The Biggest Difference between Branding & Sales
If you’re interested in learning about sales, branding & how to properly communicate the two in marketing & content for your business, than this article is for you.
- *Disclaimer** I have not built any large or successful company, nor am I an expert in sales or marketing, however I am very knowledgeable in my fields & act on my thesis day to day as CEO of two “on the rise” companies. So kick back and enjoy my POV :)
First things first, before we get into how sales & branding contrast, let’s discuss how they compare to each other. Sales & Branding are like two kings; Two alpha’s in one setting (meaning there’s constant tension when they collide). From my experience running an advertising agency, and indie record label, It’s safe to both equivalently matter, in their own separate worlds.
Sales (aka Money) and Branding (aka reputation) often come together in two forms:
Marketing or Advertising
If you’re a CPG brand, or a B2B service provider, the combination of a well put together piece of creative, with a catchy — not too bold Call-to-Action, makes up the perfect advertisement. On the other hand, a well thought out story line, or short piece of content, along with a trending topic or reference to a viral trending topic, makes up the perfect piece of content or marketing campaign. Unlike TVC’s , where the sole purpose is to sell you something, in 2020, Sales & Branding can be intertwined like never before with the help of social platforms.
When both are combined, properly, can be the start of your businesses cadence in the marketplace, your “Mmm I’m Loving It” , “We Got The Meats” your talking gecko, Jake from State Farm, etc. All these slogans & companies have found a way to mix sales & branding in some of the world’s best & most powerful ways possible, and have established ungodly amounts of brand equity doing so.
So now we know how Sales & Branding work together, let’s discuss what makes them totally different, and why your in-house marketing team, or AOR should never misconstrue either for either.
Let’s start with Branding — my favorite.
“Branding is the language & vernacular of a successful business”
— Kyle J. Maxwell
Simply means, branding is a companies way of expressing itself & its message. When we think about branding, we often tie this to specific stories, certain phrases or jingles. To establish brand within an organization, that 100% is predicated on how they are presented in the marketplace, through advertising & marketing. The market doesn’t care about who you say you are, they care about who they say you are.
If your content is spammy, and only post pictures of your “current sales’’ or your “free ebook” or the classic “Join my free webinar live stream” with a fake landing page & fake count down clock, that’s all just a big funnel to sell them an overpriced, diluted product / service…. people pick up on this, and TUNE.YOU.OUT. Because you have made the sacrilegious play of business, and that’s —
Branding with the INTENT TO SELL SOMETHING.
When you brand, you brand. When you sell, you sell. When you brand with intent to build sales, you lose.
Thank you for reading ❤
