Advocates of “branding” will have you believe that it is essential to a company’s existence.
You must “leverage your brand,” have customers “engage with your brand,” “advertise your brand”… blah blah blah blah blah.
Branding is for cattle.
Marketing is for results.
Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t have a well-designed logo. Nor am I suggesting that you shouldn’t think about what your company stands for, how you want to treat your customers, or what your Web site should look like (and how that reflects your company values).
What I am saying is that yelling about your brand is just that. Yelling. Nobody cares about your brand. Nobody sits at their desk saying, “I’d really like to engage with a brand today… which one will it be?”
What you do want is marketing. Measurable marketing with clear results. Internet marketing that drives visitors to landing pages (count the visits, count the clicks, count the orders). Print ads with calls to action. And, a Web site that trumpets what your clients get by choosing you.
Measure results. Make money. Know what works.