Learn how to use Brandformance to your advantage and boost your B2B / SaaS Marketing.
In the ever-evolving world of marketing, new concepts and strategies are continually emerging, each promising to be the key to unlocking unprecedented growth and success. One such concept that has recently gained traction is “Brandformance,” a term that combines two critical aspects of marketing: branding and performance. But what exactly is Brandformance, and why is it becoming increasingly important in today’s digital marketing landscape? Let’s delve deeper into this innovative approach.
The Genesis of Brandformance
The term Brandformance is a portmanteau of ‘branding’ and ‘performance,’ representing a marketing strategy that seamlessly blends the long-term vision of brand marketing with the short-term, goal-oriented nature of performance marketing.
Traditionally, branding and performance marketing have been viewed as two distinct disciplines. Brand marketing focuses on building brand awareness, recognition, and loyalty, with the aim of establishing a strong brand image and emotional connection with the audience. It’s a long-term strategy, and its results, while profound, are often intangible and difficult to measure.
On the other hand, performance marketing is a more immediate, results-driven approach. It involves promotional activities designed to drive a specific customer action, such as making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or downloading a whitepaper. Performance marketing is highly measurable, with clear metrics and KPIs, making it easier to track ROI.
Brandformance, therefore, represents a paradigm shift in marketing strategy. It acknowledges that branding and performance are not mutually exclusive but rather two sides of the same coin. It’s about building a strong brand while simultaneously driving measurable results.
Why should businesses care about Brandformance?
So, why should businesses care about Brandformance? The answer lies in the unique benefits this approach offers.
- Holistic View of Marketing: Brandformance encourages businesses to view marketing as a cohesive whole rather than separate, disconnected efforts. This holistic view ensures that all marketing activities, whether aimed at building the brand or driving performance, are aligned and working towards the same overarching business goals.
- Balanced Focus on Short and Long-term Goals: With Brandformance, businesses no longer have to choose between building their brand and achieving immediate results. This approach allows for a balanced focus on both short-term conversions and long-term brand building, ensuring sustainable growth.
- Optimized Spend: By combining branding and performance, businesses can optimize their marketing spend. They can allocate resources more effectively, ensuring that every dollar spent contributes to both immediate results and long-term brand value.
- Improved Measurement and Accountability: Brandformance brings the measurability of performance marketing to the world of branding. By setting clear KPIs for branding efforts and using advanced analytics tools, businesses can track their progress and hold their marketing teams accountable.
Implementing a Brandformance Strategy
Implementing a Brandformance strategy involves several key steps:
- Align Branding and Performance Goals: The first step is to ensure that your branding and performance goals are aligned. This means that your brand message should be consistent across all channels and touchpoints, and your performance marketing activities should reflect and reinforce your brand values.
- Define Clear KPIs: Set clear, measurable KPIs for both your branding and performance marketing activities. This could include brand awareness and perception metrics for branding, and conversion rates, customer acquisition costs, and ROI for performance marketing.
- Leverage Data and Analytics: Use data and analytics to track your progress and optimize your strategy. This could involve using customer data to personalize your marketing messages, or using analytics tools to track the performance of your marketing campaigns.
- Test, Learn, and Optimize: Brandformance is not a set-it-and-forget-it strategy. It requires continuous testing, learning, and optimization. This means regularly reviewing your KPIs, testing different tactics and strategies, learning from your successes and failures, and optimizing your approach based on these insights.
Do you want to know more about implementing Brandformance at your B2B / SaaS business. Reach out!