My experience (founding a b2b company, establishing its brand, consulting to b2b companies including a packaging machinery company) shows that branding helps b2b companies in getting price and / or purchase preference.
-Looking from purchaser’s point of view branding helps in short-listing probable vendors -branding symbolizes some significant aspect (technology, service etc) of a usually complex offering -branding activities can go beyond the scope of market offerings and deliver some unpaid (usually) but significant benefits to purchasers like simplifying search and evaluation -branding can make it safe (less risky) to purchase complex equipment (no body got fired for deciding on IBM!)
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Hemant