Are your marketing activities as effective as you would like them to be? Many business owners would say no. Although their efforts are good, we always want more from our marketing communications.
One reason your marketing communications may not be working as they should is because of the gap between your marketing messages and your brand identity
This gap is what can cause customers to pause before clicking on your link. Also, decide if they believe what you are saying is true or not. And ultimately, it can make them go to buy from a competitor instead of your company.
People often use the terms branding and marketing interchangeably, but they are quite different.
Branding
Branding reflects the values, personality and attributes of your organization’s products. It is what attracts your customers and generates emotions. Also, it determines whether they have become customers and whether they will recommend your products or services to others.
Marketing
On the other hand, marketing describes the activity that is performed to reach customers and bring them closer to your company. These activities may include SOCIAL MEDIA, emails, print ads, digital ads, promotional materials, and so on. Effective marketing will place your brand identity at the heart of everything you do.
Branding is strategic. Marketing is tactical.
Here are some examples of where branding is not integrated with marketing activities, creating a disconnect in the minds of consumers:
- Marketing promotes “buy one get one free,” while branding says “we only sell good quality, exclusive products”.
- Marketing says “we are very cool and fun”, branding revolves around traditional values and safe workmanship”.
- Marketing promises to “compete with competitors’ prices”, but branding says “we are unique, we do things differently from the rest”.
As you can see, these conflicting messages create a gap between what marketing is and the values, personality and attributes of the organization/product. This is why it is important to be clear on what your brand identity is before embarking on any type of marketing. With a well-planned branding strategy, your marketing activities will be more effective. It will allow you not only reach more customers, but also existing customers who will come back for more. Branding is not just about logo design, although this is one part of delivering a consistent message throughout all your communications. It is equally important what your branding says about your company or product.
Branding should answer the why: Why does your company exist? Why does your product do what it does? It should also differentiate your company from others by conveying what you think about your company (and what customers think) through attributes, values, purpose, strengths and passions.
Moreover, it should reflect the culture and personality of your organization. And for small businesses, this may include the personality and culture of your staff.
How to use your brand identity in marketing
The above points will give you an idea of what to think about when defining a brand identity. However, if you already have one and it’s not aligned with your marketing activities, here is what you should do:
- Make sure the objectives are aligned with your organization’s vision and mission, if you have one. How does this marketing fit with your company’s overall objectives?
- Who is your target audience and what do they think about your product or service? What do they expect from your brand? Why do they buy from you and not from your competitors, and what benefits do they receive from you?
- Main message. Be clear about what you have to say in your marketing and how it fits with your brand identity. This will help ensure there is no disconnect. For example, instead of using “Buy one get one free” for a brand that boasts exclusivity, using an “Order today and receive an exclusive gift” would be more appropriate.
- Make sure your marketing efforts reflect your brand’s personality and match the tone of your audience. How do they want to be spoken to? Your tone may change depending on your audience, such as when communicating with customers or when communicating with investors. However, it is always aligned with the overall brand personality.
- Brand positioning. Every piece of marketing helps build a brand identity and, therefore, you should look for opportunities to promote this. You may have planned to send an email sharing a special offer, but did you also help position your brand in other ways, for example, by sharing a post?
Take these tips into account and combine your branding and marketing to achieve a much more unified corporate identity.