How to Balance Short- And Long-Term SaaS Marketing

How do you strike the balance between the short-term marketing tactics that have a very quick return, but are also less scalable, and inhibit exponential growth, and others with a far longer return?

Based on over 20 years experience growing SaaS businesses and working in B2B marketing, I do not think that these concepts are mutually exclusive. With the right balance, they will eventually deliver the kind of consumer loyalty and full pipeline that you’re looking for. Here are a few examples of how to strike the right balance between short-term and long-term SaaS marketing.

1. Use PPC for Speed and SEO for Sustainability

Combine doing paid ads and pay-per-click marketing, such as search engine or social media paid ads, with driving organic traffic using SEO. You can do that by ensuring you send all clicks to relevant pages and start ranking organically. 

For instance, take a blog post written around a relevant topic for your niche that has search volume and boost it through paid ads. With that paid traffic, you can help to boost search and increase your organic rankings.

2. Social Media Marketing is a Short- and Long-Term Plan

With social media marketing, balance social for today and social for tomorrow. 

Facebook and X are vehicles geared for immediacy, more noise, more followers, and more likes. In the short term, you may win the popularity contest (which is helpful), but you’ll need a longer-term strategy to push your way to a socially plugged-in future. 

Long-tail and long-term marketing, using networks like Quora, Substack, Reddit, Disqus, or even some LinkedIn groups, are where you’ll cultivate long-term positive impact to build your authority on social media.

3. Your Home Page Builds Brand and Landing Pages Bring Conversions

Having a strong website homepage is important to build your domain authority and to make sure that people who land on your website understand what you offer. But over time, the balance should include multiple dedicated landing pages that help you convert better and ensure relevancy with targeted components of your customer base.

For example, if are a SaaS for healthcare professionals, your homepage needs to make it clear to all healthcare professionals that you offer software for them. Whereas, each landing page can target different segments, including doctors, nurses, or surgeons.

4. Test Your SaaS Brand to Ensure Relevancy

Your SaaS company needs a great logo, a well-conceived company or brand name, eye-catching colors, and similar elements. Having complete branding conveys a professional attitude and is taken seriously in SaaS. 

However, as you grow and your business evolves, you need to start A/B testing everything, including alternate versions of logos, content, messaging, and email headlines. This testing will ensure that you remain current with those who constitute your loyal consumer base.

Learn how Kalungi built Fleetrunnr’s complete branding.

Striking The Balance Between Short and Long Term Marketing in SaaS

A marketing balance can be challenging, especially given the pressures at most SaaS companies to get results yesterday. But I hope you can find the right balance for your business and resist the urge to overspend on today’s tactics and ignore the longer term. And if you need help, contact Kalungi for a marketing audit.