Branding; The Backbone Of Marketing

Whenever branding comes up, business owners and managers begin to roll their eyes. Branding is boring. It costs money and doesn’t have any proven ROI. You cannot track its significance, you cannot tell whether it helped or not. How do you know if someone bought something from you because they heard of your brand five months ago? How do you know if your clicks were higher on your social media campaign or your emails get more opens because consumers remember your name?

Let’s put it another way, smart companies invest in branding. The biggest corporations, ones that have been around for decades or longer, the most recognized businesses in the world invest millions of dollars a year to reinforce their brand. That means any argument you have against it is irrelevant because there is no way to ignore what major corporations around the world have done for years.

Need more proof? Most consumers, on average about 70-90% of them, will buy from a brand that they are familiar with more than the ones that offer better deals. Think about a grocery store. When you walk down an aisle, there are products on every shelf. The products that are in the shelves that most people are eye level with, may not be the most expensive or most affordable. So, why are these products there, in the most prime spots? Because they have the best-known brands. They spend the most on advertising and they make sure that their brand is right in front of the consumer as many times as possible.

What generates a sale? It’s a combination of need, want, affordability, being in the right place at the right time, a good call to action and familiarity of your brand. The average consumer will need to see an ad 8-18 times before they respond. They will then go to sites that offer more information about your business like Google. That’s why, if you are not putting yourself out there through aggressive marketing channels like display, email marketing and social media, as well as strengthening your image on Google with SEO and AdWords, you are hurting your chances for conversions.

Strong content, good targeting and a proven web presence are key to making sure that you are getting the best out of your campaigns. It may not be flashy, it may not get the phone ringing or get the sales in the same day, but if you do it right, you will see long-term results. Don’t believe us? Ask any multi-million-dollar corporation in the world and they will tell you the same strategy. Don’t skip branding, invest in it and build a foundation that will generate sales for your business for years.