Short Versus Long Term Marketing

Marketing has become an essential component to all businesses because they want to guarantee the generation of leads, engagement and awareness, and keeping current and new customers loyal. Whether you are a dental clinic or a law firm, you should be investing between 2% - 5% of your revenue on marketing. Much like every other component of business, there are specific things we need to consider assuring that a business is consistently on the rise gaining new clients and reputation. With digital marketing taking over the way a business grows, it is crucial to understand the various strategies that your company can use to compete with others and keep your business afloat. Many of the traditional strategies that companies used to use, will not be as effective as the digital strategies used today.

One of the newer strategies that has evolved due to online marketing is short and long-term marketing. Although the two are productive marketing strategies, your business needs to evaluate the analytics to determine where your money should be spent within the two tactics. Businesses should not be frivolous with their spending and think “ads seem like a great idea; we should do that.” Therefore, once a method has been decided upon, your business should think about two things: if you need more clients now, or if you are too busy to take on more clients. Once this specific decision has been made; it will help your business decipher how it should be spending the marketing budget. In most instances, a business will begin their marketing with short-term marketing. However, that will help funnel your business into long-term marketing, so you do not need to rely on short-term anymore. In this blog, we discuss the differences between both forms of marketing and things to be aware of when beginning to use the two tactics in your marketing strategies.

What is Short Term Marketing?

Short term marketing can be defined as a tactic that is implemented quickly, to drive results faster than long term marketing. It is used to create an immediate outcome to ensure that your business receives leads or purchases in a faster setting, rather than allowing growth to occur organically. Usually, short term marketing is used to accomplish a goal within a day, week, or monthly basis. Your business can start with short-term marketing to get a quick win; however, your business's goal should be to build a long-term marketing strategy to help achieve the big picture. However, with short-term marketing there is a budget involved, once you have spent your budget, there is no more flow which means you must take advantage of organic marketing.

Some examples of short-term marketing strategies:

• Pay-per-click (PPC): This is a form of advertising that uses a click model to drive traffic to a website. When your business is using pay-per-click, it is set up for you to pay a specific amount every time an ad is clicked on. This way, you are only paying for your ad when it is clicked on. There is a limit that can be set though, so that you never go over your budgeted amount on PPC. 
• Events, Webinars, and Podcasts: Participating in different events and activities is a great way to bring more value to your business, which may translate into leads. This is an inexpensive way to bring more recognition and awareness to your business, without breaking the budget.
• Radio: Due to research done back in 2019, there are records that show 92% of the population listen to the radio every week. This is one of the more inexpensive ways to let people know about your business. Keep in mind when creating a radio advertisement, you want to stand out and be unforgettable.
• Print Marketing: The is one of the oldest forms of marketing and although it is not as popular today due to digitalization, it is still one of the memorable ways of connecting with clients or customers.

Your business's short-term goal is to eventually sustain the building of long-term marketing goals. A short-term marketing tactic will require a marketing budget to ensure it is gaining reach, however, it should eventually pay for itself as it generates leads. It should also establish a better idea of your long-term marketing strategy. This is because it helps initiate your businesses long term goals by generating conversation and appeal to those who are already interested in what you are offering.

What is Long Term Marketing?

Long term marketing can be defined as a tactic that generates a long-lasting impression and brand. This strategy requires more investment in time to build your brand and have it grow into what you desire. Although it may take more time than short-term marketing, it will be worth it in the long run. Long-term marketing requires the investment to be made, so that it exchanges as growth and brand recognition. The typical long-term marketing strategy will take businesses anywhere from six months to a year, or even longer. Many businesses tend to get frustrated with long-term marketing because they are not seeing the results as quick as short-term marketing. But then again, these two tactics are drastically different from one another because one was created for quick results, while the other was created for achieving larger and more permanent results. What we mean by this, is that if you create content that is floating around on the internet, there is a higher likelihood that someone will find it, and potentially become a new lead due to it always being there. 

Some examples of long-term marketing strategies:

• Social Media: One of the most progressive forms of long-term marketing is social media. This includes creating an account along various platforms to help ensure that your brand is being put on the map. Incorporating the use of platforms like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitter, and more. These platforms allow your business to have a global reach, increase your businesses visibility, which also costs nothing in return.
• Content Marketing: This is a strategic approach in trying to gain more clients and reach for your business through creation and promotion. It focuses on creating relevant content that is valuable to a client on a consistent basis. This form of marketing has become the pillar to generating trust, leads, and customer loyalty because it gives your business a voice and credibility to those who are interested in working with you.
• Search Engine Optimization: Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the original forms of marketing due to the invention of websites in 1991. Although it did not launch until 1997, SEO has been making a large impact on marketing since then. Search engine optimization helps websites rank higher on search engines, which gives a business more attraction and traffic. Based on research conducted, 75% of individuals do not go passed the first page on search engines because they hope to find what they are looking for on the first page. Which is why it is crucial to consider long-term marketing tactic, SEO, to help bring your business more presence.
• Media Outreach: This is one of the simplest forms of long-term marketing because it allows you to put your business in front of others through a vast number of media outlets. This can be done by connecting with editors, reporters, or journalists who work or have their own larger platform that can gain your business a larger reach.



When planning a long-term marketing strategy, it is crucial to understand the importance of consistency and thoughtfulness. As a business owner trying to gain more for themselves, you need to understand that everything takes time. No business has started from the get-go and had a return-on-investment immediately. It takes time, passion, and hard work to see tangible results.

For Short and Long Term Marketing, Be Aware of:

• Don’t sacrifice long-term marketing, for the wins of short-term marketing. What we mean by this is ensuring that you are including long-term marketing strategies into your plan, rather than succumbing to short-term marketing as a permanent solution. Although promotions, giveaways, PPC, and more look like the most beneficial gains, they can result in burn-out which can impact your business negatively.
• Don’t quit because you are starting to see results from your marketing. It is crucial to stay consistent on what you are doing to make your business better so that results always stay at a happy median. If you start posting 2-3 blogs a month, then notice you are at your desired results and consider posting once a month or every other month, you will begin to see a decline in your business.
• Don’t dive head-first into short and long-term marketing. Take time to create a hybrid marketing strategy that will allow the two tactics to work together in balance. Both tactics provide different results, however, they work together in the end to create a successful outcome for your business.

How to Create a Successful Marketing Strategy for Your Dental Practice

One of the best ways to assure success through digital marketing, is to put your marketing strategy into effect. This may mean teaming up with a marketing agency, like Dr. Marketing, to help provide guidance to guarantee the results you are looking for. If you are ready to take your business to the next level, contact us. For a free 1-hour consultation, please schedule an appointment HERE or call us by clicking the button below.