How would you address discrepancies between sales figures and brand performance data?

When sales figures and brand performance data don’t align, it’s crucial to understand the metrics involved. Sales reflect immediate revenue, while brand performance covers awareness, perception, and market position. Discrepancies can arise from market conditions, product life cycles, or inconsistent promotional activities. To address this, ensure consistent brand communication, enhance customer experience, leverage data analytics, review product offerings, and adjust pricing strategies. Aligning these aspects bridges the gap, driving both sales and long-term brand success.

I have known you for a long while and would love to have you speak with some Founders within my ecosystem. They would benefit from listening to you and how you approach top line and bottom line growth based upon strong marketing and lead generation strategies.

As CMO of an AI firm, I tackle discrepancies between sales & brand performance with a strategic approach, Integrating insights from marketing, sales, & data analytics for a holistic view to assess if the brand aligns with its audience or external factors like market trends are impacting sales. Leveraging AI to analyze real-time customer behavior & sentiment, spotting patterns that may affect sales. If brand metrics are strong but sales are weak, issues could be sales funnel misalignment or poor product-market fit. Then address these by refining the target audience, optimize marketing channels, or adjusting pricing. Maintain clear communication with stakeholders, presenting data-driven insights and plans to boost brand equity and revenue

You can “align” the data but there is an inherent lag effect of brand for at least 6 months this needs to be taken into account. That said System 1 ad testing does have a metric for “short term sales potential” but the underlying principle here is still that the ad should be measured over the long term. In B2B this can be even more pronounced as sales qualified leads will then go into a sales cycle of 60-90 days - 3 months after that initial lead was delivered via brand/lead gen

I believe branding is crucial for any business! As a brand consultant, it's essential to ensure that branding efforts translate into sales. If there's a discrepancy between branding activities and sales figures, it's a red flag. Understanding the market, and target audience, and analyzing internal performance metrics is key. Conducting deep market research and running surveys can help identify gaps in marketing and branding strategies. It's important to realign strategies to make branding and business sustainable activities. Finding the root cause of low sales despite significant branding investments is vital for long-term success.

Deep analysis involves thoroughly examining a problem to uncover hidden patterns and relationships. By looking at data from new perspectives, it helps solve complex issues and better understand intricate systems.

Pour réduire ces écarts, il est important de procéder à une analyse approfondie des données comme: - Le feedback Client : Collecter et analyser les avis des clients peut aider à comprendre leur perception de la marque et identifier des zones d’amélioration. - Les KPI de Performance de Marque: Identifier des indicateurs clés de performance qui mesurent la notoriété, la fidélité et la satisfaction des clients. Cela peut inclure des études de marché, des enquêtes de satisfaction, et l’analyse des réseaux sociaux. - La segmentation clients : Analyser les différents segments clients pour comprendre comment chaque groupe per?oit la marque et comment cela se traduit dans les comportements d'achat.

When you spot discrepancies between sales figures and brand performance data, deep analysis is your go-to move. Start by digging into the data—look at every angle, from customer feedback to market trends, to find where things might not be aligning. Use tools like Google Analytics or your CRM to get granular and spot the gaps. Then, keep your messaging consistent across all channels. Whether it’s social media or email campaigns, make sure your tone of voice is on point and reflects your brand’s core values. Consistency in communication can help bridge the gap between what your sales say and how your brand is performing in the market.

the crucial methodological aspect is to mix attitudinal (declared) and behavioural data (actual sales) and understand the sidtorion there , but timing is absolutely crucial as we know that brand investment takes from 1 to three quarters to generate an impact. Sometime a year, the swirl of Sharp and Les Binet 1 Peter field has shown us that branding investment is what drives growth (NOT sales activation for brand that are relatively established ) Through mass media and less precise targeting because of the need to target future consumer not "in market" ones (95% of your future growth) this was also supported by research form Peter Weinberg, formerly of the Linkedin B2B institue. MMMs and econometrics can help.

You can't just look at your numbers in a vacuum—it’s like blaming your jumper when the wind’s blowing sideways. Market’s always shifting—economy, competition, even trends blowing up on TikTok can throw things off. So you gotta ask yourself: is this a quick storm or is the whole climate changing? Either way, stay ready to adjust your game plan. That's the hustle!

The answer for this lay out there at ground zero, all analysis of data and strategies needs to be looked from a realistic market perspective and any re work or re engineering on the communication has to be done with market parameters and consumer sentiments

In a market context, SALES reflect immediate revenue and performance, driven by factors like pricing and promotions. In contrast, BRANDING focuses on building long-term loyalty and perceived value. Strong branding can enhance sales by fostering consumer trust and differentiation from competitors. It helps maintain sales even during economic downturns and supports ongoing success throughout the product lifecycle by reinforcing customer loyalty and brand identity.

