Distinguish between marketing and Branding, between Branding and product?

Lack of understanding of the market term results in an unclear direction and wastage of time, money, and energy. Many businesses use the market as philosophy and implement unnecessary strategies to publicize their brand. That is why they do not communicate well with their audience and ultimately face failure.

Before entering the industry, we must be well aware of major market terms such as marketing, branding, and products as well. Usage of these terms, without having a proper understanding, can lead your business in the wrong direction. Professional knowledge of the market grows your business, builds brand awareness, and boosts sales.

Marketing vs Branding

These are two strong buzzwords that play a vital role in building business and successful business. There is a blurred boundary between marketing and branding. Before jumping into the difference, we will explain each term’s meaning.

• Marketing

The term marketing is a set of tools or strategies that businesses used to promote their products or services. It incorporates all advertisement forms that business utilizes to make their audience understand their brand/product or service. In this way, a business successfully reaches its potential customers who value their brand.

This broad term covers all aspects of the publishing business. For some, it may be about logo creation, or for others a business campaign. Let’s discuss two main forms in which differentiates the market.

Two Major Types of marketing

These are the two major types of marketing. One is Traditional and the other is Digital Marketing.

1. Traditional Marketing

The oldest and most popular form of marketing which has been around for thousand years.

Before the internet era, it was considered the most effective and efficient method of promoting any business. Since digital technology came, its value has declined but still in some aspects, it works wonderfully.

Some traditional marketing long term effective strategies include.

• Direct marketing (sales promotion through catalogues and brochures etc.)
• Public Place Marketing (through banners, leaflets, posters and business cards etc.)
• Television and radio Marketing (as large numbers of listeners and viewers use television and radio)

2. Digital Marketing

Digital marketing consists of all marketing strategies that implement through the internet or electronic media/devices. In this advanced digital era, 85% of people daily use devices and the internet. So through digital marketing companies target their customers online by using different sources such as social media, search engines, websites, and e-mails etc.

Marketing experts prefer to use this new endeavour to enable the business to reach their exact audience and achieve the company’s objective quickly than traditional marketing. This approach also proves useful, as a business gets quick feedback, which helps them to bring change and accomplish their customer’s needs.

Some major digital marketing examples are website marketing, PPC advertising, Email marketing, Affiliate marketing, content marketing, video, SMS and social media marketing.

• Branding

The term branding comes after marketing. It’s the practice of giving a unique identity or shape to your business. It describes who you are as a business which includes your business vision, mission, core values. It includes your business identity such as logo, structure, website, quality product or services which maintain the flow of customers.

These all factors make the business personality, that’s why business is recognized as a brand. For example, Toyota is a brand which is recognized by the reliability of their products.

Difference between marketing and branding

Marketing is about to aware the audience about business and creates the element of excitement, so they could take the first bite. While branding is about to keep them coming by maintaining their interest.  As we understand both terms have a powerful meaning. Here, we will distinguish the difference between marketing and branding so you could easily get it.

• Marketing is Tactical While Branding is Strategic

There is quite a prominent difference between a tactic and a strategy. Marketing is about presenting your idea, business or brand in front of the audience. It contributes to the branding where the business makes its own separate identity. The longer the marketing campaign remains or stronger the message delivers, the higher the chances of becoming a successful brand of a business.

A business delivers its information through marketing and convinces the viewers to try a certain company’s product or service. While branding engages the customers for the long term. The brand should use such strategies that it cultivates the strong image in the customer’s mind.

• Marketing strategies repeatedly changes, and Branding remains constant

Active marketing of a brand keeps the business growing until business achieves its objective. However, strong marketing tactics are working behind a successful business which is applied to achieve a specific goal and then gets finished. After that, a new strategy comes to enable the business to achieve another objective.

Branding is different from marketing as it remains constant once the business makes its brand image. Marketing strategies continue to better the brand, make the business customer relation stronger and boost sales.

• Business own marketing while customer own their brand

To make your brand value, it’s all in your own hands. You as a business have the power to make the business successful or fail by your adopting marketing strategies. It depends on how you are promoting business, which sort of product or service you choose, what information you will provide to your audience, how attractive your offers will be.

After that, it’s up to your customer whether they own your brand or not. Whether your business marketing strategies are enough to influence them or not. So, it’s recommended to businesses to focus more on marketing than branding. Because it’s the way of which lands the audience in your business.

