In today’s rapidly evolving marketing landscape, one thing is clear: a singular focus on either brand growth or lead generation simply won’t cut it anymore. Businesses must strike a careful balance between these two critical components if they hope to achieve lasting growth. While the temptation to throw all your resources into lead generation is strong, particularly when chasing short-term sales, neglecting brand growth can undermine your long-term success.
Gone are the days when a company could rely solely on brand awareness or lead generation to grow. With 40 to 70% of the buying decision happening before potential customers even speak to a salesperson, it’s critical to build a well-rounded marketing budget. In fact, focusing too heavily on one approach can be detrimental. Whether you’re a B2B company emphasizing leads or a B2C business nurturing brand loyalty, your budget should be a hybrid of both strategies.
The Risks of an Unbalanced Approach
Some businesses take an all-or-nothing approach to their marketing budget, which typically leads to one of two extremes: either an exclusive focus on generating leads or a complete dedication to building brand awareness. Both approaches can leave businesses vulnerable in today’s competitive landscape.
Lead generation-focused budgets might bring in a flurry of short-term wins but lack the longevity and trust needed to foster customer loyalty. On the flip side, a budget fully invested in brand awareness builds trust and visibility but may struggle to convert that attention into measurable sales. In both scenarios, you end up creating an imbalance in your Cost per Impression or Lead, ultimately lowering your ROI and diminishing the overall performance of your budget.
Determining the Right Balance
The right mix of brand growth and lead generation depends on various factors, including the type of industry you’re in and your business’s stage of growth. Here’s a general rule of thumb: for established B2B companies or products that have been on the market for 3-4 sales cycles, a typical marketing budget should allocate 70-80% towards lead generation, with the remaining 20-30% focused on brand awareness. This balance works well for businesses that have already built a foundation of trust and visibility but are now focusing more on converting that recognition into leads and sales.
For industries that require relationship-building (such as entertainment or consulting), the balance may shift. In these scenarios, brand awareness plays a pivotal role in showcasing your expertise, values, and quality of work. While lead generation is still important, a larger portion of your budget should go towards establishing your brand in the minds of potential clients. This might look more like a 40% spend on lead generation activities and 60% on brand awareness content or activities. This approach ensures that you’re building lasting relationships while still generating leads to support business growth.
B2C companies, on the other hand, might find that a more even split between brand growth and lead generation works best. Companies where marketing directly closes sales, such as e-commerce, benefit from strong lead generation campaigns. However, a balanced investment in brand awareness and customer nurturing ensures customer loyalty and repeat business, maximizing lifetime customer value.
Measuring Success
Building a balanced budget doesn’t just mean splitting the costs between brand growth and lead generation. It’s also about holding both parts of the equation accountable to your return on investment (ROI).
In lead generation, every dollar spent should yield a measurable result, with most businesses targeting an ROI of 3 to 5 times their investment. However, your brand awareness efforts should be so effective that they indirectly contribute to the success of your lead generation campaigns.
For example, when attending a trade show, you might decide to split your budget evenly between brand awareness and lead generation. The brand growth portion of your investment ensures that people recognize your company, its values, and will know what you offer when they see you in other marketing channels. Meanwhile, the lead generation segment focuses on the traffic your pre-show efforts and booth generate, capturing hot, warm, and cold leads that your sales team can convert into deals.
After the show, you’ll want to consider the brand spend (booth design, ads, or speaking fees) as a “cost of doing business.” However, the other half of the budget should be used to set clear targets for the leads generated by the booth, pipeline created in show follow-up, and the number of closes associated with the show. Regardless of the split, the goal remains the same: create a unified strategy where brand awareness and lead generation work hand-in-hand, driving both short-term results and long-term growth.
Knowing When to Ask for Help
One of the biggest challenges businesses face is understanding how to structure their marketing budget for maximum impact. Often, the tendency is to focus on what has worked in the past, which can lead to stagnant growth. But the marketing world evolves quickly, and your budget needs to adapt accordingly.
At GANI, we understand that navigating the complexities of brand growth and lead generation can be overwhelming. That’s why we offer tailored solutions with transparent pricing to help wherever your team has a need. Our team of experts can work with you and your team to identify the right allocation of funds ensuring you’re getting a measurable ROI on every dollar spent.
If you’re unsure where to start or feel like your current strategy isn’t delivering the results you need, we can help. If one of our current services doesn’t feel like the right fit, book a free 45-minute consultation with one of our Senior Consultants who have more than 15 years’ experience building budgets and plans that deliver clear results in both brand growth and lead generation.
A Balanced Approach for Lasting Growth
Ultimately, the choice between brand growth and lead generation isn’t a zero-sum game. To thrive in today’s market, businesses need a blend of both. Lead generation brings in revenue, but brand growth keeps customers coming back and builds a reputation that will pay off in the long run.
Whether you’re a B2B company focusing heavily on leads or a B2C business that relies on customer loyalty, finding the right balance in your budget is key to driving sustainable growth. Don’t leave it to guesswork—work with a team that understands how to create a dynamic plan and content that will provide measurable results for your business.