Brand Building vs Performance Marketing: You Need Both Brand building and performance marketing aren’t competitors – you need both. Performance marketing will get you customers now, whereas brand building will continue to get you customers next year. At some point every business owner will ask themselves whether they should invest in performance based marketing to generate leads this month or invest in brand building. Often your agencies, freelances or even the dashboards from Google will try to push you one way or another. This guide will show you what each do, their limitations and how to mix them both together even if you have a small budget. What is brand building? Brand building is the long term strategy to ensure people know you, recognise you and trust you. It’s about creating a consistent name, logo, tone of voice, aesthetic and positive customer experience. The objective isn’t to sell to them immediately but to be the first thing people think of. Common brand building tactics include: Creating consistent social media content to showcase your personality and knowledge. Creating videos, reels and stories around your work, team and clients. Creating blogs, newsletters and thought leadership to become an authority. Encouraging reviews, testimonials and being active in the community. Collaborations, events and being local. For example a ply board dealer in Kochi will be known due to the high quality work they deliver and the consistency online. As soon as the homeowner starts their renovation project they’ll be on the short list. What is performance marketing? Performance marketing is paid marketing. Every rupee you spend is directly linked back to an action such as a click, lead, call or sale. As you’re paying for results, you can also view these in real time and make quick changes. It’s the quickest way to get in front of people who are actively searching. Common performance marketing channels include: Google Search Ads Google Shopping Ads Meta (Facebook & Instagram) Lead and Conversion Campaigns YouTube & Display Remarketing WhatsApp & Email campaigns to existing contacts. Affiliate & Referral programmes.
The limits of performance marketing
You’re only able to gather demand. Without brand building your costs will increase. When no-one knows who you are, you’ll have to convince everyone who clicks on your ad. People will compare with your competitors on price only, causing them to hesitate and move on. This means you’re paying for the same audience. Signs you’re relying on performance marketing: Cost per lead increasing each month. Most leads asking “What’s your cheapest price?” Sales dropping dramatically when you stop running ads. Very few people searching for your name. This is like hiring customers, when you stop paying they’ll move on. Why brand building alone won’t generate revenue. Whilst having a strong brand will create interest, if you don’t have a way to convert this then nothing will happen. You’ll feel like you’re doing something by posting beautiful content and gaining followers but they’re not customers. As there is no clear offer, easy way to enquire and follow up, people will move on. You won’t know what’s working. As it’s difficult to know which post/campaign led to a sale, your budget will be reduced. Brand building = people will want to work with you. Performance marketing = people will find it easy to buy from you. How brand and performance marketing work together. Brand building will give you the top of the funnel and performance marketing the bottom. This makes both cheaper and more effective. 1. Awareness (Brand) – The homeowner will be seeing your Reels, project images and posts frequently so will start to recognise your name. 2. Consideration (Brand & Performance) – They’ll start searching for options. By having a great website, reviews and Google Business Profile they’ll feel confident. Your search ad will appear at the top. 3. Decision (Performance) – They’ll recieve a remarketing ad or follow up via WhatsApp with a quote, site visit or limited time offer. 4. Loyalty (Brand) – Great customer service, referrals and consistent content will mean they’ll come back and recommend you. When used together, people will know who you are as they’ve seen your ads. More people will click through, be more trusting when enquiring and won’t argue about price. This will lower your cost per lead. Common mistakes to avoid. Most wasted marketing budgets come from not looking at brand and performance as one. Low profile/website – If your Instagram, Google listing or landing page looks inconsistent your ads will be wasted. Changing your look and messaging too much – Brand building is all about consistency. Keep your visuals, tone and promise the same. Expecting brand to deliver in 30 days – Give brand building at least a few months. Turning off ads to save money – Turning off your performance campaigns completely could mean your leads drop overnight. Trying to measure everything based on followers or sales – Both should be measured separately. Ignoring your existing customers – Reviews, referrals and follow ups are the cheapest brand and performance tools. In summary. Performance marketing will get you customers now. Brand building will make them choose you. The best businesses will invest in both. Use performance marketing to get people who are ready to buy. Use brand building to make sure they choose you, pay fairly and come back. Start with whichever is most needed for your business and introduce the other as soon as possible. Measure both with the correct metrics and review them monthly. Not sure where to start? At Zigzag Digital Solutions we can help you create a memorable brand and run campaigns to convert attention into leads. Contact us today for a free marketing consultation to get a clear plan in place for your budget.
