It has sometimes felt like screaming into an abyss while soapboxing on the importance of brand marketing — which, though cathartic, isn’t helping anyone.
Now the data is finally catching up.
Brand + product = perfect match
67
of women CMOs say brand and product are equally important*
But really, it’s always been about the two tracks.
Whether you’re B2B or B2C, selling a product or a service: short-term wins are great for keeping the lights on and the long-term brand play helps secure your future.
Sales now, growth later.
High awareness brands convert better
2.86
higher CVR for high awareness brands vs. low**
We’re not just talking about household names.
It means brands audiences have developed a relationship with. Conversion rate is a truer measure of success than click-through rate.
As Copy Director at Better.com, I spent time a good chunk of time trying to find the magic recipe for selling a mortgage through Facebook. But the real value was in optimizing the product experience, addressing customer pain points, and building a foundation of thought leadership content.
This wasn’t only about the tech. Though, of course, that was vital.
It was about establishing a trustworthy brand voice.
What’s trustworthy?
Attention. Care. Consistency.
The same can be said for friendships. The friends you trust are the ones you can rely on to keep showing up. Consistently.
No matter how magical the recipe, you can’t buy trust. You have to earn it.
And now for my favorite stat in a minute:
When marketing is core to business strategy
2x as likely to have >5% growth
The CEOs who place marketing at the core of their growth strategies are more successful than their peers.†
Another valuable skill to develop in parallel with brand marketing: patience.
Now, who wants to practice trust falls?
As always, if you need support exploring this for your business or brand, I’d love to chat. Email me here.
And don’t forget to subscribe to Fresh Ink for quarterly brand strategy insights and more delivered to your inbox.
Thanks for reading! I hope you find some joy today.
*“Amplifying the Voices of Women CEOs in Fintech” 2024 report from The Fletcher Group **“The Awareness Advantage” report from Tracksuit, TikTok-specific. †Fusaro, R., Rahilly, L., Tas, R. (2024, March 7). Analyzing the CEO ̶CMO relationship and its effect on growth. McKinsy & Company.