by Yitzchak Grant
“We don’t believe in marketing.”
I’ve heard this too many times. Usually from a leader who cut their teeth on the factory floor and has just set sales targets using a “make it and they will come” strategy.
Here’s the thing:
You don’t have to believe in brand. It still shows up. Everywhere.
Brand isn’t just what you say. It’s what people see, feel, touch, and remember — across every part of the business.
Let’s start on the front lines
Sales
Are your reps wearing suits or sneakers? Do they pitch in person or over WhatsApp? Are deals sealed with a handshake or buried in procurement systems? That’s brand.
Delivery
Do you own logistics or outsource? Is on time accurate delivery (OTIF) gospel or luck? Who answers the phone when something’s late? That’s brand.
Finance
Do you send invoices via direct interface or PDF? Do you chase debtors like partners or with pitchforks? That’s brand.
HR + Ops
Is onboarding slick or stuck in SharePoint? Does IT feel like TikTok or MySpace? Is the culture flat and fast, or slow and siloed? Do you ghost candidates or personalize responses? Brand, brand, brand.
Digital
Is your portal a gateway or a dead end? Does your website convert or just exist? Are your AI tools actually helpful or just dressed up FAQs? Brand again.
Customer service
Do your people empower, empathize, or escalate? Or do you reply in two weeks with a “Thanks for your patience” auto-response? That’s brand, too.
💡 The Four Quadrants: How Brand Shows Up
Here’s a simple model we use when we’re working with CEOs:
- Internal–Culture: What people feel inside the business
- Internal–Capabilities: How things actually work
- External–Experience: Every interaction with users, buyers, fans
- External–Identity: How the world sees you
If your systems are broken or your culture’s toxic, no pretty brand identity or pithy purpose statement will save you.
And if your customer touchpoints are clunky, your pricing wobbly, and your messaging off? You’re not building brand — you’re leaking value.
Bottom Line
Brand isn’t a veneer. It’s the organizing principle of a business . The crystallization of your strategy.
Not a cost center. An asset.
Not a campaign. A value system.
And not optional. Ever.
It’s not about belief. You don’t believe in brand and marketing any more than you believe in a round earth and gravity.
Like it or not, your brand is showing up.
Everywhere.
So the only real question is:
Are you building it — or breaking it?