I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Fotis Georgiadis for Authority Magazine’s series about “Brand Makeovers” and will be sharing a few of the highlights here over the coming months.

Q: “Can you explain to our readers why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?”

I read a quote once (from Christy Liu – founder of Wanderfly/acquired by TripAdvisor) that said, “Great companies have marketing built into the DNA of their products”. I love that. It’s true because marketing is so integral to business success. And branding is where it all starts.

Most people think of logos and color palettes when they think of branding. But those are just one component — the visual manifestations of the brand.

Branding is really the internal work that is the foundation for everything else you do in your business. It’s how we express who we are as a company and it’s how we communicate — and connect — with our customers.

Without doing the work of branding we’re rudderless.

With branding, we have purpose. We have vision. And going through the branding process is often the catalyst for all the other pieces of their business to begin falling into place.

Read the full interview on Medium.

Many businesses – especially small businesses – don’t invest in branding. My theory is because branding is methodical and internal. Results are not always immediately tangible. And there is more a sense of something happening when content is being posted on social media or sales calls are being made.

Seeing those posts on Instagram may bring immediate gratification, but is your message attracting the right audience? You may feel like you’re doing a lot by scheduling a ton of meetings and sales calls, but are your conversations with prospects resonating?

It’s easy to promote a business. There are countless opportunities and platforms where you can spend your time and money. But at the end of the day, we need to make sure the actions we take are purposeful. That the platforms we choose are where our audience is. That the content we post will connect with them. That the message we’re communicating has meaning for them.

So, whether you’re a company of one or one thousand, it’s important to take the time and invest in branding and building your brand.

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Jacqui Genow

Brand & Business Strategist

J. Genow Marketing

Jacqui Genow is the founder and principal of J. Genow Marketing. She works with clients in aligning their brand message, building their marketing roadmap, and helping them stay on track to move their business forward. As a Brand and Business Strategist, her focus goes beyond marketing; making the connections between how marketing decisions made today can impact a client’s business in the future. You can find Jacqui on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter.

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