The end goal of any online marketing campaign is to drive visitors to your website and in turn, convert these same people into paying customers. With so many tools at a marketer’s disposal, this task sounds simple enough, right? Still, many companies are not seeing quality returns from their marketing spend and the tenure of a CMO has dropped to an all-time low of just 43 months. This is due to a transactional mindset applied to marketing. Brands are seeking short-term solutions to increase conversion rates or fill their sales funnel with leads without factoring in the bigger picture. Near-sighted marketing is doomed to fail and this article will touch on a few reasons why.

Lack of an Omnichannel Approach

Because of this pressure on many CMOs and marketing leaders to drive fast results, many companies think tactically and go with a concept that seems to show quick metrics. This could be PPC or social advertising, where marketers can put in X amount of dollars and see a return on a certain number of leads. This fills the funnel so marketers can pat themselves on the back and pass the baton on to the sales team to close the deal. But what happens when these leads aren’t quite ready to buy? They may not be a great fit for your product, could not be aware of the services you provide, or worse, are unaware of your market in its entirety.

Playing solely on one or two channels limits your ability to reach your target audiences on the mediums they want to engage on, as 90% of customers expect consistent interactions across all channels. While digital advertising is easy to attribute lead generation, it is not enough on its own to drive consistent success. Rather, brands need to continually educate their prospects on a variety of channels, leveraging content that speaks to their pain points and piques their interest in what your brand can offer. By appearing often in the outlets that your prospects read, your brand can start to drive market influence. You are now a drive of the conversation, controlling the message and influencing the public. These insights and perspectives will soon get notices and over time become ingrained in the minds of your target audience.

Map Out the Customer Journey

This helps to guide their customer journey, where the key to success is educational, engaging content at each touchpoint along this path. The goal is for your prospects to bump into your brand at the right time, in the right place. Each time they do so, they are learning more about what you do and how your services can aid them. Every message will leave an impression upon the potential buyer, where over time, they will gather enough intel to be ready to progress down the sales funnel. Combining insights from a byline article your brand authored, a quick fact from an infographic or detailed information from a whitepaper are tactics that help bring this concept to life.

For many brands in industries impacted by the digital transformation or undergoing a period of transition, the need for quick wins appears multiplied. However, with a changing marketplace comes a need to build awareness. Thinking tactically may put a band-aid on the wound, but when conversion rates are low, marketers are right back where the started. This is why an emphasis must be placed on building the brand and creating an arsenal of tactics able to share this message with the world. Content is critical to educate prospects and without proper education, many leads are destined to fizzle out.