Striking the Balance

In today's hyper-connected, fast-evolving marketplace, the tension between brand marketing (focused on awareness and long-term brand equity) and performance marketing (aimed at immediate leads and sales) is ever-present. For many businesses, particularly B2B organizations, knowing how to balance these approaches is essential for sustainable growth and measurable results.

We’ve witnessed how companies struggle to navigate this balance. We at BrandExtract have even struggled with it regarding our marketing, knock down, drag out fights about the spend and expected outcomes. Not fun. Some over-invest in short-term sales tactics and neglect the longer-term value of brand equity. Others focus exclusively on brand-building without enough emphasis on performance metrics, leaving opportunities on the table. The truth is that both brand and performance marketing must work in harmony, informed by a deep understanding of the company’s current position, digital authority and customer expectations.

In this article, we’ll explore three key factors every company should consider when allocating resources between brand marketing and performance marketing:

The right balance at the right time is based on product, company or brand awareness level to build deeper relationships with customers.
The role of website and digital platform authority in driving qualified leads and conversions.
The impact of digital presence and ongoing activity on brand value and measurable performance outcomes.

The Right Balance at the Right Time: Awareness Determines Allocation

Many executives want a simple formula -“spend X% on brand, Y% on performance.” But an effective marketing strategy is rarely that simple. The ideal allocation between brand and performance efforts is highly contextual, depending on product maturity, competitive positioning and—most importantly—brand awareness.

For emerging brands, awareness is often low, and initial marketing efforts must focus on building visibility and credibility. According to information shared in The Journal of Business Research and The Branding Journal, brands with low awareness typically see higher long-term ROI from brand-building campaigns than direct-response efforts. Performance marketing campaigns alone may struggle because customers don’t know who you are or why they should care.

However, once a brand gains traction, performance marketing becomes increasingly compelling, converting awareness into leads and sales. Harvard Business Review underscores that performance marketing leverages intent, capturing demand from customers already in the market. But without sustained brand-building, that demand dries up over time.

Think of it like a flywheel: Brand marketing sets it in motion by building recognition and trust, while performance marketing keeps it spinning by converting interest into measurable business outcomes.

The Funnel Is Not Linear Anymore

It’s important to acknowledge that the traditional linear marketing funnel is outdated. As noted by Harvard Business Review, today’s B2B buyer journey is non-linear, digital-first and heavily influenced by reputation, peer recommendations and content. Buyers might encounter a brand’s thought leadership on LinkedIn, check reviews on third-party platforms and revisit the company’s website weeks later via a Google search or paid ad. Brand marketing creates these initial touchpoints, while performance marketing ensures buyers encounter conversion opportunities at critical junctures. Both efforts reinforce each other.

Example: One BrandExtract client in the industrial sector shifted its strategy after discovering that many leads originated from branded search terms rather than generic ones. This insight signaled that brand awareness was driving search behavior. By doubling down on brand campaigns (industry partnerships, expert content, earned media) and pairing them with optimized paid search ads, they increased lead volume by over 35% year over year.

Key Takeaway: Companies should continuously assess their current brand awareness and competitive standing to adjust the balance dynamically. Early-stage brands lean heavily into awareness, while mature brands find an equilibrium between ongoing brand reinforcement and performance optimization.

Website and Digital Platform Authority: The Silent Driver of Conversions

While campaigns and ads often steal the spotlight, the foundation of lead generation and conversion lies in something far more enduring: website and digital platform authority.

Authority is not something you can buy overnight. It results from relevant, high-quality content, strong technical SEO and a consistent, clear brand voice across all touchpoints.

Why does this matter for performance marketing? According to research from Moz, companies with higher digital authority rank better in organic search (which drives cost-effective, high-intent traffic) and see better conversion rates from paid campaigns. A well-optimized, authoritative site reassures visitors, reduces friction in the buyer journey and improves lead quality.

Technical SEO, content depth, and third-party validation (via backlinks and positive reviews) all reinforce a brand's digital credibility.

This is critical because no matter how well-crafted your paid campaign is, if the landing page lacks trust signals, speed, or clarity, conversions will suffer.

