There are two essential business concepts that appear similar but should be treated separately; your brand and your business. Building a brand will help define your business, while your business strategy will focus on using your brand to make profits. You cannot build a business without first defining your brand. Ultimately, the two concepts should work together to achieve your goals, like two pieces of the same puzzle.
The brand is the face of your business, while the "business" is the internal mechanism and processes that lead to profits and growth.
Branding is the art of making people care about your business, connecting with your audience. The brand strategy is about all the intangible elements that you can't put a price on instead of the strategies that go into building a business.
Building a business is about products and services. It's about assigning tangible goals that an agency can realize with a comprehensive business strategy.
The brand is about the customer experience, how you want them to feel about your business, and your agency's culture and values; the business is about how the customer experience will convert to profits for your agency.
A brand strategy provides a consistent and solid foundation for your business while a business strategy is dynamic and will scale and grow as your brand attracts and solidifies long-term profitable client relationships. One concept will feed the other.
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