Short-term sales vs long-term brand building
In this episode, we’re talking about the balance between short-term sales and long-term brand building. With pressure to prove ROI, it’s easy to default to rational, product-based marketing, but focusing too much on the functional benefits of what you do can be really limiting for your brand.
Branding Before Breakfast Ep 214 Short-term sales vs long-term brand building
This week I’ve been talking to a potential client about a problem they have. They are experiencing really great engagement and results in their digital marketing, but their conversion rate is quite low, and it’s remained that way for some time. So for me, I think they have a brand problem. I think marketers have struggled for a really long time with this balance between short-term sales versus long-term brand building.
And I get it, there’s always pressure from the leadership team to see results. They want to understand where their marketing dollars are being spent and that it’s worthwhile. And so, there’s this tendency to over rely on functional, rational product-based marketing and campaigns because it’s easier to track those results.
There’s a direct correlation between spend and sales, but focusing too heavily on that more rational, functional side of what you do can be really limiting for the growth of your brand because we know that there’s always going to be someone else who sells what you sell for the same price or cheaper.
They do what you do, if not now, they soon will but your brand is what makes you you, and it’s what makes you different. So, you need to also invest that time in telling your brand story, and building that emotional connection with your audience so that you can charge a premium price for your product or service offering and your competitors are going to choose you over them. So, brands that do this really well invest a lot into their brand-led marketing, and building that brand awareness and really that telling that emotional story of the brand. And then, when their customers are ready to buy, that’s when they hit them with that more functional, rational- based marketing. If you find that you are getting great traction, getting great engagement online with your audience, but your conversion rate is still quite low, then it could be a brand problem. It may be that you need to invest in some of that longer term brand building and tell that story better.
Written by: Kiri White
Published: July 9, 2025
