Branding Vs. Marketing – How Are They Different?

Saurabh Patil          27 March 2023

• Definitions of marketing vs. branding
Marketing and Branding are often considered to be the same when they are in truth two completely different streams. To understand these two functions, let us see what each means individually.

• Marketing:
Marketing is defined as the set of tools, processes, and strategies one employs to dynamically endorse your product, service, and company. Think of marketing as the actions you take to connect with your customers and get them to buy your products or services.

• Branding:
on the other hand, Branding is the marketing practice of keenly shaping your brand. Branding is about defining who you are as a company. It’s your mission, your values, and what makes you special and unique. It’s your key brand elements, like your logo, your website, and your brand style guidelines. If marketing is what gets people to notice and engage with your company for the first time, branding is what keeps them coming back for years to come.

• Marketing vs. Branding

Now that you know what each function is, here are the key differences between marketing and branding:

While marketing is used to promote your product or service, branding is used to actively shape your brand and who you are. You require strategies for both and they have different goals and different results.

• Marketing gets a customer’s attention; branding is a way to keep their attention

• Marketing drives sales, branding drives recognition and loyalty

• Branding comes first, marketing comes second

• Marketing strategies come and go—but branding is forever

• Branding has just as much of an impact on your team as it does on your customers

• Marketing drives sales, branding drives recognition and loyalty.

So, when it comes to sales, think of marketing as a sprint—while branding? That’s more like a marathon.

Branding comes first, marketing comes second. In the grand scheme of building your business, branding always comes before marketing. And for good reason; you can’t exactly market a brand you haven’t designed yet.

Before you even think about putting a marketing plan in place, you need to focus on your branding. Who are you as a brand? What do you want to bring to the marketplace? What are your core values? And, most importantly, how are you going to communicate that to your target customers?

Only when you have the answers to those questions does it make sense to start thinking about marketing. Because once you have your branding in place, you’ll have a better understanding of who you are, who your customer is, and the best ways to connect with that customer—and then you can create a marketing strategy that brings that to life.

• Marketing strategies come and go—but branding is forever

Don’t get that wrong—as long as you’re trying to establish a successful business, you’re going to need to aggressively promote that business but the strategies you use to market your business are temporary; each marketing tactic is going to have a clear beginning, middle, and end.

Branding is different. No matter where you are in your business, you’re always going to be working on defining who you are as a establishment, shaping your brand’s perception with your audience, and nurturing a deeper, more meaningful relationship with your customers. As your company grows and evolves, you’ll need to grow and evolve your branding right along with it.

Bottom line: marketing strategies will come and go (as they should!) But branding? Branding is forever.