Sales are often focused on revenue of a given timeframe such as last month, or year to date. Performance metrics are broader - they are the evolving measurement of success. In a very competitive economic environment, performance metrics could be a gain of market share and share of voice. Brands should not only focus on sales but also define and measure the optimal performance metrics for the business during the tracking phase.

This highlights the importance of regular research. In large FMCGs we use larger cohort quant studies called U&As, for "usage and attitude". In most instances, they tend not to evolve so rapidly (we top the every 3 or 4 years) and certainly not by gen types (X, Y, Z) as the press would like us to believe (see pew research centre). But when you skip a generation, they might indeed. (from Boomers to Z). In prepared foods however, they change rapidly (e.g. vegan, free from, organic.. ) but the core doesn't. e.g. chicken Tikka Masala is still one of the preferred dish in the uk and has been for decades. Nutella is the number one food SKU in France and I don't think its going anywhere far soon. Cook. Oil usage evolves slowly too.

In a sales context, a strategic response focuses on adapting tactics to meet immediate market demands and drive short-term revenue. This might include adjusting pricing strategies, launching promotions, or increasing sales incentives to address fluctuations in sales performance or competitive pressures. In a branding context, a strategic response aims at maintaining and evolving the brand’s long-term positioning and reputation. This involves adjusting brand messaging, enhancing brand values, or refining brand identity to address shifts in market trends, consumer perceptions, or competitive dynamics. The goal is to sustain and strengthen the brand’s market presence and emotional connection with consumers over time.

In a sales context, a communication plan focuses on driving immediate results by highlighting product benefits, promotions, and calls to action to boost sales directly. It targets potential customers with persuasive messaging, special offers, and clear information on how to purchase. In a branding context, a **communication plan** aims to build and reinforce the brand’s identity and values over time. It involves consistent messaging that shapes how the brand is perceived, fosters emotional connections, and strengthens customer loyalty. This plan includes storytelling, brand positioning, and long-term strategies to create a lasting impression and differentiate the brand in the market.

A clear communication plan answers the "what," "why," and "how we're handling this." It's about showing accountability, gathering input from impacted teams, and managing expectations. 1. Show the key areas where the discrepancies occurred and how you gathered data (focus on the bottom line, minimize marketing charts) 2. Provide a concise explanation of the causes like market conditions or data collection errors 3. If any, show the negative impacts on the business, like missed opportunities. 4. Outline the steps taken to address them and timeline; e.g., adjusting KPIs or implementing tools. 5. Update the plan regularly and tailor it to different stakeholders' involvement levels to ensure feedback and transparency.

More than a "communication plan" about discrepancies, the actual challenge is really about education about the "marketing effectiveness" discipline and what makes brands grow (top or bottom line). the current focus is on efficiency metrics, which are fine, but not on effectiveness (i.e. getting the sales and bottom line job done) this is an issue particularly in digital because of the culture of easy-to-produce metrics such as CTL or ROAS. the former has been shown to have no relationship to sales or brand lift several times and the latter is great but has a tendency to be based on last click attribution which we know is false. A lot of research is now available on this. Growth will come from mass (less targeted) branding. See Prof B.Sharp

Ideally you want a continuous monitoring. But the data reported is of such nature that it is not enough. if you want to truly explain the discrepancies , you need either a serious internal research department whose role it is, or you'll need to externalise this to MMMs or econometricians.. Macro research is available to demonstrate that, in FMCG, top and bottom line growth will come from mass Branding and not sales activation (or less so), but to adapt this to your market will need MMM/econonoetrics , or at least a broad buy in by your C-suite.

Customers feedback is very insightful. Incorporate customer insights to validate the brand performance data and understand how perceptions might be impacting sales.

TRAINING in marketing effectiveness and how to grow brands. this is essential. Your C suite needs to know about byron sharp. If they don't your brand management budget will shift to sales activation because of last click attribution fallacy and the myth of Click though rate or Net promoting score. And these will not give you the growth results you are aiming for. As demonstrated by research.

Em resumo, a solu??o para as discrepancias reside em uma abordagem integrada e estratégica, onde marketing e vendas trabalham juntos, apoiados por dados precisos e uma vis?o clara das influências externas e de longo prazo, além do apoio da Diretoria e do total entendimento da compania em como a estratégia de marca apoia os resultados do fundo do funil de vendas. Isso permitirá à empresa navegar com sucesso pelas complexidades do mercado e maximizar tanto a for?a da marca quanto o desempenho de vendas.

Establish a “war room” that brings together real-time data from both sales and brand performance metrics across all channels.This space needs to have dynamic, collaborative environment rather than blaming one . When stakeholders from sales, marketing, finance, & customer service are part of this war room, they work together to identify and address discrepancies as they arise. Any discrepancy found triggers action on real-time corrective measures—be it a marketing adjustment, a sales push, or a supply chain recalibration. The continuous, live collaboration breaks down silos and allows the team to react faster than traditional monthly or quarterly reviews, ensuring that discrepancies are resolved before they impact overall brand performance.