Is it always smart to be always on?

Read time 2:46

 

One hundred and ninety-nine days.

That's the span of the average B2B buying journey, according to Dreamdata.

In a nutshell, it’s also the key argument for running always-on campaigns.

Because the long and winding B2B buying journeys mean your company needs always to stay top-of-mind.

As your prospective customers' multiple stakeholders undertake comprehensive market research, extensive deliberations, and numerous internal meetings, it’s essential they don’t forget about you. And that you are present online when they search for information on your category.

A continuous online presence has become even more important in later years with the emergence of a new type of B2B buyer. 

Today’s self-helped buyers don’t sit and wait for your sales team to call; they actively pursue information.

So far so good, but is it always smart to be always on? Let’s look at the pros and cons.

 

Four benefits of always-on marketing

 

#1 On the audience' terms

Timing is everything. And always-on marketing allows you to be present at the right time: when the buyer is searching for your category, product, or even wants to make a purchase!

Being available when your buyer needs you (and not when you decide it's time to run a campaign) aligns your efforts with the buyer’s readiness—and can work wonders for your conversion rates.

#2 Cost-effectiveness

The most demanding part of setting up a new campaign is usually the development phase. An ongoing campaign eliminates the need to start from scratch repeatedly.

This allows you to focus your time and resources on ongoing maintenance and optimization. That’s good for costs, and the overall business case for your marketing activities.

#3 Accumulate learnings

It’s all in the data! Always-on campaigns continuously collect valuable data—and a rich, high-quality data foundation makes it easier to optimize campaigns.

This brings you a more stable and reliable performance analysis. Risks of data fluctuations caused by external factors, questions about timing, and shifting user behaviors are less of a concern.

#4 High performance

Most ad purchase channels, such as Google Ads and LinkedIn Ads, rely on algorithms. These algorithms perform better when kept active over more extended periods.

As the algorithms better understand user behavior, they can make more effective ad purchases aligned with your business goals, leading to improved results.

On the other hand… four drawbacks

 

#1 Bigger budget

Unsurprisingly, running campaigns continuously costs more than doing so sporadically. Being always on does take a bigger budget.

This simple fact also necessitates a sharp strategy. You must prioritize focus areas and target audiences rather than spreading the budget thin across several minor activities.

#2 Left-out audiences

This point segues into drawback number two: Prioritizing your target groups inevitably excludes potential customers from being exposed to your campaign.

But, again, it’s about setting clear priorities. Though, it may leave some opportunities untapped, you must focus on your core audience to ensure your budget is spent effectively.

#3 Ad fatigue

Not that d#*€ ad again! Exposing your audience to the same creatives again and again isn’t always beneficial. To avoid ad fatigue, you need to make the occasional creative adjustments.

Sometimes, you’ll even have to do an entire overhaul. Because if your audience doesn't respond to your ad the tenth time they see it, they probably won’t do so the twenty-fifth time either—even if it has a new, clever call to action.

#4 Less sexyness

Most marketers love launching big, booming campaigns. And so, always-on marketing is often seen as the boring alternative with its focus on ongoing fine-tuning.

Also, for C-level and sales, the end product isn’t quite as visible and sexy-looking as a 6-meter billboard.

So. Is it always smart…?

 

Without further ado: Yes—in our experience—always on is almost always a smart option for today’s B2B marketeers.

There are indeed downsides and pitfalls. It’s not a Swiss Army knife that solves any marketing problem. It does take an effort, and it can be a while before you see the big results.

However, for most B2B companies, the benefits heavily outweigh the downsides and additional costs; the investment often pays off.

Even so, most drawbacks are often exaggerated or can be mitigated: The larger budget, the left-out audience, and lack of sexiness can be justified by the superior business case.

And ad fatigue is probably not as significant an issue as many marketers think. A recent study by Analytics Partners suggests that customers don’t get tired of specific ads but rather of particular marketers.

All in all, the long-term benefits of always-on campaigns are hard to ignore.

In fact, we believe today’s lengthy, complex B2B sales cycles mean continuous online engagement is not just beneficial—it’s essential.

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Want to learn more about always-on campaigning on B2B markets? Please reach out!