Brand Building And Marketing As Investments

Marketing is one of the most important investments a company can make. Consider these seven facts:

1. Brand building is an investment that results in a significant leverageable asset.
2. Other shorter-term marketing actions exist for the sole purpose of increasing sales.
3. You can measure the asset value of brands.
4. You can also measure the non-financial aspects of brands that drive positive financial consequences in the long term – awareness, relevant differentiation, loyalty, etc.
5. You can and should measure ROI for other shorter-term marketing programs.
6. Brands are a primary source of value creation for organizations.
7. While some business people (typically finance and operations types) may view marketing as an expense without significant corresponding benefits, this is untrue. Again, marketing is one of the most important investments a company can make.

Implication: don’t look first to marketing (and employee training, for that matter) when expenses need to be trimmed to achieve short-term goals. This will only hamper value creation and revenue growth in the long term.

Marketing is a fundamental driver of organizational success. Together, brand building, marketing and sales strategies and tactics create, build, and sustain a company’s revenues. To ensure positive results, you must understand and track how each marketing program impacts sales in the short-term and the long-term.  In many instances, you will be able to track and measure the specific short-term impact of specific programs. In others, especially for longer-term brand building programs, you will have to track and measure indirect business drivers – brand awareness, attitudinal loyalty, etc., and validate how each of these affects revenue gains in the long run. Formal marketing (and brand) plans and metrics will help you achieve this end. And don’t forget – a brand is an asset, and one of the most important assets in creating long-term value for organizations. Build the brand, sustain it, and leverage it.