A lot of people may not know the difference between branding and marketing. However, since these two termers frequently appear in business and law terminology, they can be quite confusing, especially if you are trying to build a new business.
Additionally, these two concepts tend to get lumped together, so you must be wondering what’s the difference between branding vs marketing. For that reason, we are going to break down some facts for you, and help you understand these better.
In fact, marketing and brands are two very different concepts, and to take your business to the next level, you must understand what sets the apart.
What is branding?
In a nutshell, branding determines your business, and basically who you are, while marketing builds awareness. Branding is your strategy, while marketing creates tactical goals. However, before you engage in this process, you must evaluate your priorities and determine who your brand is.
But, to complete this action, you should ask yourself a couple of questions. These questions don’t only apply to industry generalization, services, and products, but also helps you realize who you are as a company, and more importantly, who you are as a brand.
For example, these questions involve:
- What principles and values determine your business?
- Do you have a mission statement, and what it is?
- What are the things that inspired you to create your business?
- What’s the reason you want to offer particular products and services to a targeted audience?
- What makes you unique?
- Does your company have an internal culture?
- How do you communicate with customers?
- When someone hears your company’s name, what’s the first word you want your business to be associated with?
- How do you want customers to feel when they think of your company?
- How do you want customers to describe your business?
Once you answer all these questions, you will be able to understand the differences between branding and marketing. However, you should invest your time wisely and reviews these questions among colleagues, as well as professional mentors, to get the best results.
In this case, you can expect to cultivate your brand and make customers associate your company with a high-quality service.
What is marketing?
When speaking of marketing, it refers to tools companies and businesses use to deliver a message and further pinpoint the brand. With the progress of new technologies, marketing continuously changes and evolves, as it directly targets the audience and supports the value of your brand.
Keep in mind that marketing can be vast and wide, exciting, and serious at the same time. You can mix keywords, text, photos, graphs, charts, and videos to deliver a relevant message. Additionally, companies use online and offline methods equally, and some of the most common are:
- Content marketing
- SEO
- Social media marketing
- Mobile marketing
- PPC marketing
- Radio
- TV
- Print campaigns
However, there are other methods you could explore, as well. However, keep in mind to follow the latest trends; otherwise, your campaign will not be successful, while your brand remains silent and unnoticed.
Which should be used first, marketing or branding?
You should be aware that branding is the core of your marketing strategy, so in this case, branding comes first. Even you own a startup company, it’s is crucial to identify who you are as a brand before you start employing different marketing techniques.
Your brand is the reason why clients keep coming back, and it’s a foundation that helps you build a trustworthy and reliable connection to customers. Keep in mind that branding isn’t just a name, but involves numerous factors such as commitment, convenience, quality, and communication.
