Taking a More Balanced Approach to B2B Services Branding: A Case Study of Concise Demolition

The service sector in the developed world has experienced considerable growth over the past two decades. The UK has been no exception. However, many academics have argued this development has not been accompanied by a proportionate growth in services branding literature. This paper looks to add to B2B services branding literature via the case study organisation Concise Demolition (CD). (Please note this name is purely hypothetical so as to respect the commercial privacy of the case organisation.) The paper develops an understanding of how CD can take a more balanced approach to brand positioning which gives explicit consideration to both internal and external audiences views. In the case of this paper, this relates to incorporating target customers requirements (external audience) and its managers perception of customers requirements (internal audience) into its brand positioning. The goal is to identify requirements that are perceived as important by both customers and managers. Aggregated requirements are then articulated as brand values which in their turn shape organisational behaviour to support the overall positioning. The logic being that positioning which incorporates customer requirements should increase the chances of the brand resonating with these customers and; by involving managers in the brand process, commitment to delivering brand promises should be greater. The engagement of employees in the services branding process is critical given the pivotal role employees play at service brands. Key findings indicate that requirements do not always lend themselves to being neatly articulated as values. This results in the need for the researcher to iteratively create umbrella categories as values which requirements fall under. Positioning based around people gained both internal and external support. Several unexpected findings materialised. These relate to mixed support for the relationship metaphor in its source domain of B2B markets, the strong emotional connection CD managers had to the organisations logo and the variable meaning of specific words such as 'innovation' and 'sustainability'. Concluding remarks highlight how this paper enriches both academics and practitioners understanding of the services branding process. The fact this paper has not developed a theory per se is outlined as a limitation of this paper and a call for more B2B services branding research is made so as to add to this areas body of knowledge