I read this interesting bit in a publishing industry newsletter called Wooden Horse (you can follow them on Twitter here: twitter.com/WoodenHorsePub). There’s a new wine enthusiast magazine launching. FINE EXCLUSIVE is a new magazine about the world’s most up-to-date knowledge of the finest and rarest wines. But it’s not your usual, run-of-the-mill wine magazine:

• It has a wine concierge service.
• You can’t buy or subscribe to this magazine. It is available by invitation only.
• It features an optional personalized cover for each subscriber.
• The mailing list is limited to 5,000.
• A subscription is 500 euros (US $669.)
• It is published in Finland.

It carries with it a great B2B branding lesson: Brand isn’t about being all things to all consumers. It’s about being the preferred choice among consumers that will generate revenue for your business.

Many B2B marketers complain that they can’t brand themselves or don’t need to brand themselves because they only serve a tiny niche. This is the best time to brand. This allows you to control the entire market segment and command a premium price for your product or service. From the example above, how many other magazines do you know that are getting more than $650 per subscription?

Need another example? How about the mass-market beer brewers who created or acquired micro-brew brands? The big breweries already had mass brand recognition when the microbrew explosion happened in the 80s. Why bother with anything else? Because mass-marketed beer was available at a large volume with small margins. Microbrews command a premium price per unit.

It doesn’t matter if you’re selling IT services or aluminum extrusions. Branding can help you improve your margins and dominate a market niche.

Chris Henneghan is one of Schubert’s longest-standing employees, starting with the agency in 1987. She now serves as Senior Vice President and Brand Strategist. Chris is a Notre Dame grad and enjoys tennis, golf, hiking and reading.