Ideally, both performance and brand marketing should work hand-in-hand but there is a debate about which is better with regards to growth of a company. Many leaders of brands today have a tendency of thinking in terms of performance vs. brand marketing, with both camps as polar opposites of the other. But is this really the best approach? Before you answer the question, it’s vital to first understand both types of marketing.
What is Performance Marketing?
Performance marketing is an approach to digital marketing where businesses only pay when there are results. Results in this instance refer to specific actions taken by users such as a sale, lead, click or other outcome agreed upon by the marketer and business.
Unlike other types of marketing, the company only pays for successful campaigns and not the efforts exerted. It has no regard for building the brand as the goal is primarily to gather and use more data for campaign performance.
What is Brand Marketing?
On the other hand of the spectrum is brand marketing, where businesses aim to express their brand’s position and attributes with only the slightest call to action. It promotes your services in a way that highlights your overall brand.
Although the major goal of brand marketing is to emphasize your whole brand, it also affects sales in that it gives conversions a lift. In other words, this kind of ad is considered successful when it does a great job of building the brand.
Performance vs. Brand Marketing
One question that comes to mind, is it possible for brands to bolster their brands while also achieving performance marketing success? In today’s world, both types of marketing are critical and companies don’t have to focus on one at the expense of the other.
Admittedly, performance marketing is more attractive because it’s easier to measure whereas brand building is harder to measure since it is a long-term initiative. However, merging brand and performance marketing can help bring the maximum effects. A strong brand will help a company gain and retain loyal customers while performance marketing helps you to reinforce that brand.
For instance, a company that’s just entering the market will have to first run a massive brand marketing campaign since it’s unlikely that people will just download an app if they’ve never heard of the company. Brand marketing will help grease the wheels so people can become familiar with the company, providing the initial traction to power future performance campaigns.
Performance and brand marketing are becoming more interdependent like never and the power of combining the two shouldn’t be underestimated.
Performance and brand marketing are both important but there’s no rule that says you have to pick and drop the other. Merging the two types of marketing will help any business achieve long-lasting success. While performance marketing will help bring more people to the table so the company can achieve its short-term goals, brand marketing will feed them well and make sure they come back again and again.