Marketing Results Aren't Always Instant

We all know this, but I know we don’t all like it.

As human beings, we’re hardwired to want gratification sooner, not later. You don’t need to be a scientist to see this drive play out in everything from our body making us eat when we’re hungry to our desire to receive our online purchases ASAP—Amazon’s raison d’être.

This need for instant gratification drives what we do as marketers, too (you knew I was going to bring it around to that). And it’s not just about the way we market to our prospects and customers, although they’re certainly the most important part of the picture. It also drives the way marketing departments are allowed to function. 

Of course, we marketers are used to fighting for every dollar of our budgets, because so much of marketing is not instant gratification. Sure, if you have a good limited-time offer you’ll get a quick response and your C-suite will be happy. But they’ll also asking what else justifies your department’s existence. So, it’s up to you to prove that yes, marketing is a legitimate expense and not just the place where creatives hang out to make pretty stuff for their portfolios. That yes, your C-suite will see a quick ROI on these campaigns, while those campaigns have longer-term goals that will contribute handsomely to the business’s bottom line…eventually.

LONG-TERM VS SHORT-TERM 

While we wish every marketing campaign could provide an immediate ROI, strangely enough the same human nature that craves instant gratification also makes us (or more precisely, our prospects and customers) cautious when we’re being asked to say yes to something that requires money or a commitment. 

That’s why you need to include both the quick hits from promotions (found in short-term marketing plans) and the long game (aka long-term planning) in your marketing strategy. Here’s a high-level overview of what that means:

Short-term planning

Short-term planning is usually more tactical in nature, and focuses on the next month, quarter, or year. These initiatives build toward your long-term goals, but tend to be based on sales forecasts or available budget, and are used when you need to move fast—e.g., respond to an unexpected event or a change, or to meet sales goals at the end of a month. These are the initiatives you want to execute quickly, for a fast impact.

Because short-term initiatives are frequently born from reaction, they can be more stressful to execute. You can plan like a boss, but a low month of sales, a local weather disaster, or an every-100-year event like a worldwide pandemic can completely derail your short-term efforts. On the positive side, this may be your chance to pull out all the stops and try approaches that may not be suited for more precisely planned initiatives. 

Long-term planning

Long-term planning is more strategic. This is the vision for the future of your brand, so you’re looking ahead five or 10 years. Branding, PR, SEO, social media, and content development are all a vital part of the long game I mentioned earlier. You define goals, set priorities, look at current and future trends, and work for growth and longevity using research and data analysis as your building blocks. 

Even given the uncertainty of predicting the future, many marketers like working with long-term strategies—which I completely understand. as a die-hard goal setter (link to your article on setting goals) myself. With long-term strategies, you have the luxury to be (cue the heavenly choir) a little more proactive. And thanks to the support of all that data and research, you’ve got signposts to follow and a direction to take—even if the direction adjusts a bit down the line. 

KEEP THE BIG PICTURE IN MIND

Whatever your strategy preference, an effective marketing plan will always need both long-term and short-term strategy. You could say they need each other like a functioning body needs a functioning brain (and vice-versa) to survive. The short-term initiatives keep the business strong enough to achieve its long-term goals, while the long-term initiatives constantly transmit the information the short-term strategies need to maintain that strength. That’s why, when the situation calls for a short-term initiative, you have to consider its impact on long-term goals. 

Think of the ripple effect. It’s so much easier to adjust, add, or delete one initiative now than to completely retool multiple long-term goals later. Even if your previous demand generation efforts exceeded expectations last year, this year’s circumstances may dictate that you invest more marketing budget in a content development program and less in emails. But next quarter or next year, you may need to lean heavy on email touches.

That’s why it’s a good idea to keep a running list of successful short-term initiatives that not only generated more immediate ROI in the past, but that you know work in harmony with your business’s long-term goals. Because as you well know, you’re always one, “UH-OH, WE’RE NOT GONNA MEET OUR SALES GOAL THIS MONTH!” away from needing to squeeze just one more short-term campaign into our marketing strategy.

But like the marketing badass you are, you’ll be ready with the right ideas—and always, with the big picture in mind.