Dear Fashiontrepreneur,
For today's blog post I wanted to dive into the importance of branding but before I touched on this topic I felt it necessary to differentiate the difference between marketing and branding. Many persons use these terms interchangeably but there is an enormous difference.
I tend to see branding as the soul of the brand. It guides every step in your decision-making process. It guides the experience of your customers during their interaction with the brand at all touchpoints along the customer journey. It guides the personality of your brand which affects your tone and voice. It affects your positioning strategy in the marketplace. It guides your communication strategy and marketing strategies. Think of branding as the foundation when constructing a house. Without it you have no clear direction for your marketing campaigns or even your brand identity visuals. Branding is how you influence the perception of your brand. It's not what you say about yourself but what customers say about you. It's their definition and value of your brand. Branding encompasses strategies to persuade your audience to see your brand in a particular light. It's the management of the meaning behind the brand. When you think of Nike, what words come to mind? When you think of Dove, what words come to mind? Yup! That's what brand strategy does.
On the other hand, marketing is the way you create awareness of the brand and attract customers. It involves print ads, social media, website, brochures, radio ads, search engine optimization and the list goes on. Branding, however, is the long term investment of not only attracting customers but retaining them. It keeps customers coming back again and again.
Here are three ways that marketing and branding are different:
Branding is the Why. Marketing is the How
Branding is the WHY: This is the purpose or meaning behind the entire brand. Your brand should have a deeper purpose beyond making profits. Does your purpose align with building a better future for your audience or perhaps even the environment? Remember I mentioned that branding is the soul of the brand.
Marketing is the HOW: This is the way that you will promote your products or services to your target audience. How will you market your business? What strategies will you use to reach your customers?
2. Branding is long-term; Marketing is short-term
Branding is about building long-term relationships with your customers. It looks at building an emotional connection with the brand. Can you think of any fashion brands that you absolutely love or trust? This is due to the strategic efforts of shaping the view of your brand in the minds of consumers. This is what branding does.
Marketing encompasses short-term efforts of advertising your products or services. When you run a campaign for a specific time-period; that is marketing. It looks at short-term results.
3. Branding builds customer loyalty; Marketing generates action
As mentioned above, branding is long-term which is why there is the ability to build customer loyalty. Do you have customers who have purchased from you multiple times? That is customer loyalty. It costs more for a brand to attract a new customer than to retain a customer. Customer loyalty is the ultimate goal for a brand.
Marketing generates action from your marketing campaigns or ads but will they return? Will they love the experience with your brand? Will they be loyal customers? That's not guaranteed without branding.
There are so many other ways that these two terms are different beyond the three points mentioned above. Although both branding and marketing are quite different, one should definitely come first. You guessed it- 'branding'. Remember to build that solid foundation for your business first before anything else. If you would like to learn more about branding, be sure to purchase our brand builder e-book!
Sincerely,
Your Fashion Brand Builder Bestie
Jade