Do you need Marketing or Branding?
Most businesses asked about their Marketing and Branding thought that they were the same thing, they are so closely interconnected that business owners don’t realise the differences, even though they’re both equally important and vital for the success of their business.
There are many debates on what is more important, Marketing or Branding, to me, they are nonseparable one greatly influencing the other, the difference, however, is Marketing activities are usually carried out using various methods, tools, needed to promote or sell your service or product, often they highlight a USP (Unique Selling Point). Think about what problem your product or service can solve and how your customer’s lives will be better because of it, that is your USP.
So! what does your marketing say about your business?
Small companies and start-ups, spend so much money and time developing amazing products, services or buying expensive equipment, but when asked about their marketing budget, very often they don’t have one! Usually, this is because they see marketing as something that they will get around to doing later, or when they are making lots of money and can afford it, but, an amazing product that no one knows about or cares about isn’t amazing because we don’t get to use it.
When they come around to needing to get their product/service noticed, it’s often too late, or they don’t have the budget. The decision then is often to try and do it themselves or go to a website like Fiverr, this seems at first glance as a cost-effective way of getting marketing materials or a logo, but trust me, you might as well be throwing your money away because you really do get what you pay for, as I will explain later, most logo’s on these sites are copied from other designers or from stock libraries, no research, no client understanding, nothing original, no skill, and what does this say about your company, it certainly doesn’t make you stand out or give your customers confidence that your offering the best products or services.
To achieve that, you need to create striking, unique marketing materials that differentiate you from your competitors. It seems strange, marketing should be one of the most important decisions a company makes and is probably the main reason why many that should be a success fail. This is even more evident in a recession, or during this difficult year trying to survive the changes that Covid-19 has forced upon us, there is lots of evidence that increasing, not decreasing your marketing budget at times like these will greatly repay your investment.
As with all other things in life, going for the cheapest option isn’t always the best option, I’m not saying you should pay a fortune and go to a big agency, just allow a little extra in your marketing budget, usually around 10-15% of your turnover, and choose a small design agency, with the experience, marketing know-how and time, they will get your products or services noticed and make you stand out from the crowd, now that will be a much better return on your investment.
A client told me that his lectures weren’t selling, after a long discussion about price, location, and target audience, we realised that he had tried to keep his costs low and designed the event flyers himself! I explained to him if he didn’t look the part, professional, quality and an expert in his field, why would businesses trust what he was going to tell them. Quick adjustment with a professionally designed flyer and he sold out the rest of the year, and easily covered his costs.
So do you need marketing, I think you will agree with me, the answer is an outstanding yes if businesses want to reach their perfect customers and be successful then they must invest in good marketing, but please spend your money wisely and invest in a professional.
For more information read more in ‘Do you need branding? What is it anyway?‘
