Brand and Demand
Both points-of-view have merit – but they are really driving a worrying fragmentation in the marketing activity. The CMOs are spending just less time in creating the strategy. And far more of it refereeing misinformed ‘brand’ versus the ‘demand’ battles in the board room.
The Brand and the demand are two sides of the same coin. In front of the ideal prospect, and at the best time, will deliver some far better results if that prospect is already equipped. And if the prospect has some form of brand knowledge and understanding. Operating a demand campaign in a brand vacuum is a massive waste of marketing resources.
A successful marketing takes a holistic approach and though the most skilled expert in the demand generation. Needs to first understand the brand to ensure that every aspect of the marketing mix works.
Obsessive Measurement
Of course, many of the loudest voices that are located in the c-suite will be shouting that the ‘brand’ is a nebulous concept. While the ‘demand’ can be tracked and can be also assessed in an extraordinary detail. Again, this reinforces the lack of understanding into how good the marketing works. In so many different ways, the digital marketing’s inherent ‘measurability’ is to be named as its Achilles heel. Encouraging the judgement of marketing activity only on the quantitative performance.
Companies are endlessly demanding the measurement of brand perception and the brand awareness – and also the ROI from the brand campaigns. This totally misses the point – the brand as a holistic concept is not just implicitly measurable. (Although investors certainly are flocking towards the companies with excellent brand recognition) but it is highly valuable within the overall marketing mix. Strong brand awareness coupled with the positive brand perception will simply make it far easier for you. So you can create marketing qualified leads (MQLs). It will also ease the conversion process; it will in fact set the foundation for customer expectation.
In addition to the explanation of the value about combining strong brand and the demand campaigns. Many of the CMOs also have to justify the basics of marketing activity. Why, ask the management teams, is money just being wasted on the multiple customer acquisition channels? when one or two have so clearly outperform the rest?
Wrong Questions
While such kind of questions may make some sense in a linear operational process. The logistics or the manufacturing, for example – the marketing, irrespective of the technology and irrespective of the metrics, remains a far more nuanced activity.
Good marketers are aware of the importance of testing, importance of evolving strategy and also building the right messaging. They know that in a constantly changing market, the performance is never static. Customer expectations can change, the cultural events will influence the relevance, even the appropriateness, of activity. Individuals will cave in to the management pressure to focus only on the demand. On today’s top performing channels – and the business will then suffer as a result.