Marketing and branding are two terms you’ll often hear together. They’re both strategies to help promote businesses and their products or services. While they have some similarities and often work together, there are also important distinctions. Here’s a breakdown of the differences between the two.
What is Branding?
Branding refers to the process of creating an identity for your business, product, or service. It includes the creation and maintenance of brand elements, like your logo, color scheme, typography, tone of voice, and overall style. The main goal behind branding is to shape people’s perception of your business. You can also use branding to make your business memorable. Branding focuses on building loyalty and trust with your customers by delivering a consistent image and experience.
Some basic components of branding include:
- Brand Identity—This refers to the elements that make up your brand. It can include your logo, colors, fonts, taglines, jingles, and more.
- Brand Values—Your brand values are the principles and beliefs a brand stands for.
- Brand Voice—Your brand voice is your brand’s style and tone used in communication. You can think of it as your brand’s personality.
- Brand Experience—This refers to the overall experience your customers have with your brand across all touchpoints.
What is Marketing?
Marketing is a term that covers the strategies and tactics used to promote a business and sell its products or services. It involves a variety of activities meant to attract, engage, and convert potential customers into customers. The main goal of marketing is to drive sales, but marketing tactics can be used for other business goals as well. Marketing focuses on reaching a target audience and persuading them to take action.
Some basic components of marketing include:
- Market Research—You should start by understanding who your target audience is, what the market conditions are, and how your competitors are marketing themselves.
- Product Development—You can create and improve on your products or services to meet the market’s needs.
- Promotion—This includes advertising, public relations, marketing through social media, and other forms of communication that will promote your business.
- Distribution—This refers to the channels and methods you use to deliver your product or service to your customer.
How do they work together?
Marketing and branding are interdependent. Effective branding can lay an important foundation for effective marketing. Branding is like the groundwork and marketing is how you promote that groundwork into something others can see. Both of these things rely on consistency and creating connections with your customers. By keeping your brand consistent, you can maintain trust with your customers. You can also help yourself to stay on track with your marketing and business goals.
Contact Bold River Marketing for help.
Whether you have a brand or not, or you’ve started marketing or not, Bold River Marketing can help. We’ll work with you to create a brand and promote it through online marketing. Give us a call today to get started.