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This is a never-ending topic where marketers will say that marketing is everything and branding people will say that branding is everything.
Now, I am not here to say who is right and wrong because that’s not important to the business owner. What is important is to understand what is what, and how they can be used to bring the desired results.
So, let’s get started.
The Symbiotic Relationship: Branding and Marketing
In simple words, branding and marketing are like a horse and a cart. And you need both of them so that your business can run and grow.
I will start with branding, i.e. the horse.
Starting with Branding: The Soul of Your Company
As previously stated, branding (brand strategy) is the soul of a company. It’s personality.
With branding, you determine who you are, what is your personality, mission, vison, values. You determine where you are on your market’s map, how are you different from your competition, where your competition messes up and etc.
Your branding is also the tone of voice that you have and the message you spread to your audience. This must be determined from the beginning and followed every time you interact with your clients.
The Relevance of Brand Personality
Many people will say that this is irrelevant when you have money for marketing. “Whoever has more budget wins”.
Yes. But no.
Not caring about the personality of your company and just pumping money into massive ad campaigns on social media, billboards, flyers and etc. is like dating someone just because they have money.
And what happens if you run out of the big money?
If your clients do not have a good feeling when they hear about you and if you do not know how to target them correctly (because you don’t know their emotions, challenges, pain points, interest and etc.) your results from marketing will always be average at best.
Brand Strategists’ Insights
Some great brand strategists like Fabian Geyrhalter say that “marketing gets you a new client and branding is making them come back”.
Well, I have a question. Imagine you sell a product to a client for a $100 but he never comes back nor refers you to a friend. You made a $100.
But what if he comes back and refers you to a friend because he FELT GOOD? How much have you made now?
The Crucial Interplay: Branding and Marketing Together
This is why both branding and marketing are extremely important, however many people neglect the first and this is why they struggle.
So to summarize. Work on your branding and then on your marketing. They always should go together. This way people would not only buy and forget you, but they will remember you and quite possibly, come back.
