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How can SMEs strike a balance between long- and short-term success?
Rather than sticking slavishly to the 60:40 rule, flexing the balance between long- and short-term investment could prove fruitful for SME marketers balancing the books.
For some marketers, the answer to the question in the headline will be very straightforward. “60:40”, they’ll shout together. That’s the marketing budget split effectiveness experts Les Binet and Peter Field recommend, which research has shown grants businesses the most growth and profit over time.
But for most small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), investing 60% of their marketing budget into long-term brand building will be unthinkable. SMEs don’t work in the same way as big corporations.
