Often used interchangeably, ‘brand’ and ‘business’ are not the same. Your business is your organisation/company that produces your products or services. Your brand is the image or identity that your business portrays – the way that customers/clients view your business.
What is a business?
A business is your foundation – the products and services that you offer. It’s your business model and without it, there’s nothing to brand – which is why you need to get clear on your business first, then create a brand.
What is a brand?
This is what provides an emotional connection to your audience – this is the personality. Your brand is what makes your business unique. Your brand is what sets you apart from all those other businesses out there that do what you do.
Examples of the difference
Let’s look at an example. Think about Kimberly-Clark, specifically in Australia. Many people haven’t even heard of it. Others may have heard of it but can’t quite put their finger on who they are or what they make.
While an extremely successful business, the Kimberly-Clark name doesn’t mean much, as far as their consumers are concerned. They do, however, make and market a number of wildly successful, household brands including Huggies, Pull-ups, Kleenex, Viva and U by Kotex. These brand names are instantly identifiable and immediately elicit an emotional response or association – Pull-ups ‘I’m a big kid now’.
The distinction between business and brand isn’t always so cut and dry. Take Coca-Cola for example – it’s so popular that the name itself has become synonymous with the very idea of ‘soft drink’. Sometimes we forget that Coca-Cola Amatil (the business) is a multinational beverage corporation which creates a myriad of related brands including, in Australia, Powerade, Fanta, Sprite, Kirks Originals, Mt Franklin, Pump, Deep Spring, Mother and even Jim Beam and Canadian Club. And since they also make Coca-Cola they are both a successful brand and a business.
So what’s the difference when you’re building?
- Building your business – typically means expanding your scope and offering additional goods or services.
- Building your brand typically means keeping your scope focused on a single idea that will come to embody your business.
The two are not quite mutually exclusive. You can have a profitable business with a strong and readily identifiable brand – however this doesn’t happen by accident or overnight – it takes significant effort and insight to build your brand alongside your business.
Sadly, it’s all too common for businesses to focus solely on one aspect of building while ignoring the other, which leads to either a dilution of the brand name or a loss in profitability.
Building your business will yield immediate results, but your success can be fleeting without a brand to leverage.
Building your brand may earn you the emotional connection, loyalty and admiration of your customers, but that may not be enough to sustain you long term if you let your business suffer.
What’s the answer then?
So the answer is – build a solid foundation with an eye for your brand identity over the long-term. While easier said than done, it’s not impossible – sometimes it just takes having the right team on your side to provide direction.
Viabrand is your experienced Brisbane marketing team and branding agency. Our marketing team are experts all areas of branding and marketing. Feel free to book a complimentary, no-obligation 15-minute call to learn more: https://calendly.com/viabrand/15min