There’s a problem in branding today, and the #1 reason why small businesses fail: a lack of understanding the difference between branding and marketing and their actual relationship to sales.
Ask Gary Vaynerchuk and he’ll tell you: “The difference between branding and sales is simple. Are you trying to convert or are you trying to create an experience? The latter always wins.”
Recently seen on social media was this (seen on various channels, so hard to cite whom to credit):
- Branding is why
- Marketing is how
- Branding is being
- Marketing is doing
Master those and you’re on your way.
Only one problem: Branding has more myths than Bigfoot, UFOs, and great sex. Combined.
Here are just a few of the common myths surrounding branding:
- Branding is only done by large companies with big budgets
- Branding is for generating awareness and has nothing to do with sales
- Branding has no measurable metrics
- Branding isn’t something you can learn. You must rely on some outside expert.
Take Clifford Woods. After doing my Brand Intervention Masterclass and Mentorship program, Clifford Woods saw his company increase sales by 19.7X in 12 months.
Cliff tells his journey here:
When you understand the difference between branding and marketing, you no longer waste time marketing when you should be fixing your brand.
No matter your niche.
No matter your market.
No matter your audience.
Need proof? read on.
Understanding People, Not Algorithms, Is What 5Xed This Rebrand’s Growth
Once they understood branding, they could implement this fact: motorcycle owners are not some “algorithm.”
As apparent as this to state out loud, you’d be surprised how many businesses overlook this important detail at great expense to their brands: know your public not as “some demographic” but as actual people.
It’s why companies that value customer experience win long-term, and those that look only at transactions and numbers only lose.
And it’s why Let’s Roll, a manufacturer serving motorcycle owners, saw a 4.93X growth within 12 months following a pretty dramatic rebrand.
Let’s Roll manufactures the best lifts (to raise the motorcycle) and cruisers (use to move the motorcycle to wherever you wanted in the garage) for motorcycle owners when storing their prized possessions.
Learning To Look
Despite all the fanfare over AI, algorithms are hard to track if you don’t look beyond the numbers and instead look at people and their values.
Contrast AI with the ability to observe people directly and take note of what your audience responds to (and what they ignore).
FACT: People have values. Collectively, they share values.
- Foodies respond to specific ideas, stories, and visuals.
- Fitness buffs respond to other ideas.
- Coffee lovers respond to other ideas.
- Entrepreneurs to other ideas.
- Creative types to other ideas.
This is why we looked at the culture, the language, and the values of Motorcycle owners. How they love the open road and the feel of it all.
Paying Attention to the People You Serve
In any of the above groupings, there are sub-groups.
For example, some foodies love chocolate. Others love organic foods.
In fitness, some love cross fit and others love cardio.
Ignore these nuances, and you lose.
Not paying attention and doing “lazy looking” fails to save anyone.
So when we looked at Let’s Roll, we noticed there were motorcycle owners who loved their bikes.
But more importantly, these motorcycle owners love the ease, convenience, and smart use of space even more.
Let’s Roll manufactures the best lifts (to raise the motorcycle) and cruisers (use to move the motorcycle to wherever you wanted in the garage) for motorcycle owners when storing their prized possessions.
I needed to transform this brand into something that showed its motorcycle owner community some respect.
Here is how they shifted gears, and moved into the passing lane:
And when it came to validating customers, each shipment goes out with a certificate to personalize each purchase:
And no rebrand would be complete without an entire arsenal of visual assets for the rebrand:
I hope this gave you insight into what it takes to win in today’s marketplace.
Know the difference between branding and marketing and change your impact.
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