Brand Equity inom B2B startups : en kvalitativ studie om hur B2B startups arbetar med brand equity för att skapa konkurrensfördelar

Over the past few decades, branding has become a priority for companies. A brand helps companies to differentiate themselves from their competitors, which creates competitive advantages. Most of the research on brands has primarily focused on consumer marketing. However, it has been found that the brand is just as important in business to business (B2B) companies, and that it also plays a big role when it comes to the survival av newly established company like for example startups. Startups differ from established companies through their innovative ideas and problem solving. However, they faces challenges because of lack of capital, time and resources. As the competition in the market grows, startups need to create competitive advantages by working hard with their brand strategies to achieve strong brand equity. This study aims to highlight how B2B startups work with brand equity in order to achieve competitive advantages. The study has used a qualitative research strategy where the primary data has been collected through semi-structured interviews with four different startups based in Stockholm. The study shows that startups need to first position themselves in the market and then work on brand building. The result also shows that B2B startups are aware of the brand's importance and that they in fact work with brand equity to achieve competitive advantages. However, the strategies with the steps in the CBBE model differs depending on the industry and type of corporate activity