In my experience as a graphic designer I have dealt with a
lot of small businesses. The one thing that I have seen as a constant between
most of them was the fact that they did not understand the difference between
Branding and Marketing. Even though this is sad, it’s true.
Branding is the creation of an image, a persona. It is the
embodiment of a company. It is what will make your company recognizable. It is the creation of your logo, your color
scheme, right down to the font of your company name. Marketing on the other
hand is the distribution of your brand. The how you make your company
recognizable. It is the promotion of
your company. Branding shows what your company looks like and Marketing shows
what your company does.
Not know or understanding the difference between the two can
cause havoc for a small business. It will result in them thinking that Branding
and Marketing are one in the same. For this reason so many small businesses
don’t grow as fast or as far as they want to go. For some business owners this
is okay, they’re not looking to be a fortune 500 company. For others on the
other hand, the ones that want to grow into a fortune 500 company, it is very
crucial to know the difference between Banding and Marketing. It is crucial for
them to understand that the two go hand and hand. In order to have a company to
market out you have to have a Brand. If you want your brand to be recognizable
you have to Market it out.
There are some small businesses that do know and understand
the difference between Branding and Marketing, but believe that it’s to early
in the companies’ life to worry about that. Some of these companies tend to do
either or. They either brand themselves or they market themselves. In this case
those that market themselves tend to make revenue in order to stay in business.
Although you can make money marketing yourself or your company, without a brand
you are just marketing a generic version of your product.
Marketing is only half of the coin Branding is the other
half. Some small business owners think that it’s enough to just have a logo.
They think that with just a logo they can market themselves and then they would
be recognizable. In reality just a logo
is not enough. If you are not consistent with your image you would only be
slapping your name on a generic version of your product. Consistence is key.
You have to be consistent with your image. Your logo, your color scheme, your
message it all has to stay the same. For example if your logo is green you don’t
want to market your company using red, white, and blue banner ads. Consumers
will go for what is recognizable. So if your selling a great product and you
have an image to go along with it you are setting your self up to become a
fortune 500 company.
If you want to see a more scientific approach to this topic
check out http://www.tronviggroup.com/the-difference-between-marketing-and-branding/
