Whether you’re just getting started with digital marketing or need a refresher, chances are you’ve come across the terms “brand marketing” and “performance marketing” at some point. These two brands of marketing can often seem like opposites: One is about creating a brand that consumers love, and the other is about reaching customers through whatever channels they will buy from. But these two brands of marketing aren’t as different as they seem. Rather than viewing these two types of marketing as diametric opposites, consider them two ends of the same spectrum.
That being said, there are differences between brand marketing and performance marketing that we’ll discuss in this blog post
What is Brand Marketing?
Brand marketing is the process of building a strong emotional connection between a product or service and consumers. The goal is to create a memorable brand that consumers will enjoy interacting with and will want to remember.
A brand marketing strategy can be used to promote products, services, and even your company’s culture. Think of the way that Nike’s logo is instantly recognizable by millions of people all over the world. Logos, taglines, and other visual aspects of a brand are designed to create an emotional reaction, positive or negative, in customers. If done right, a brand marketing strategy can help businesses reach new audiences and create lifelong customers.
What is Performance Marketing?
Unlike brand marketing, performance marketing focuses on getting customers to take action right now. While brand marketing focuses on building a positive emotional connection with customers, performance marketing focuses on getting them to take a concrete action, like clicking a link to visit a website or purchasing a product.
Performance marketing is often associated with advertising, but it can also include other kinds of marketing efforts. Paid advertising like Facebook ads or Google AdWords are examples of performance marketing, since these ads promise to reach a certain number of customers for a certain price.
Performance marketing strategies are often put into place when there is a very short timeline for results. For example, if a new product or feature needs to be introduced to the market quickly, performance marketing offers a quick way to reach customers with little upfront investment or brand building.
Differences Between Brand Marketing and Performance Marketing
While it’s true that brand marketing and performance marketing are very different, these two disciplines also have a lot in common. Both are essential to reaching customers and driving sales through marketing efforts. Both are important components of a complete marketing strategy, no matter what business you’re in. However, there are important differences between brand marketing and performance marketing. While both types of marketing are designed to drive sales, the ways in which they do this differ.
– Brand marketing is an investment in the future but harder to measure. Performance marketing is more of a mid-term investment designed to drive sales quickly.
– Brand marketing is focused on the customer experience. Performance marketing is focused on the sales process and getting customers to take a concrete action as soon as possible.
– Brand marketing is about building a positive emotional connection with customers. Performance marketing is about driving sales and getting customers to take immediate action.
– Brand marketing is about creating a memorable brand. Performance marketing is about driving sales through whichever channels are relevant to customers.
Which is Better for Your Business?
There are many examples of companies who have invested heavily in performance marketing while balancing brand marketing activities. For example, Amazon’s decision to heavily invest in performance marketing has been a massive success. In the first quarter of 2019, Amazon’s net sales increased 45% to $52.9 billion. This is a huge jump from the same period last year, when Amazon’s net sales increased 36% to $43.7 billion. This sudden jump in Amazon’s numbers can be attributed to the company’s heavy investment in performance marketing. Amazon has spent billions of dollars on advertising in recent years and shows no signs of slowing down.
The numbers show that brand marketing and performance marketing can coexist in a single marketing campaign. However, it’s important to make sure that your focus is on long-term growth and success, not just immediate sales.
Final Words: Should You Only Use One Kind of Marketing
Although each marketing channel has its benefits, you should avoid becoming too reliant on any one marketing channel. It’s a best practice to include a combination of brand marketing and performance marketing, with an emphasis on long-term sustainability and growth.
For example, when deciding how to spend your advertising budget, it’s a good idea to focus on a media mix that both converts low-funnel prospects for immediate payback while building a pipeline of future demand through mid-to-high funnel tactics. In many cases, both strategies can co-exist within the same media channel.
This can help you build a long-lasting relationship with customers, which can be very profitable in the long run. While it’s important to focus on building a brand, it’s also important to get in front of new customers as soon as possible.
Synergage can help you with your brand and performance marketing efforts. Our marketing team applies brand, growth, and performance marketing principles to produce cost-effective results. Our team can create a sustained growth strategy and customized marketing solutions to meet your company’s needs based on consumer data and insights.