A brand’s messaging is the frontline of connection with its customers. The effectiveness of that communication can be the difference between an engaged website lead and someone who immediately bounces.

To achieve the clarity and engagement needed to convert prospects into potential customers, there are 10 criteria any B2B brand’s messaging should be able to satisfy.

These aren’t soft, nice-to-haves. These are elements that are critical if you want your audience to understand and remember your brand.

We analyzed a cohort of B2B brands with SmokeLadder to find out where messaging is strong and where it’s weak.

The major takeaway is that it’s clear a strong majority of brand messaging falls way short.

And not only do a lot of brands miss the mark on these, they miss on some truly fundamental points.

Here’s the summary broken down into where B2B brand messaging is solid, where it’s so-so, and where it’s downright bad.

Note, you can view these 10 criteria for any brand via the SmokeLadder app.

Download a PDF version of this analysis

🟢 Where B2B messaging is solid

Clear Benefits: 

• Percent Satisfied: 85%
• Definition: Does the content include customer benefit-focused words or phrases? 
• Why it’s critical: It’s not enough to share the features and functions of a product or service. Benefits help do the mental heavy lifting for customers by showing what outcomes they can expect as a result of using the solution. 

Business Category: 

• Percent Satisfied: 77%
• Definition: Does the content call out the category the brand operates in? 
• Why it’s critical: Customers need context to understand whether a brand or solution is relevant to their needs. Sharing category or industry information provides a quick mental shortcut so customers know they’re in the right place.

🌕 Where B2B messaging is so-so

Engaging Message: 

• Percent Satisfied: 62%
• Definition: Does the content crystallize the value of the brand with evocative words or phrases?
• Why it’s critical: Engaging language that triggers some sort of emotional response is one of the best ways to get a new idea to stick in someone’s mind. Facts and features don’t get embedded into our memories in the same way. 

No Industry Jargon:

• Percent Satisfied: 57%
• Definition: Does the content avoid industry or technical jargon or phrases? 
• Why it’s critical: Nothing obscures our ability to process and understand the value of a brand like jargon. Even when your ideal customer has expertise in a space it still increases the cognitive load to digest jargon in messaging – which in turn makes it easier to ignore and forget. 

🔴 Where B2B messaging is bad

Target Customer:

• Percent Satisfied: 33%
• Definition: Does the content call out the specific target customer for the brand? 
• Why it’s critical: Part of the goal with messaging strategy is to help customers self-select. This increases interest and engagement on the customer side and reduces waste of pursuing unqualified leads for internal marketing and sales teams. 

Differentiated Value:

• Percent Satisfied: 19%
• Definition: Does the content articulate differentiated value of the brand compared to competitors?
• Why it’s critical: This is the core of your positioning. Without this brands easily blend into the noise of the competitive landscape. For startups and challenger brands this is even more critical to create meaningful separation from market leaders. 

Concrete Claim: 

• Percent Satisfied: 17%
• Definition: Does the content make a concrete claim about the value or impact the brand delivers?
• Why it’s critical: Using specific results experienced by customers helps prove the value of the solution, builds trust that the brand delivers what they claim, and it can help create memorable touchpoints around the product or service. 

Offering Definition:

• Percent Satisfied: 16%
• Definition: Does the content describe in detail what the product or service is? 
• Why it’s critical: The counter balance of benefit focused language is messaging that explains how the product or service actually works. Brands often skew too high level in their descriptions which makes it hard to believe benefit claims. 

No Vague Words: 

• Percent Satisfied: 8%
• Definition: Does the content avoid vague or ambiguous words or phrases? 
• Why it’s critical: Like jargon, vague language obscures the value a product or service provides and comes across as marketing fluff. Rather than building excitement and intrigue it often feels like it’s masking a lack of substance in a solution. 

Concise Message: 

• Percent Satisfied: 4%
• Definition: Is the content concise and could someone consume and understand it within seconds?
• Why it’s critical: When exploring a new brand, a brand may only get seconds to convey its value to a prospective customer. Focused, specific messaging can keep someone’s attention and occupy space in their memory. 

To survive the competitive landscape, get your messaging clear

In a world where competition levels are going up faster than ever, these are areas you can’t afford to miss on.

All of the criteria we measured are important, but there are 3 in the bottom section that stand out:

• Target customer
• Differentiated value
• Offering definition

If you want to prioritize improvements, this is the place to start. 

If messaging doesn’t convey who the product or service is for, what it is, and how it’s different, how can customers understand and remember the brand?

There’s a real opportunity to stand out from the pack by nailing these crucial elements. Solving these bottom 6 problem areas can propel you into the top 90% of your category.

Check out your own brand (or a competitor!) on SmokeLadder and see where the gaps and opportunities are.

Go analyze a brand!
Your positioning will thank you.