Insights: Strategic priorities in modern B2B marketing
08.
Balancing short-term results with long-term brand building
While immediate results are important, successful B2B marketers are also investing in long-term brand building. Alex Venus from Cloud Direct captures this balance well: "From a reputational standpoint, you might look at current brand sentiment regarding your products and solutions within a target organisation or assess performance sentiment. What do recent NPS scores indicate? Have you conducted surveys that reveal whether you're meeting KPIs or need improvement?" This approach emphasises the importance of measuring both short-term performance and long-term brand health.
The power of branding in generating organic leads is highlighted by Ross Spencer from Togather: "I genuinely believe in the power of branding because the companies that perform the best are those whose brands generate the most leads organically. It's about creating a smart brand that resonates on an emotional level, rather than just logical."
Comprehensive metrics play a crucial role in this balanced approach, as John Hills from Crowdcube points out: "We work closely with our finance team to ensure that we always have a number we can back up. We use various metrics to measure brand sentiment and impact, such as benchmarking against competitors, analysing follower demographics, and monitoring sentiment in tier-one media publications."
I genuinely believe in the power of branding because the companies that perform the best are those whose brands generate the most leads organically. It's about creating a smart brand that resonates on an emotional level, rather than just logical.
Ross Spencer
Chief Marketing Officer, Togather
The challenge of balancing immediate lead generation with long-term brand development is addressed by Emily Evans from Moneypenny: "We still want to serve prospective customers who aren't actively being targeted in an ABM programme or don't appear in our early-stage monitoring, and these will generally manifest as MQLs. However, our approach involves setting the end goal and then strategically working backward. This planning can even map back to identify the required number of in-market accounts to generate those meetings, balancing short-term needs with long-term strategic positioning."
Philippe Ruttens from Tyk Technologies emphasises the need for a balanced approach: "While immediate results are important, successful B2B marketers are also investing in long-term brand building. By leveraging AI and other technologies to enhance our human capabilities, not replace them, we still need the human touch to interpret data, craft compelling stories, and build relationships with our customers."
While immediate results are important, successful B2B marketers are also investing in long-term brand building. By leveraging AI and other technologies to enhance our human capabilities, not replace them, we still need the human touch to interpret data, craft compelling stories, and build relationships with our customers.
Philippe Ruttens
Chief Marketing Officer, Tyk Technologies
The role of thought leadership in long-term brand building is emphasised by Alyssa Maker from Sana Commerce: "With an unlimited budget, I'd focus on several key areas. First, I'd invest heavily in speaking opportunities and thought leadership initiatives. Brand building and establishing ourselves as industry thought leaders are crucial for us. This would include more co-sponsored reports and publishing our own research to gain authority in our industry."
John Stovold from Amach explains the shift in marketing KPIs towards brand visibility and engagement: "Over the past decade, there's been a fundamental shift in our approach to marketing KPIs. Previously, the focus was primarily on quantifying lead generation—essentially counting every possible lead we could attract. However, today, the emphasis has significantly shifted towards metrics that measure brand visibility and engagement."
The concept of "return on influence" is introduced by Frances Wright from Sheffield Haworth: "While leads are important in terms of ROI, I've also been emphasising the concept of return on influence rather than solely focusing on return on investment. It's more about translating these aspects into what they signify in terms of influence down the line when our consultants interact with clients."
Successful B2B marketers are increasingly recognising the importance of balancing short-term results with long-term brand building. This approach involves a mix of immediate lead generation strategies and investments in brand health, thought leadership, and influence. By leveraging both quantitative metrics and qualitative assessments of brand sentiment, marketers are creating more robust, sustainable strategies that drive both immediate results and long-term business growth.
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