Marketing is an essential pursuit for all companies, creating brand awareness for new customers, generating leads and engaging existing customers to keep them loyal. There are numerous marketing strategies, channels and goals—depending on the needs of the company.
Do you have a new product coming out? Did you just reach a significant milestone? Are you trying to breach a new market? These are all goals that may require different marketing strategies.
Marketing can be divided into short-term and long-term. Let’s discuss both to give you a more comprehensive understanding of which one (or both) is right for your business objectives.
Short-Term Marketing
Short-term marketing, also known as operational or tactical marketing, is a plan for up to one year. This method is typically implemented to promote sales and promotions, new products and services and other events foreseen in the next month to 12 months.
Short-term marketing includes a detailed action plan of the type of marketing (online, print, paid, organic, etc)., who will carry out the strategies, a budget, a sales forecast and expected reach and profit.
Examples of short-term marketing include:
- Price promotions
- Discounts to certain groups (military, teachers)
- Trade shows
Long-Term Marketing
Long-term marketing is a strategy that outlays more general objectives for the next 10 years. Although short-term marketing is easier to conceptualize as it focuses on the now; once you have announced a new merger or heralded a new acquisition, what comes next?
Every company needs to have a long-term marketing plan that keeps the brand fresh and relevant in the eyes of the customers. Long term marketing is beneficial to improve on existing messaging, figure out what works and what doesn’t and optimize leads and conversions.
Examples of long-term marketing include:
- Public Relations (PR)
- Social media
- Paid search engine optimization (SEO)
Best of Both
For the best ROI in marketing strategies, it is advantageous to have a detailed marketing plan. Start by identifying your target audience (who you want your messages to reach), research your competition, create a clear message and establish a budget.
Depending on these factors, outline your goals and decide which can benefit from short-term marketing (announcing a sale or growing your leads) or long-term marketing (promoting loyalty within your established network).
It’s important to keep both visions in mind when designating resources to any marketing goal. If you allocate all your funds to a short-term strategy, you may not have enough to dedicate to future growth. On the other hand, if you only think about the distant future, you may not generate enough profits to sustain your company in the short-term.
If you need financial assistance to invest in a short-term or long term-marketing plan that you feel can take your business to the next level, consider getting a small business loan. IOU Financial works with companies to help them reach their goals. Contact us today to inquire about our easy, secure and fast loans that can be funded in as little as 48 hours.
