Brand vs. Marketing: The Strategic Difference

I have a confession to make, I'm not a branding person. In fact, I believe branding is largely unnecessary. I'm speaking primarily about small businesses.

Big brands like Nike, Apple, and Coke are different. For instance, the Coca-Cola brand alone is worth 100 times as much as all of its physical assets put together. Through the years, they have developed goodwill in the hearts and minds of their customers, which has contributed to the genuine value of their brand. 

But this is not what I’m talking about. I'm referring to small businesses that are aiming to increase leads, sales, or those who are seeking website visitors by earning their potential customer’s trust or favor.

How do you win this client over? How can you encourage them to push with your business? In a nutshell, marketing.

As you can see, there are two sides to this. There are branding people and there are marketing people.

Here’s the strategic difference: With branding, your company and you are in the spotlight. What is the tagline of your company? What principles does your business affirm? What values does your business uphold? Marketing focuses on your customer. What are their needs? What is the problem they are trying to solve?

The truth is that your potential customer doesn't actually care about you or your business. They are invested in finding a way to resolve their problem.

One of the good quotes out there: “People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole.”

And here’s a mind blower. Actually, your product or service stands in the way of your customer's desires. They just are concerned with the results. They would opt for that if they could just press a button to achieve their goal.

On the other side of the coin, It's not entirely accurate to say that I'm not a branding person. I admire websites with stunning design, consistent messaging, and a cohesive appearance. On every project, we offer a unique branding and style guide.

Your business will lose clients if your design is subpar. Fact.

But in conclusion, your design and messaging should all be in service of your marketing. Just as form follows function, your branding should follow your marketing.