Why Digital Marketing Alone Won’t Build Your Brand ? - Sharing My Opinion

Marketing
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Hello Everyone,

My name is Ankit Anand. I am a Digital Marketing Strategist at webkul.design – A Brand Design Agency.

I want to share my personal experience about how a brand can fail even after spending a lot on digital marketing (SEO, PPC, Google Ads, etc.), simply because they ignore the UI/UX of their website.

Let me walk you through a scenario where most brands start making mistakes. When building a website or app to offer their services in the market, the first and most common mistake business owners make is hiring an inexperienced design agency, often without verifying their expertise. Some of these agencies even showcase fake portfolios.

Once the website or app is delivered (without conducting proper market research, user analysis, or competitive bench-marking etc), the focus shifts to branding.

The brand then hires a digital marketing agency or builds an in-house team to promote their business.

But here’s the problem: no one in the team has a deep understanding of branding.

They only focus on marketing tactics like SEO to rank higher or PPC to run ad campaigns.

But what about user expectations?

Users want a clean, easy-to-navigate website that loads fast, looks trustworthy, and works smoothly across devices. If the design feels confusing or outdated, they’ll leave immediately , no matter how much you spend on ads and SEO.

Sadly, that’s often ignored. This is exactly why many brands fail and I’ve personally experienced this.

So whether it’s personal branding or product branding, build a strong brand foundation first , hire a good brand design agency then move on to marketing.

I hope this was informative. If anyone has an alternative opinion, please feel free to share—I’d love to hear it.

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IMO branding and marketing starts with boring basics.

Who are you? Can I trust you?
What do you sell? What’s in it for me?
Is your product reliable? Can I come back after 10 years and get help?
Who do you target? Why?
Why should I buy from you?
Who are your competitors?

The foundation of branding and marketing starts with the basics as Kotler stated ages ago.

Not by putting lipstick on the pig.

Just an opinion.

3

Exactly.
Without answering the core questions—who you are, what you offer, and why anyone should care branding is just surface-level decoration.

True marketing starts with clarity, trust, and consistency.

As you said, it’s not about dressing up the brand but building it on solid, meaningful foundations that last.

Appreciate this grounded take.

1 Like
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Hi Ankit,
Thanks for sharing your experience — it’s a much-needed reality check in today’s marketing landscape.

I completely agree with your point: digital marketing can only amplify what already exists. If the foundation (UI/UX, branding, and trust signals) is weak, no amount of SEO or ad spend can compensate for a poor user experience.

I’ve seen many businesses pour resources into ads without ever testing their website’s usability. It’s like inviting people to a store that has broken shelves and confusing aisles — they’ll walk right out.

Strong design and branding create the first layer of trust. Marketing brings people to the door, but it’s the experience that makes them stay and convert.

Thanks again for highlighting this — more business owners need to hear it! :clap:

1 Like
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Hi riddles,
Thank you so much for your thoughtful response, I truly appreciate your kind words and couldn’t agree more with your analogy.

A website is indeed like a store; if the experience inside is broken or confusing, no amount of traffic will translate into meaningful engagement or conversions.

Thanks again for engaging in this important conversation!

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Great insights. Totally agree, while digital marketing is powerful, it’s not a silver bullet. Real brand growth comes from consistency, customer experience, and an offline presence. Thanks for sharing your perspective.

1 Like
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Absolutely agree, Ankit.

No matter how much you spend on SEO or ads, if the website’s UI/UX is poor, users won’t stay. A strong brand starts with good design — marketing only works when the foundation is right.

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You should always put the users first as part of any plan.

Many suggestions above cover it, but if you don’t do the basics right, your conversions will suck - Doesn’t matter how much marketing you do.

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Digital marketing alone won’t build your brand because lasting brand value also requires strong storytelling, product quality, customer experience, and consistent offline presence