Over the past two weeks, I’ve been sharing the three biggest issues I found in high-stakes audits for B2B companies spending six and seven figures on ads.
First, I talked about overreliance on Google reps. Then, I covered obsessing over keywords instead of customers.
Today, I’m sharing the final issue — and honestly, this is the one that upsets me most.
Issue #3: Committing All Budget to Short-Term Wins
I ask companies how they’re building brand trust and defending their market position. The response? Silence. Or worse: “Brand campaigns don’t perform.” That’s not the right answer!
Why this is not a winning strategy:
This one upsets me most: When a brand tells you they’re the market leader, but they do nothing to defend and build that. It’s so common, and I see it over and over again. But no one wants to admit or fix it because it’s just easier to point fingers.
Just this quarter, we had a client reorganize, and our new point of contact asked why we were bidding on brand so heavily — Why was 70-80% of the budget allocated to brand bidding? The answer is simple: Her predecessor had goals to reach. He had no other choice but to override our recommendations and to focus on short-term strategies. Over time, this is not a winning approach.
Let’s get real:
Marketing leaders hit their goals one quarter, so they get punished with higher goals and the same budget the next quarter. They have no choice but to double down on bottom-funnel tactics because that’s what shows immediate results. But it’s not a growth strategy. Eventually, your leads will go down because you’re not building the foundational goodness that creates demand in the first place.
Do this instead:
Think of awareness (long-term) and action (short-term) as a seesaw. Both sides should balance out. It’s okay if you lean slightly on one side from time to time, but B2B companies spending six and seven figures on ads need to find that balance to build or maintain market leadership.
A good starting point? 40% toward awareness, 60% toward conversion. Adjust based on your business goals and market maturity.
- Long-term strategies require consistency and visibility. Support brand marketing with AI-forward campaigns like Demand Gen, CTV ads, LinkedIn thought leadership, customer success stories, speaking engagements, webinars, and video content. Even sitelinks on text ads are a great way to amplify brand messaging.
- Short-term strategies convert because the long-term actions build trust in your brand. Bottom-funnel campaigns include Performance Max, high-intent search campaigns, and audience-first campaigns using customer data and remarketing.
And here’s a bonus tip: Post-click is just as important as pre-click. Landing page testing and refinement is a huge optimization opportunity — not just adding more keywords.
Here’s the hard truth: Bidding on your brand name is not building your brand. Let that sink in.
See the benefits of a boutique agency
If you’re spending significant money on advertising, you deserve a strategy that’s thoughtful, balanced, and built for the long haul. You deserve partners who understand your business, not just your budget.
At Group Twenty Seven, we’re boutique by design. We’re not churn-and-burn. We take on a select number of audits and clients each year because we want to do the work right. If you’re wondering whether your ad program could be performing better, let’s find out together.