Why performance marketing alone won't save your brand

3rd party cookies, iOS updates and stricter privacy laws: performance marketing is becoming increasingly attractive to brands, thanks to the instant measurability of results. 

But how effective is performance marketing in building a brand? What are the risks of a one-sided marketing strategy that focuses exclusively on existing demand, while potential customers are being ignored?

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The short-term focus of performance marketing

Performance marketing is an effective way to achieve measurable results; 1 euro in, 2 euros out, right? In reality, an excessive focus on performance can come at the expense of sustainable long-term brand growth.

Performance channels focus entirely on existing market demand - people who are already actively looking for your product. This overlooks potential future buyers, which is precisely where your brand's growth lies. This limits your ability to build a broader, loyal customer base and achieve long-term success.

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The danger of performance marketing ‍

Performance marketing focust zich dus op de bestaande vraag in de markt, terwijl de inzet van branding juist kan bijdragen aan het creëren van potentiële Performance marketing thus focuses on existing demand in the market, whereas the use of branding can actually help create potential future demand. 

By focusing only on current demand (5% of the market), without building brand awareness among future demand (95% of the market), you are constantly harvesting without planting new seeds for the future.

While the importance of performance marketing must be recognized, it is essential not to be blindsided on only this. After all, a one-sided performance-driven marketing strategy always leads to the same scenario: “The CAC valley of death”.

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Branding is performance over time 

But how do you ensure that both reach your potential future customers without losing focus on current demand? The solution is obvious: an integrated marketing strategy that covers the entire customer journey. 

Shift the focus from a one-sided marketing strategy to a full-funnel approach that drives short-term revenue and long-term growth. By being present in each step of the customer journey and properly aligning different channels and goals, you create a healthy balance and synergy between branding and performance.

This approach ensures that existing demand is answered and future demand is created. In practice, the right use of branding channels reinforces the results of performance channels in the long run.

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In summary, all brands ultimately strive for growth: more customers, more orders, more revenue. However, this is often at odds with their marketing strategy. Great brands and high sales are not achieved solely through performance marketing. While performance marketing can help achieve substantial growth in sales, it is often among the current buyer base and will not generate new demand in the long run. It is precisely this future demand that ensures sustainable growth and sales increases in the long term.

Our advice: ensure a healthy balance between your branding and performance channels to achieve short-term revenue growth and long-term brand growth.

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