In an attempt to increase conversions and profits, many marketers’ first instinct might be to spend more money on paid advertising. However, Shane Murphy-Reuters, CMO of Webflow, insists on the importance of being constant in the construction of brand awareness. In his interview with Ben Kaplan for TOP CMO, he explains how not losing focus on the earned side of marketing leads to improvements on the paid side and, in turn, return on investment (ROI). Read all about it below!

The field analogy

Imagine your company as a field. The brand you build is the fertilizer you put down to grow your crops, which is what you will later sell for profit. Without a minimum brand awareness, your fertilizer, you will have nothing to promote. If you get a good harvest, you’ll be able to convert all those crops to money, the brand to market. With the right advertisement, the demand generation will skyrocket and you will kill it.

However, if you don’t rotate the field and re-fertilize, the following year the quantity and quality of your crops will plummet, and so will your profits. Meanwhile, your competitors will start winning more, and your costs will increase due to the effort needed to promote worse products. All because you did not invest in the core base element: your brand.

Quid pro quo

Simply put, as you're moving past that initial phase of explosive growth in a specific market, the results always taper off. If you keep up the investment in the earned and brand awareness, you win in multiple ways. On the one hand, word of mouth and branded traffic continues to grow. Your company can become more well-known and recognizable, with conversions derived from people seeking you specifically.

On the other hand, your paid campaigns are much more likely to convert. If somebody searches for products or services within your market and sees three results, but they know your company and have heard good things about you, they’re more likely to click and convert. Having your name be popular and associated with quality can result in more profitable outcomes. That way, investing in one aspect improves both.

The ROI of it all

The priority for all businesses is profit. To increase your chances of getting your ideas approved, the return on investment has to be an integral aspect of your proposal. When meeting with CEOs or CFOs, highlight how investing in brand-building will lead to a higher return, for all the reasons we’ve mentioned above. 

When you seek to grow, this becomes crucial. Small investments can only get you so far, but large ones may seem too risky. In order to reduce said risk as much as possible, you need to create as many safety nets as possible. As previously stated, a solid brand awareness strategy can increase your popularity and encourage users to purchase your product or service, all due to the name you’ve made for yourself. ROI is higher because you’ve become the better –and, ideally, only– alternative. Investments become safer.

Planting the seed

Nothing can guarantee profits. Market size, competition, external forces, and many other unforeseen circumstances can affect the outcome. Still, Shane Murphy-Reuters firmly believes it’s essential to seek strategies that can serve as the foundation you can safely step on. Concentrating on building your brand can create a fertile ground for your future investments in paid advertising. Consumers trust you. You become a household name. Each risk has a stronger safety net. At some point, your safety net may be your $4 billion net worth, just ask Webflow.

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