Most of the clients we meet starts with this question – when do I start seeing sales go up? How soon can I get leads? Why is the ROI not going up the way it should? From what we could gather from experience is that most clients believe that branding means having a logo, color schemes and website in place and all social media links are ready to go online and they also have all their promotional ad campaigns both online and offline ready. Well, this is a misconception because while these are perhaps the first step toward “branding”, these are all marketing collaterals to be used for “branding”.

So what is the difference between marketing and branding?

Marketing is a set of tools or processes used to promote your business and branding on the other hand, is what your company or personality is perceived by your target audience. For example, when you say my company is the best in the market, that becomes marketing and when someone else comes to you and says, I heard you are the best in the market that is branding.

Common misunderstanding about Branding

– Branding is not marketing, advertising, promotion or anything to that effect.

People, you need to stop confusing the social media space or the offline space to be a place where your company or product gets branded the instant you start promoting campaigns or advertising offers. You are literally pumping in money for all the wrong reasons! Yes, your company visibility increases, but to what effect?

– You are NOT the ultimate authority when it comes to your brand.

Your customers are the ones who ultimately define your brand. Their perception of your brand is what sticks with the people they influence. This makes it very serious as to how you should be selecting your brand values. Otherwise, your brand may be conceived the wrong way – or worse, you may end up without repeat customers

– There is NO formula for success when it comes to branding

Most of the clients we meet daily have this common misconception that just because one company succeeded, they believe theirs will too if they follow a similar branding exercise. This is so wrong! No two companies are alike. Just because a boutique became a mass success doesn’t mean you can start one today and expect it to reach the heights you so clearly envisioned in a short span of time. You need to understand the behavior and interests of your target audience clearly before expecting success.

Branding is not the same as marketing in a broader sense and where you stop marketing, branding begins. It forms the core of your marketing strategy. The most important thing to remember is that branding is not a one single action that you do before you set out to reach your business goals, it is an ongoing process and a daily process so that your audience will relate to you and the true success is when they act as your brand ambassadors.