From Strategy to Tactics: Building, Implementing, and Managing Brand Equity in Business Markets

Industrial marketers have long argued that brands play little role in the decision making process. Several macro-level changes have occurred challenging these notions some of which are reviewed. We review past research on brand building and brand management in business markets and identify that less research has focused on key strategic and tactical issues in relation to building, managing, and refreshing business brands. We then introduce six studies that add to our understanding of the nature and importance of branding in the business-to-business context. Finally, these studies provide important avenues for further research.