Authority Compounds Over Time

Moreover, authority compounds. Much like investing in brand awareness, every piece of high-quality content, backlink or website enhancement improves long-term performance. Research from the Journal of Digital & Social Media Marketing and what we’ve seen with our clients could be called the authority flywheel effect—the more trusted your platform, the more effective all marketing becomes.

Example: A B2B SaaS client at BrandExtract dedicated six months to improving website UX, publishing customer-focused content, and earning authoritative backlinks. Though their paid campaigns remained consistent, they saw a 25% lift in organic traffic, a 15% improvement in lead quality, and reduced paid cost-per-lead by over 20%.

Key Takeaway: No matter how well-designed your performance campaigns are, they can’t compensate for a weak website or digital presence. Brand marketing builds recognition, but authority turns recognition into revenue.

Digital Presence as a Brand and Performance Asset

In the digital age, a brand’s presence online isn’t just about visibility—it’s a core driver of entity value. How you appear in search engines, social platforms, review sites and thought leadership forums all contribute to your perceived brand equity and directly impact performance.

Digital presence isn’t static. It results from continuous activity: publishing thought leadership content, engaging on social media, earning high-quality backlinks and participating in customer conversations. Stratonomics emphasizes the importance of customer-focused content and digital engagement. Brands that consistently offer value to their audience online—through helpful guides, webinars or case studies—create deeper trust and loyalty.

This active digital presence yields a triple benefit:

Brand Equity: Thought leadership and visible online activity enhance your brand's perceived authority and relevance.
Performance Conversion: Content and engagement drive organic traffic, support SEO, and improve paid campaign efficiency.
Entity Value: As McKinsey highlights, investors and acquirers value strong brands with active digital footprints higher, thanks to measurable digital assets and audience loyalty.

Example: A mid-sized professional services firm we worked with leveraged a consistent LinkedIn content strategy, podcast appearances, and strategic guest contributions to industry publications. Over 12 months, they doubled their inbound lead pipeline and saw their brand valuation increase due to documented audience growth and engagement metrics.

Key Takeaway:

Your digital presence is more than just a marketing channel—a brand asset that compounds over time. An active, authoritative presence builds brand equity, strengthens conversion rates

and contributes directly to the long-term financial value of your business. The more consistently you invest in thought leadership, content, and engagement, the stronger your brand performs across every metric.

Building a Customer-Focused, Balanced Marketing Strategy

So, how do you determine where to focus your efforts? The answer lies in a customer-first, insight-driven strategy, which both Stratonomics and BrandExtract advocate. Understanding your customers’ journey—where they encounter your brand, how they research and what builds their trust—allows you to design marketing that meets them at each stage.

Consider this five-step approach:

Audit Brand Awareness & Digital Authority
- Conduct surveys, monitor brand mentions and evaluate search visibility.
- Analyze website authority metrics (Domain Rating, organic traffic, bounce rates).
Map the Buyer's Journey
- Identify all digital and offline touchpoints where customers engage.
- Highlight gaps where brand-building or performance marketing can better support conversion.
Segment Marketing Activities
- Allocate the brand-building budget toward content marketing, PR, sponsorships and thought leadership.
- Assign performance marketing budget to paid campaigns, SEO optimizations and lead nurturing automation.
Invest in Content & Experience
- Ensure website authority is built through valuable, customer-focused content (as Stratonomics recommends).
- Continuously refine UX, messaging clarity and digital platform credibility to support conversion.
Measure, Analyze & Recalibrate
- Monitor performance marketing metrics (CPL, ROAS) alongside brand health KPIs (NPS, brand recall, site authority).
- Adjust balance quarterly based on growth goals and customer behavior shifts.

When It Comes to Marketing, it’s Both/And, Not Either/Or

Brand and performance marketing are not opposing forces but interdependent levers. Brand awareness sets the stage, digital authority powers credibility and ongoing digital presence bridges the gap between perception and performance.

Companies that find the right balance—at the right time—maximize growth, lead generation, and long-term value creation. Enduring brands build both memory structures and measurable results over time. One of our customers said recently, “We need to be famous. But the industry needs to know us before you can become famous.” Thus, the need for both brand and performance marketing with the right mix over time is critical to overall value.

Assuming organizations have their strategy, brand, and story right, we believe brands that align their marketing efforts with their unique market position, customer behavior and digital authority will win leads and sales and build lasting enterprise value.

Meet the Authors

Bo Bothe

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