent view of brand personality in the form of warm and competent brands to the B2B marketing literature. It builds on and contributes to the emerging research on B2B brand personality. By relating the companies’ brand-building activities to the type of products they sell, this study illustrates how context affects B2B brand building, and by integrating brand personality theory with product levels and marketing philosophy, it extends previous theory on B2B branding.