Applicability of Keller’s brand equity model in the B2B chemical market

Abstract

A B2B (business-to-business) brand is a distinctive identity that differentiates a relevant, enduring and credible promise of value associated with a product, service or organisation, as well as indicating the source of that promise. The concept of B2B brand equity is one of the most intriguing concepts connected to B2B brands. Although there have been some attempts to conceptualise and measure B2B brand equity in the literature, in practice no consensus about the concept has been reached so far. Unlike previous studies, this study examines the applicability of Keller's brand equity model in a specific industry and market -the B2B chemical market.For that purpose, a series of semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with buyers of specific industrial chemical products in the South and Eastern European B2B chemical market. The results show that the Keller's brand equity model can be applicable in the B2B chemical market, however, the six brand building blocks -salience, performance, imagery, judgements, feelings and resonance -as well as subdimensions that assemble the blocks, need arrangements in different ways in order to meet the logic of the B2B marketing philosophy. As a result, the respondents perceive corporate brands to be more important than product brands. They also point to the significance of the relationship with sales representatives in building brand equity. At the top block of the pyramid respondents set partnership relations, and cooperation in developing solutions oriented towards improvement of customers' production processes.

Independent financial adviser (IFA)-based brand equity pyramid

“…Furthermore, a relationship-based approach is considered more appropriate in this business environment because of high degree of interaction, exchange of information, investments in stock, and resultant high costs to the buyer in switching suppliers (Donaldson and O'Toole, 2007). Nevertheless, the existing studies often imply that B2B branding concepts are generally applicable in any industries, regardless of the industry characteristics and circumstances (Ćorić and Jelić, 2015). Therefore, it is the intention of this article to fill in the gap in the literature by examining the applicability of one of the most cited brand equity models in the literature, Keller's (2001) customer-based brand equity pyramid, in the context of the UK IFA sector.…”

“…The extensive brand equity literature to date has recognised various sources of brand equity (e.g. Aaker, 1991;Ćorić and Jelić, 2015;Kuhn et al, 2008), which emphasises that the sources of brand equity differ from context to context. As IFAs operate as businesses they are considered as business customers.…”

“…According to Keller (2001), a strong brand is created by fulfilling each of the steps contained in the brand equity pyramid model, which consist of brand identity, brand meaning, brand responses and brand resonance. When the model is applied in two different B2B contexts, waste management for Australian city councils (Kuhn, Alpert and Pope, 2008) and chemical products in Southern and Eastern Europe (Ćorić and Jelić, 2015), modification is needed to suit the characteristics and nature of each industry. Whilst the steps of the existing brand equity pyramids remain the same, there are variable differences in their proposed dimensions and sub-dimensions.…”

“…The elements of brand performance and imagery are applicable in the context of B2B buyers, but they also look for some indicators of longevity and proof that the supplier will be able to assist them in the future (Ćorić and Jelić, 2015;Kuhn et al, 2008). Therefore, in the B2B brand equity pyramids, company reputation is more relevant and significant than brand imagery.…”

“…This paper aims to address a gap in the brand equity literature by exploring whether the brand equity model, originally developed for B2C markets (Keller, 2001;Keller and Swaminathan, 2020) and modified for B2B markets (Kuhn, Alpert and Pope, 2008;Ćorić and Jelić, 2015), is applicable in the UK's independent financial advice sector. Even though the existing marketing literature recognises that intermediaries, such as independent financial advisers (IFAs), are a key marketing asset that enables providers to reach out to and serve endcustomers, to date there has been little brand equity research undertaken in the context of IFAs.…”