Brand strategy vs. just selling.

Is it about us or them?

So why do we expect sales to increase — usually with unreasonable expectations in a short time — simply because we want them to?

Do we really put the customer first? Or do we say that so we can feel good about the fact that we just want to sell them something now?

Put on your customer hat for a minute, and do your best to take the same steps your prospects and customers take in their respective journeys. Truthfully, you can never really do that, because you are already in your business with your own biases, goals, and partiality. But it is worth an attempt — because it frames up what customers are facing, as well as what your company is up against.

Give them a reason to choose your brand.

Today’s very crowded and noisy environment is absolutely overwhelming from a prospect or customer’s perspective — and at the same time, empowering. There has never been a moment like today that allows someone with a need, want, problem, or opportunity to seek and find myriad solutions from countless companies.

So creating a relationship with your brand is a lot different than simply selling a product or service. The amount of choice prospects and customers have dictates that you must take a different approach — which presents both challenges and opportunities.

With patience, some resources, and a real strategy, this environment can help you foster brand-level relationships with prospects and customers, fostering growth and value creation.

What does this mean?

Establishing relationships at the brand level can translate to differentiation, trust, loyalty, growth, and profitability.

So what’s the deal? Why do we let unrealistic expectations and short-term revenue goals keep us in a place of sameness and undifferentiated beige-ness?

Short-term thinking impedes value creation.

Here it is, and this will (or should) make many of us squirm if we’re being honest: we want and need sales this month, this quarter, this year. So we often just do stuff to make a sale, get a customer, or put a check in the revenue column. But it’s often short-term thinking with tactics executed in silos — not tied to a larger strategy that brings longer-term customer relationships, competitive advantage, and brand value.

Short-term thinking drives short-term results. Short-term focus drives short-term value.

Let’s look at a hypothetical scenario: Company X sells products in a competitive space (what isn’t?), and management is dismayed at the results despite considerable resources spent on marketing — money, people, time. So what gives?

Many companies default to execution that is about selling a product — not forming a relationship, educating a person (as opposed to a prospect or customer), or nurturing an investment in something that could pay potential dividends down the road (CLV, or Customer Lifetime Value).

So a company’s marketing spend may yield some conversions and sales, but it’s not moving the needle. Too often, the strategy is to sell product to meet the current revenue goal.

Investing in the relationship just makes sense.

What if Company X’s strategy was to build the best customer experience in their space first — rather than sell product?

What if a prospect was engaged and educated on a level like nobody else in their space is doing? What kind of results could that elicit? What kind of growth, brand value, and competitive advantage could that stimulate?

What if the long-term view was, If we educate prospects on why our brand rules, they will buy our product or service, continue to purchase for years to come, and become brand advocates who will spread the gospel to their friends, families, and colleagues?

Brand strategy helps sales.

Let’s face it — we’re all selling something. But why and how we’re selling something is as important, if not more important, than what we’re selling.

What if the focus was building brand relationships through your brand strategy — versus selling product?

The brand transcends the product. Even if your product or service is the best, the best is relative and fleeting. Respect matters. Trust lasts. Differentiation differentiates. Investment in a relationship is give and take — that’s why relationships are reciprocal. Otherwise, your customer is simply a buyer.

The differences between a buyer and a customer with whom you have a relationship are many. Buyers are often neither long-term nor profitable; customers are. Buyers are often disloyal, jumping ship at the first competitor offering a compelling discount; customers typically don’t. Buyers are usually not brand advocates; customers are. And the list goes on.

Tactics that support a sound and focused brand strategy build value, create lasting relationships, and improve marketing and sales performance. Tactics executed in silos without supporting a brand strategy bring inevitable disappointment, regrettable performance, and negligible ROI.