Does Marketing Have The Luxury To Forego Short-term Results for Long-Term Gains?

Experts at the 18th edition of the BW Marketing Whitebook 2023-24 spoke about the new definitions of business and marketing, gradually making their way into how marketers need to mindfully balance the short and long-term goals they set for themselves, as well as the overall organisation. In this VUCA world, the conventional definitions of short-term and long-term goals have taken a new meaning. The uncertainties have made it imperative for brand builders to keep up and realign their strategies.

The power panel comprised Neelima Burra, Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, Luminous Power Technology; Deba Ghoshal, Vice President and Head Marketing, Voltas ; Siddhartha Butalia, Chief Marketing Officer, Air India Express ; Nitin Sethi, Joint President, Chief Digital Officer, Consumer Businesses, Adani Group.  

“Marketing has a luxury to do brand building which is intangible and might not reflect immediately into positioning, revenue and bottom line. However, it also depends on the stage of brand building. For the latter one, the parameters of revenues, premiums, sales, and schemes become imperative to a long-term strategy. My role is to strike the right balance between these strategies,” said Burra.

She further explained, that short-term marketing primarily focuses on sales and sales will not happen if you don't have pricing, discounts, offers etc. If such a strategy also doesn't work, then long-term planning becomes a matter of discussion.

Goshal, on the other hand, shared that in today’s environment, there's no position as that of a 'long-term player'. Look at the immediate future and begin planning from there. "By looking at the various elements of the marketing mix and analysing, is a fundamental approach for this strategy. We tend to always look at marketing from the lens of advertising which should not be the case. Marketing is a fundamental pillar for creating value for the organisation, shareholders and long-term gains are determined by marketing.”

He further suggested that the pillar of marketing should be utilised for short-term and long-term should be taken care of by the organisation. "Distribution is built over a long time, but it is also immediate. It largely falls in the mid-term strategy. Pricing plays a vital role in achieving your immediate objectives, all marketers should be in the sales sphere for a certain time to understand these strategies. Sales indicate how to thrive in business on a day-to-day basis."

For Sethi, value creation for the customer is the top priority. "Marketing is the journey of brand building, you've to be relevant in short term to exist in the long term. If you can't sell in an experienced economy, you will not exist in the AI economy. Consumer behaviors and expectations are changing, they want immediate value to have any sort of loyalty and storytelling plays a huge role,” he stated.

Butalia concluded the discussion by asserting that the product is also one of the primary four Ps and it takes a long time to build that product. "Had it been so easy to build a brand that can gain trust of consumers, the acquisition like Air India would not have been done. Therefore, success in consecutive short-term periods, consistently over a long period, is essential.