Marketing And Sales Aren’t The Same Thing

Marketing And Sales Aren’t The Same Thing

Just because you’re marketing it doesn’t mean you’ll make any money from it. Here are 2 ways to change this. 

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So you’re a new small business ready to hit the ground running. First on the agenda? Marketing. Because you need to start bringing in some sales.

You diligently take all the steps needed to outfit a full marketing plan. You execute this plan and play the waiting game until those sales start trickling in.

Unfortunately it’s a slow trickle. You see some sales, but it’s not a flood like you expected it to be.

I’m sure so many of you have lived this exact scenario before and have gone months, maybe years of marketing without it measurably improving your sales in a remarkable way.

You can distribute content every day for 365 days of the year on your social media channels, blog, and email marketing and bring in absolutely $0 in sales.

You can tag a call to action at the end of every content piece and broadcast to motivate people to buy, but still not compel any action.

That’s because marketing and making sales aren’t the same thing.

Marketing and sales are two completely different art forms, no matter how often our society seems to clump them together. It’s only the businesses that understand marketing and sales intimately and have mastered both that are able to create money-making magic from it.

Here are the major distinctions between brands that market and produce sales from it and the ones that don’t.

Broadcasting ≠ Persuasion

Broadcasting and persuasion are not the same thing.

Broadcasting is usually a one-sided conversation where you’re announcing and relaying information. Most broadcasting-based content looks like the announcement of a sale or a campaign, or the launch of a new product. 

It’s fine to broadcast now and then, but so many brands broadcast 100% of the time without realizing it.

Persuasion has value exchange and a level of courtship involved. This is content that shares value in the form of knowledge or support — it sways people and moves them towards action. Both sides are connecting through an engaging exchange. The content sparks conversation rather than functions as an announcement.

This difference between broadcasting and persuasion is a large reason why a lot of businesses do marketing but don’t see much ROI from it. They’re usually broadcasting without doing any persuading.

Broadcasting is ineffective because a customer is usually in a different state of mind when they’re receiving an announcement vs. being persuaded to buy something. When there’s dialogue, there’s a connection, and connection leads to action.

To put a marketing plan in motion that makes money, create content that persuades rather than broadcasts. 

Brand Magic

Brand magic is what compels a customer to buy from one competitor over another, it’s the special sauce that fosters brand loyalty and fandom. I call it having a personality and sticking to it.

I don’t ever want to hang out with a friend or go on a date with someone that has no personality, do you? Have you ever had a blast talking to someone without a personality, or a personality you didn’t like?

Just like a person, a brand needs to have a personality in order to connect with people. The more that you dig deep into what this personality is and make it as human as possible, the more attractive you’ll be to your intended audience. 

Brands that don’t spend any time assigning a personality to their business usually lack this brand magic. They don’t see engagement or movement in their marketing because they’re either boring or lack consistency in their personality. Equally as bad as no personality is someone who’s all over the place — find your sweet spot. 

To create brand magic for your business, identify your unique perspectives and interests; then vocalize them through your marketing. 

The best “brands” that showcase how to do this are Instagram influencers — a lot of them are great at expressing their personality through curated content large and small. 


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Sophia Sunwoo