Why Marketing is a Long-Term Investment

Why Marketing is a Long-Term Investment

Marketing is a process of building relationships and trust with your prospects. Over time, they become more familiar with your company and are more likely to become customers. However, the process of marketing is not necessarily a ‘quick fix’. In fact, marketing should be seen as a long-term investment for your business and not merely a one-off expense.

Unless you operate in a very specific niche or have a complete monopoly in your sector, you are bound to have competitors also vying for your prospect’s business. Consistent and frequent marketing is therefore a key component in staying one step ahead of your competitors. It is essential in not only business survival, but also business growth.

In this post. we explore this further and use our knowledge and experience to demonstrate how and why marketing should always be viewed as a long-term investment. Marketing should always be seen as investing in the future and growth of your company, allowing the business to reach its potential.

Return On Investment (ROI)

One of the main concerns that businesses have when considering marketing is ROI. This is understandable and fair as of course you do not want to sink money into something and not see a return. However, there is also a large difference between expectations and reality. If you were to undertake a £1,000 marketing campaign, the ROI would not necessarily be in the tens of thousands. Unfortunately, many businesses do not see it this way. Marketing is a building process in effect. The seed needs to be planted and nurtured before the final product is harvested.

A return is not necessarily an immediate process. For example, someone may see your emails and like the products but not be in a position to buy right now. Alternatively, it may not be something they need straight away but they keep you in mind as their situation may change. The majority of marketing returns come after the campaign has finished. Therefore, expecting an immediate ROI is often an unrealistic expectation and it can be hard to measure in some cases. It once again comes down to marketing being a long-term investment. Marketing on an on-going basis keeps you fresh in the minds of your prospects. This is also known as lead nurturing which we explore in another post.

Marketing also creates assets for your business, for example creating a content library. The created content is yours long after the marketing is complete and can be shared time after time. The ROI is therefore difficult to calculate but just because a return is not always immediate, it does not mean that the marketing was not a success, especially as you are building reusable assets.

Building a Relationship

As mentioned above, you will not be the only company marketing to your prospects. Therefore the key to turning a prospect into a customer is to market to them frequently with relevant content. Providing new and exclusive content, money off vouchers, free trials etc. helps move a prospect further along their buying cycle. A single email or marketing communication is highly unlikely to be enough. A prospect needs to become more familiar with your company.

Therefore, it is key to market on an on-going basis. This allows you to build a pipeline and you will benefit from a much higher number of sales further down the line. This will lead to a highly positive ROI and of course, business growth.

The Right Strategy

Marketing is not a simple process. Every business is different, with different products and different target audiences. Therefore, you should take time getting the strategy right. Marketing is not a ‘one size fits all’ concept. There are so many different factors that can and does affect the success of a marketing campaign. It is important to design a marketing campaign that does not overload your prospects with too much marketing. We do not want them to opt-out or complain but at the same time, we do not want to under market and risk being forgotten.

A specialist marketing company like Impact will take time getting to know your business. Although it is fair to say we have experience in a wide range of sectors, no two companies are alike. Once we understand what you are aiming to achieve alongside any past experiences, it allows us to put a bespoke package together. In the modern era we live in, we find that in most cases cross-channel marketing is key to a successful campaign. This enables you to market to your target audience across multiple platforms, allowing prospects to view material on their preferred platform. This makes them more receptive and likely to get in touch.

A key part of the strategy comes down to budget. This allows marketing companies to put together a bespoke package that maximises your market budget. There is little point putting together a package that is beyond the budget available, equally in most cases there is very little point launching any marketing activities with limited budgets. A good marketing company will always look at the individual business and base its packages around it.

Summary

Marketing should always be a long-term investment for your company. It puts the foundations in place that allow you to grow your brand awareness and bring on new business. It is therefore a fundamental part of business success and growth. Benefits continue to flow through long after the campaign is over.

This is what distinguishes it from being merely an expense. Denying it the opportunity to grow and nurture as intended will only result in a negative campaign. Your competitors will be investing and seeing the benefits. Don’t miss out or fall behind! Many companies view marketing as a luxury that they can just scrap if times are tough. In reality, this should be the opposite for without marketing, your business cannot grow or reach its potential. A long-term investment strategy should be in place so you have a constant stream of revenue and new customers coming in.

Impact Marketing exist to help our clients grow their businesses. We have seen time and time again what works and doesn’t. Quite simply, a small one off campaign will not make you millions but that does not mean you should just not market. Marketing is a process of building relationships and consistent marketing over time yields highly successful results for your business. We have helped businesses grow over the years and expand into new territories. Let us do the same for you.

Get in touch today and we will be happy to discuss your marketing requirements further and recommend the best course of action based on experience in your sector. As we provide a wide range of marketing services, we can put together a bespoke package that will perform to a very high level.