6 Marketing Problems Brands Face and How to Solve Them for Success Wondering which tactics to add to the marketing mix next to reach your brand's sales and marketing goals? Here's what I recommend based on where brands are in their lifecycle.
By April White Edited by Micah Zimmerman
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
I speak with prospects almost daily who ask the same thing: Which tactics should we add to the marketing mix to achieve our sales and business goals?
In 2024, 15% of marketers reported facing challenges in generating leads and keeping up with industry trends. It can be confusing and overwhelming to establish brand priorities when your precious marketing budget is on the line and key stakeholders want results — now.
As the owner of a national strategic communications firm, I try to offer objective advice on what to do next based on a brand's current lifecycle. Here's what I typically tell them.
Problem: Your brand is stable but relatively unknown
If a brand is established and financially viable but relatively unrecognized, it probably needs a brand credibility and awareness boost the most. PR is the only piece of the marketing puzzle that can do that. Paid advertising and social media posts read as self-promotional and self-congratulatory, while earned media attention gives brands more credibility.
Journalists don't write about brands that aren't doing anything new, interesting or inventive, and they don't include expert commentary from executives who don't have great credentials and unique industry insights. No one books a speaker who doesn't have something compelling to say either or gives an award to a company that isn't a cut above the rest.
Related: 6 Reasons Why You Should Build Brand Equity Early in Your Business
In other words, brands seen in notable media outlets, recognized events and awards ceremonies inherit those organizations' credibility. The more brand recognition it receives, the more authority it earns. That's the true power of PR.
Brands can also sprinkle earned placements and awards into their paid and owned channels, effectively softening the inherently "salesy" side of both. For example, sharing a social media post about how grateful a brand is to be featured in a high-profile story reads like a "humble brag" rather than an outright brag.
Problem: You need to boost sales — and fast
If sales are the main goal, rather than brand credibility and authority, I sometimes steer brands toward digital marketing tactics like paid advertising and/or social media marketing (possibly coupled with influencer marketing if it's a consumer brand with great products).
Why?
PR often requires a long-term investment before it creates enough media attention to drive a substantial uptick in sales. So, if spending money on PR for at least six months to a year without seeing that investment back in the bank in the same timeframe could create a financial panic attack, I might steer brands toward digital advertising until they have a steadier, more robust cash flow. That's because digital advertising tends to convert into sales much faster.
It's no wonder that experts predict global digital ad spend to exceed $8 billion by 2026. After all, the return on investment is more direct and easier to track than the number of sales generated by even the most impactful and alluring top-tier media placement.
Related: He Started a Business With $2000 — Now It's a Global Brand
Problem: You need to educate customers on a tight budget
If a brand needs a cost-effective way to educate target audiences on the issues driving its mission or to illustrate the relevance and efficacy of its solution, it likely needs content marketing (perhaps in combination with thought leadership) next.
Content marketing and PR work together synergistically because both are ideal vehicles for long-form storytelling. Unlike PR, however, content marketing doesn't always boost the brand's reputation by getting it in front of new audiences. However, it does tend to be less expensive.
Over time, a brand's blog posts can also inspire potential PR pitches and become the basis of contributed articles that media outlets accept — and vice versa. So, in concert, they can strengthen each other.
Related: Creating a Brand: How To Build a Brand From Scratch
Problem: Your brand needs star power on a budget
If a consumer brand is already doing digital marketing and now needs more "shine" and attention but still has a tighter-than-desired cash flow, it likely needs influencer relations.
The average person spent about 145 minutes on social media every day this year, making those platforms the most direct way to reach a specific audience. Brands that invest in influencer posts also tend to see a much faster return on their investment than they do from a PR spend.
It's always wise to start by A-B testing how well micro influencers perform for the brand before spending a fortune on better-known celebrities.
Problem: Your brand needs to prep for a funding round or business milestone
If a brand is seeking funding or preparing for a major announcement and has enough seed money to attract more attention or investors, it probably needs PR.
High-profile media placements can increase a brand's appeal to potential investors and make the investor deck even sexier. Media relations are the best way to ensure that any newsworthy announcement actually reaches key audiences.
Related: Modern PR vs. Traditional PR — Here's What You Need to Know
Problem: Your brand needs to reach a hyper-local market
If a brand is hyperlocal, niche or specific and/or most prospects find it through Google searches, it likely needs SEO. However, SEO also tends to have a much longer lead time than PR before the investment shows up in the bank.
Since most media outlets are ranked high by Google, PR can also organically assist brands with their SEO. That said, there are some instances where SEO could be most effective:
- If a brand is primarily local or regional and the number of media outlets that might cover it is limited, SEO might be best, especially if there are obvious search terms prospects might use (e.g., L.A. yoga studios, Phoenix chiropractors, or Nashville pest control).
- If most prospects come from Google searches and competitors are outranking a brand in the search results, SEO might again win over PR.
When in doubt, consider your brand's position in its business lifecycle and outline your priorities and budget parameters. Then, pick a point on the map and strike up some conversations with potential partners, consultants or agencies that can help steer you in the right direction.