You need to bring innovative changes from time to time on customer demand that shows you are listening to your customers. When your business will accomplish their needs, they automatically value your brand.

• Marketing drives sales while branding drives strong recognition

Marketing strategies (such as content marketing, email marketing, and SEO etc.) are the source of boosting business sales. The business who wants to become a brand is strongly focused on driving sales.

Although, branding is a long-term process. A business cannot become a brand instantly, it demands consistency and increase in sales. When the sales boost and more audiences get to engage with the brand, it means the business has been making their identity in the customer’s mind. Which business gets to know by their loyal customer reviews.

In this way, businesses become successful in building their brand recognition. So, a business can also boost sales of other products or services by applying valuable marketing strategies.

Branding vs Product

As we before discussed branding, branding is about adopting strategies of promoting business and making an ideal image in the user’s mind. While the product is any object or service which a brand offers for selling. Here, we will break the difference between branding and product.

• Product

A product is any good or services or can combination of both which a company offers for sale for money. A product has two forms one is physical and other is non-physical. It offers to end customers who need it, so the company could generate the desired revenue.

Products vary from size, shape, packing, colour, attributes, and purposes as well. Every product has an expiry date. Sometimes companies regenerate and relaunch some of their products by modifying them. Company is aiming to grab the targeted audience’s attention by offering them quality, durable and reliable products.

Some examples of goods are handbags, smartphones, and books etc. And some services include site creation, brand promotion, or online teaching, etc.

Difference between branding and product

Here, we will differentiate both by discussing major factors.

• A key difference between Branding and Product

A brand identifies the business by its symbol, companies name, logo, slogan, and product types. Branding promotes overall business products and services by disguising them with each other. While product means any item (finished product) of any business which they offer as ready for sale in the market. A product has its entity which makes it unique from other products of the same company.

Besides that, a brand is what a business wants for themselves while the product is what the customer needs from that specific brand.

• The unique factor between Branding and Product

The unique factor between branding and product is that a product can be easily copied while the brand cannot.

As we experience this in our daily life as well. When we use any product repeatedly, sometimes it feels like a low-quality product. Which we later get to know that it was a copy of that product. So many businesses adopt this strategy to fastly grow their business, but they fail badly.

However, it’s almost impossible to copy the brand as every brand has its own separate identity. Or if any business tries to copy any brand, the targeted one can claim in court as well.

• Physical Appearance of Product and Brand

A product can be tangible or intangible, such as goods and services. Besides that, the brand is only intangible, which is only an identity of any business created by customers’ experience. Such as we listen to any brand that offers guaranteed services or goods, so we make perfection in mind about that brand.

• Expiry Date of Product and Brand

A product always has some expiry date. We buy the product, utilize it, then it becomes finished. Or the company produces a product which doesn’t always remain and expires after some time.

However, a brand is the opposite of a product. It remains forever because it cannot use one. We buy brand products and finish them, but the brand remains in their position and generates more products.

• Product Replacement versus Brand Replacement

When a business timely evaluates the performance of their products, they get to know which product is not performing well in the market. So, they work on it and come to the conclusion to replace or regenerate that particular product.

However, a brand replacement is not much possible as compared to the product. A brand is created once by continuous effort and investment, which cannot replace. So, when a business feels the need for replacement, they prefer to build another brand.

• What do a Brand and Product do?

A product performs functions such as it fulfils the user’s desires. Such as a user buying cups (product) to fulfil their desire for tea. While the brand gives value to their business customers. Such as by offering quality and reliable services and giving guarantees as well.

• Creation of Brand and Product

A manufacturer or producer produces the product, which company sells in a relevant market. While the brand is an identity given by customers to the company. It depends on how much the products are useful or how the consumers find your product beneficial.

In result, when a large number of audiences engage with business, your business becomes the brand in the market.

• Brand Promotion versus Product Promotion

When a brand promotes, it represents the whole business it includes all products, and offers, etc. while in product promotion, there is only one product that is a promotion to the audience.

Conclusion

Hence, we concluded that there is a clear difference between marketing, branding and products. If a business has a proper understanding of these terms, it will be succeeded in the long run.

Mostly business doesn’t differ from them and works inappropriately. As a result, they fail not only in marketing but lose the chance of branding as well.