"When presented with marketing choices, we tend to think in either/or terms. Instead, the goal should always be to achieve both short- and long-term results at the same time. Ideally, not only will a company pursue both these results at the same time, but they will tie mechanisms for achieving both together."

- Stijn Hendrikse in T2D3.

In other words: don't over-index on short or long-term tactics. Do them both, together—especially if you’re an early-stage company. In the early days, you have to diversify your channels. Otherwise, you run the risk of missing out on benefits from either side.

Long-term efforts are:

• more sustainable in the long-term

• good at creating demand through education & awareness

• helpful when moving away from direct sales

• a bigger investment upfront

• slower to return downstream results

• helpful for creating evergreen content that builds compounding results

Short-term efforts are:

• less sustainable in the long-term (SEO and paid ads are zero-sum games)

• good at capturing existing market demand

• helpful when you know your ICP, positioning & value propositions well

• a smaller upfront investment

• faster to return downstream results

• diminishing—you will eventually hit lower returns for every new dollar invested

Below are some simple examples of how you can combine long- and short-term efforts together and get multiple outcomes:

• Paid search
  Turn every click into multiple outcomes (i.e. content distribution and education). In addition to the click being an entry into your funnel, use the intent data you get to distribute more content that meets them where they are in the buyer’s journey.

• Account-based marketing (ABM)
  Turn every active conversation into an opportunity to get instant feedback on your ICP, positioning, and messaging. Iterate as you go. Ask genuine feedback questions of those who commit their time.

• Testimonials and reviews
  In addition to evergreen marketplace presence, turn snippets from every review or interview into a new headline for landing pages and ad creative – let your customers write your creative copy for you.

• Turning questions to content
  Turn the questions your customers ask CS and Sales into high-quality guides and "how-to" content you can use to help problem-aware prospects find and trust you