Here's a hot take: the goal of marketing is not only sales.

While most folks point to sales as the top line metric for measuring success, I believe that creating connections is just as important.

That’s because connections build relationships. When the relationship is strong, potential customers and clients will think of you first when they’re ready to buy. And if the relationship is authentic, they’ll be loyal to you.

So, how do you make relationships a reality? By building a strong brand!

Your brand – your organization’s image and reputation – is the foundation of a successful marketing program. Think of it this way:

Brand is your reputation. It’s what makes you different. It’s why your customers and clients care about you. It’s how you make people feel.

Marketing is the communications channel. It’s how you get your brand in front of the right people.

Sales is an action. It’s when someone invests in your business with an expectation that your product or service will fulfill a need and will live up to its reputation – or brand!

If you want to build your bottom line, start with a brand assessment. Take stock of the three elements of a strong brand: audience understanding, messaging and visual identity.

Understanding who will relate best to your brand is harder than it sounds. Understanding your audiences isn’t just about knowing their demographics, you need to understand what motivates them.

With an understanding of your audience, dive into your key messaging. Make sure you define the single most important thing about your product or service to your customers or clients. That is your differentiator. Hold it dear and be consistent in its use. It helps you stand out in a crowded marketplace and facilitates the connections that keep your brand on top when it’s time to make a purchasing decision.

Lastly, your visual identity should flow out of the solid brand foundation built from audience understanding and key messaging. Your visual identity should be flexible enough to be conveyed across multiple platforms. Nothing feels less intuitive to building a brand than a visual that doesn’t support the space its given.

Your bottom line depends on your brand. If you want to drive sales, give your brand attention. It’s a surefire way to make your investments in marketing worthwhile.

Ready to solidify your brand foundation? Reach out to see how we can help!

This article originally appeared in the Quad Cities Business Journal.