Entrepreneurs should be as focused on their brand as they are on their business.
While growing a brand and a business go hand-in-hand, there are differences. You can search for "the difference between business and brand" to find tons of information with many explanations about what brand is. Both work well together, but each one is unique.
A brand can exist without the support of other businesses. Multiple businesses or companies can be under the same brand. (See Procter & Gamble and The Coca-Cola Company). Most of the time you won't have multiple ventures within one business. Your brand is the overall image of your business. It's your identity, your ventures, and your community. Let's examine the differences between growing a brand or growing a business.
The business is focused on sales, but the brand is community-focused
Your business's goal is to generate income. However, the larger goal of building a brand is to build a community. This community can help you sell more products. That's why brand and business are so interdependent. To grow your brand, you don't need to be focused on how many products you sell, or how many leads you generate. Instead, you should be focused on engagement, reach, and recognition.
Building a business is about expanding products or offering offerings. However, building a brand means that your brand must be focused on one idea or focus. Your brand is what creates a reputation. It is what allows people to identify with your business and feel connected to it.
The brand is bigger than the product
Building a brand is more than just creating income or selling new products. It also focuses on the public's perception and sentiment. It's not all about what you sell. It's about how your people feel. Coca-Cola, for example, can bring back unexpected moments of happiness. This is not due to the product but the branding surrounding it.
We have all seen the Coca-Cola commercials featuring happy people enjoying cola. This was to promote the "Share A Coke" campaign. This is more than just a drink, it's a community of people who love the brand and its products. This is an example of how brands, products, and businesses can work together to create community and increase sales. These kinds of campaigns and connections are what makes your brand stand out and give people a clear view of how you and your company function within the brand. This connects your products and services with the connections you need with your customers to keep them interested.
You can't take your brand away
A brand is not able to fail. If you don't find the right community or continue to grow it, your brand will fail. You can try changing the focus or shifting the direction of the brand if it fails. Because it is an expression of your values and views and not a product or service, it cannot be taken away or stolen.
While your business might end, your brand can live on. A company's brand is its face and voice. In this sense, a company's brand is more like an idea than an actual item or entity. And no one can steal your idea! In this way, a brand's growth is just as important as the company or business.
Different but equally important
It's important for entrepreneurs to expand their brands and businesses. Your business helps you solve the problems in the community you create, while your brand helps you reach more people who need your services. Both of these can be grown simultaneously to help you reach your business goals. These concepts can be operated independently but the most successful businesses have dedicated communities that are well-respected and a strong brand. Take the time to build and strengthen your brand and partner with your business.