Branding, Marketing, or Selling
While somewhat related, these three terms cause a great deal of confusion in the marketplace.
It would be interesting to hear what you think about each of them and how you approach them.
Meanwhile, what we’ve learned is that BRANDING is what people think of you, or say about you. You may claim what you want as a brand, but it is what your customers or fans define you to be that is your brand.
MARKETING, on the other hand, is all the activities you engage in to generate awareness of your work, whether providing products or services. Marketing includes things like your website, flyers, brochures and advertisements.
The reason Marketing is confused with sales is because people assume that because they are doing marketing, sales should just come along.
Not so.
SELLING is the art of the ask, the process of signing on the dot, or clicking on buy now. That action or transaction is a sale.
Marketing is everything that happens before that sale.
Marketing is one thing. It is to spread awareness of your brand or what you think you stand for, and how people might remember you. Sales are another thing entirely.
Selling is the process of asking to person to make a move on what you marketed, take an action such as clicking or enrolling or handing over cash.
Marketing and Selling are two completely different cycles, and not understanding the difference between them can be painful if you are trying to start or grow a business.
BEFORE YOU GO
We see our blogs as opportunities for dialogue. Please share your thoughts as comments.
- How do you define Branding, Marketing, and Selling?
- What other ways have you looked at marketing versus selling versus branding or other terms?
- What tools have you used to get your brand out, your word out, and get the sale?
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Faris Alami is Founder and CEO of International Strategic Management, Inc. (ISM). He works internationally, presenting Exploring Entrepreneurship Workshops and other entrepreneurial ecosystem — related ventures.
