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To date, Marketers invest more in demand marketing efforts than in brand marketing efforts. At surface level, this is understandable as demand marketing impacts can be more easily and more quickly measured. While demand marketing is undoubtedly valuable, it is important for Marketers to balance investment in demand marketing with investment in brand marketing.

LinkedIn’s latest research highlights the five principles of marketing growth that depend on balancing brand marketing with demand marketing. Take a look at the findings, which merges LinkedIn survey results from 4,000 global marketers with insights from leading thought leaders Les Binet, Peter Field, and B2Bi.

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5 Key Principles of Growth

Principle #1:

Customers and Non-Customers

Sustain growth by leveraging both acquisition and customer growth strategies.

While 65% of marketers believe that businesses grow best by increasing customer loyalty, targeting both existing and new customers together will drive a faster and more insulated growth strategy. Targeting existing and new customers together show 1.6x the number of business effects.

Bar chart demonstrating targeting existing and new customers together show 1.6x the number of business effects

Principle #2:

Awareness and Fame

Strive for ad consistency, reach, and duration in order to achieve fame, defined as “awareness at scale”. Mental availability matters for B2B and B2C alike. Campaigns that aim to increase a firm’s share of mind are most effective. The more famous they make the company, the better the business results. Companies that achieve fame achieve 2.2x better business results.

Bar chart demonstrating companies that achieve fame achieve 2.2x better business results

Principle #3:

Short-term and Long-term

Invest in shorter-term demand generation efforts and longer-term brand campaigns to drive growth.

On average, 46% of B2B marketing budgets is allocated to long-term brand investment, which is in line with the recommended allocation. Businesses need both kinds of marketing activity: brand activity to create demand and activation to convert that demand efficiently into revenue. When the balance is right, each will enhance the other.

Principle #4:

Broad Targeting and Narrow Targeting

Grow your organization by reaching more customers than you currently have. 44% of working professionals change jobs, companies, or industries at least every 4 years.

While 69% of marketers do not believe that broad targeting is more effective than hypertargeting, hyper targeting often misses critical influencers in the buying circle and lacks ability to nurture future buyers.

Illustrated chart showing 44% of working professionals change jobs, companies or industries at least every 4 years

Principle #5:

Emotional and Rational Marketing

Balance the usage of rational and emotional ads to strategically build growth over time. Produce more emotional creative, particularly for upper funnel efforts, in order to reach out-of-market consumers, defined as individuals who are not immediately or actively in the brand consideration process.

Marketers are 2x more likely to produce rational ads than emotional ads, but the rational approach won’t always work for long-term brand building. Rational ads are more effective for in-market customers (the customers who will buy now). Emotional ads are more effective for out-of-market customers.