Brandformance: Where Branding, UX & CRO Work as One

Amazing branding does wonders for sales. It instills confidence in your customers and helps them decide to use your product or buy from you. But when you combine branding with tested UX and conversion rate optimisation (CRO) methodologies, your results don’t just improve—they soar.

As Avinash Kaushik puts it, the best Brand Marketing initiatives are human-centred and results-aware. He calls it Brandformance: where brand building and performance marketing operate as two peas in a pod, one focusing on awareness, the other on measurable results. This balance ensures your marketing “wins before you spend,” turning trust into tangible sales.

Why Brand Perception Is Vital for Sales

Ultimately, people buy from brands they trust. A strong brand signals reliability, quality, and professionalism, which heavily influences purchasing decisions. But it’s more than just trust. A positive brand image builds an emotional connection, creating loyalty and advocacy.

• People buy based on feelings: perceived value often outweighs price. Customers with a positive impression of your brand are more likely to pay a premium and make faster purchasing decisions.
  
  
• Differentiation in crowded markets: strong brand perception makes you memorable, preferred, and resilient when market conditions shift.
  
  
• Organic advocacy: a trusted brand generates referrals, reviews, testimonials, and social shares.
  
  

A Great Brand Is Subliminally Strong

People rarely buy on first impressions alone. Brand familiarity primes them to trust your product, creating a sense of quality even before they consider price. As Avinash notes, pre-testing creatives and planning budgets for Brandformance ensures your brand makes the right impression before any ads hit the page.

For e-commerce success, there are three critical factors:

1. Customer value – why your product matters.
   
   
2. Customer journey – how they discover, engage, and convert.
   
   
3. Brand influence – how your visual and emotional branding supports that journey.
   
   

A well-designed visual brand amplifies your sales funnel:

• Pulls people in
  
  
• Amplifies your message
  
  
• Burns itself into memory
  
  
• Positions you as the best choice
  
  

Using CRO and Great Branding

Even the best product can’t sell itself without the right UX and marketing. A user might see your product once and like it, see it twice and take notice, but by the third exposure—when they’re ready—they’re primed to buy.

Over the years, I’ve realised that conversion rate optimisation is where the magic happens. UX provides the methodology, CRO provides the measurable results, and branding multiplies their impact.

For example, a hunting brand in the USA saw their organic search sales jump from $85k to $290k month-on-month, working with like-for-like traffic, simply by optimising UX and CRO alongside a strong brand presence.

Throwing Money at the Problem Isn’t the Answer

One common mistake in digital marketing is blindly spending on ads without considering UX or conversion goals. Google will happily take your money—but if your site doesn’t guide users effectively, clicks won’t convert.

Instead, evaluate the entire digital customer journey, from first search to final click. Understand:

• Who your target demographic is
  
  
• Which keywords they’re searching for
  
  
• How they interact with your site
  
  

Only then can you accurately measure and optimise conversion rates. As Avinash emphasises, Brandformance isn’t just about spending more—it’s about being results-aware and accountable.

Your Website Should Be a Brand Experience

A great brand can falter if the user journey is confusing. I’ve seen sites packed with products like an Amazon clone—overwhelming customers and causing them to quit before converting.

To avoid this, use design that activates the brain at all four levels of Sarah’s brain-activating framework:

1. Visual Signature – burns your brand into memory with unique fonts, colours, graphics, or aesthetics.
   
   
2. Visual Interest – stops the scroll with faces, arrows, screenshots, or compelling contrast.
   
   
3. Visual Tension – makes content stick with metaphors, infographics, or creative juxtapositions.
   
   
4. Visual Harmony – ensures consistency across fonts, colours, and layouts, reinforcing legitimacy.
   
   

A user-friendly, visually coherent website ensures your brand promise is experienced, not just seen.

Test, Measure, Optimise

Even without huge ad budgets, it’s possible to scale online sales. A finely tuned Google Ads account can test demand and messaging, but it’s your UX and CRO work that convert those clicks into revenue.

People buy because they need something—our job is to make sure they know they need it, while the brand reassures them they’ve chosen the best solution.

After the Basket

Branding doesn’t stop at checkout. Post-purchase experience—confirmation emails, packaging, delivery updates—reinforces trust and loyalty. Great aftercare turns first-time buyers into repeat customers and advocates, boosting lifetime value.

SEO insight: sites that focus on post-purchase UX see higher retention, repeat sales, and review generation, which in turn fuels organic search authority and visibility.

The Power of Social Media

Customers today aren’t just searching, they’re researching. Social media content primes interest before a search query even happens. A search for “restaurants in Manchester” often becomes “book that new restaurant opening next week in Manchester!”

Integrating branding and CRO across social channels ensures your marketing touches customers multiple times, driving awareness, engagement, and conversion all part of Brandformance.

Improving Your Brand Experience and Conversion Rates at Pace

Almost everyone has adapted to AI and digital tools faster than expected, making the designer’s task more complex. Today’s roles combine:

• Product designer for SaaS apps
  
  
• Creative lead
  
  
• UX lead
  
  
• CRO strategist
  
  
• Product visionary
  
  

The one role? A marketer who can move fast, test fast, and optimise faster. Brand, UX, and CRO need to operate as one, or else you’re leaving revenue on the table.

In their words

“I decided to purchase a product from a new brand the other day because of its promise to resolve an issue I had and the reviews across all of its products, including ones I wasn’t initially interested in. I liked the branding.

What finally made me buy was a 10% first-time order discount. I probably would have purchased eventually, but not as many items, and I would have hesitated longer.”

This is Brandformance in action: brand builds trust, CRO closes the sale.

Conclusion

Branding, UX, and CRO are inseparable in modern digital marketing. As Avinash Kaushik says, Brandformance is about being human-centred and results-aware. Build trust, design smart journeys, and optimise conversions—and your marketing will truly win before you spend.

Stop wasting money on ads alone. Hire a CRO specialist today and let your brand work harder for every click.

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