How many of us feel like branding is marketing and marketing is branding? My guess is most of you. You often use these two as one saying things like, “my logo is my brand.” In fact your logo is not your brand it’s a marketing material for your brand. Your logo actually represents your brand and how you want people to feel when purchasing your product or service. This goes for all the marketing materials you give to clients.
1.Strategy Vs. Tactics
Although we often use branding and marketing together we mustn’t confuse the two as one, because they are not. Branding is more of a strategy, and the goal of the strategy is to evoke a certain emotion from your customer. The feeling you give customers is what brings them back, creating customer loyalty. Branding also creates a vision of where the company is now and where it is going. Customers will be able to identify with you and support anything you do because branding simply says, “this is me, what I do, and what I stand for.”
Now marketing on the other hand is completely different than branding and the conversation I had with a relative last night helped me to understand even more so that I could explain it to you guys. Marketing is what’s going to convince them to buy. “How am I going to display this product in order for them to want it?” You have to ask your self that question every time you come up with a new product or service. You may display it on an ad, a billboard, a box and if it’s clothes, on a mannequin. So when you think marketing think, “how will I convince them to buy?”
2.Customer Loyalty
As we stated previously marketing is what gets them to buy. But, branding, branding is what gets them to stay. Before you can effectively sell a brand you must know who it’s for. There’s no way in the world I’m going to be able to sell bananas to a tiger. It’s just not possible no matter how much I try to make it work. So in order for you to gain your customers loyalty you have to make sure your branding is specific to them. The marketing gives them the visual and your branding helps the customer to say “they get me.” Understand that marketing is just a decoy to what’s inside the brand.
3. Vision Authority
So, you believe that all the marketing you’re doing is what’s going to get your brand out there, and, you’re right. Marketing will get you brand noticed but, marketing is only temporary, branding is what creates longevity. In order for your brand to have staying power, your customer has to believe in your brand. And, the only way for your customer to believe in your brand is for you to cater specifically to that customer. In the conversation I had with my relative I used the example of Hostess Donettes, to help her better understand the difference between branding and marketing.
If you take a close look at the packaging of hostess donettes the first thing you’ll notice is the bag is red, white and blue. This symbolizes that these donuts are for everyone, they’re good, trust us, and the donuts are powdered. Then take look at the font of the text “donettes.” Looking closely it looks like white powdered donuts, right? Unknowingly, your mind processes this as these donuts look good and I feel like they’re going to be good.” And I know you never thought about this before or even looked closely to understand that, so right now I know you’re thinking “she’s right.” That’s branding, the way things look and how they make you feel.
Marketing is putting those donuts at the checkout line. If you put them there customers will have no choice but to buy them. The customer has been in the store a long time and is a bit a hungry. The donuts are saying eat me, buy me now!
So, I gave you a few examples just so you can fully understand the difference between the two. I really believe that it will help. I know they sound very similar, and we’ve been programed to think that they are. But as long as you remember that marketing only lasts for today and branding lasts a lifetime, I know that you’ll do just fine. And, your brand will last even after you’re gone!
