Why & How to Invest in Building Your Brand

February 25, 2025

By Marci Seney
Vice President, Client Services

In today’s fast-paced business environment, it’s tempting to focus solely on quick wins and immediate conversions. But at Dunn Marketing, we’ve seen that organizations who commit to the long game of brand building reap substantially greater rewards over time. As the saying goes, “slow and steady wins the race” – and that’s especially true when it comes to creating a lasting brand presence that resonates with customers. 

The Limitation of Conversion-Only Marketing

Many businesses fall into the trap of investing primarily in marketing tactics designed to capture customers who are ready to buy right now, otherwise known as conversion. But this approach can be a gamble. While it will likely generate short-term revenue, it’s a tactic that overlooks a large majority of your potential market – those who don’t even realize yet that they need your services. 

The short game bypasses relationship building and rushes straight to the purchase prompt without earning consumer trust first. This perspective emphasizes what we’ve found through our own brand development work with our clients – a strategy focusing only on immediate conversions ultimately becomes a financial drain. 

Remember that you can’t build a reputation on what you’re going to do. Your brand is built through consistent, thoughtful actions over time, not through a series of disconnected sales pitches. 

Building a Brand That Customers Remember

Marketing legend Philip Kotler reinforces this point when he states that “companies with weak to no branding effort are biding time until someone else shapes their message negatively and they need to invest in brand recovery efforts” (Kotler, 2024). Through our competitive analyses for many of our clients, we’ve discovered that while several competitors might offer similar services, those who differentiate themselves and develop distinctive brand positioning that sets them apart in meaningful ways are often few and far between. 

Creating effective brand positioning isn’t just about immediate client acquisition – it’s about establishing yourself as the obvious choice when future clients eventually need your services. This approach requires methodical, data-driven strategy development, and that leads me to my next point. 

Our Methodical Approach to Brand Development

At Dunn Marketing, we’ve refined a comprehensive approach to brand development that creates lasting value for our clients: 

• Client Understanding and Initial Research: We begin by analyzing current client data and understanding existing market positioning. 

• Ideal Client Profiling: We develop detailed profiles capturing demographics, psychographics, and behavioral attributes of target audiences. 

• Market Research and Analysis: We conduct geographical analysis of target markets and create a “pool of opportunity” assessment to quantify the potential client base. 

• Competitive Analysis: We identify primary competitors and create a comprehensive evaluation framework with weighted categories. 

• Brand Foundation Development: We establish clear mission statements, brand values, and archetypes that guide all marketing efforts. 

• Brand Positioning Strategy: We craft positioning statements and adapt them to each target segment with customized “reasons to believe.” 

• Implementation Guidelines: We create practical guidance for consistently applying the brand across all touchpoints. 

This methodology recognizes that “small wins add up to big victories” because each element of your brand strategy contributes to a stronger market position over time. The same applies to brand building – start today for results tomorrow. 

Balancing Short-Term and Long-Term Marketing

This does not mean abandoning efforts to convert those ready-to-buy prospects. Rather, it means allocating marketing resources appropriately between immediate conversion activities and longer-term brand building. With this balanced approach, your business is positioned not just to survive but to thrive through all economic conditions. 

When business is thriving, companies willingly invest in the long game. But when the financial landscape shifts and sales start to dip, these same organizations tend to abandon their brand-building efforts in favor of quick-win tactics. Simply put, this shortsighted approach undermines your future success. 

If you leave with anything, let it be this: marketing is indeed a long game. While focusing on those ready to convert is good for some quick wins, the real game involves building your brand for those who don’t know they need you yet. By the time they’re ready, they’ll naturally come to you first. 

The most successful organizations recognize that marketing is both a sprint and a marathon, requiring consistent investment in both immediate conversion tactics and long-term brand building strategies. By investing in your brand today, you’re not just marketing to current prospects – you’re establishing yourself as the obvious choice for everyone who will need your services tomorrow.