When to Add Advertising to Your Marketing Mix
By Carrie Cousins
Thank you to Valley Business FRONT for featuring our Vice President, Carrie Cousins, in their August 2025 issue.
Each morning when I get up, my Garmin watch lets me know how to “beat yesterday.” It’s a little competition I have with myself. Can I take more steps, run that extra mile, sweat another 5 minutes at the gym, or even sleep a little more?
In marketing, a lot of what we do is also designed to beat yesterday, applying the 1% rule to grow consistently and incrementally, so that over time results are improving and business is growing on a manageable scale.
Long-term marketing activities such as continued brand building and storytelling, search engine optimization, and website updates and development will all have a solid impact on your bottom line, but it’s something you will see over time.
Sometimes this long game isn’t fast enough. What about those times when you are feeling pressured to see results now?
That’s when it may be time to add advertising into the mix.
A solid advertising plan adds immediate gratification goals to your overall marketing strategy. You can spend part of your budget to ensure that your product or service – and a direct sales call to action – get in front of the right people when they have intent to make a purchase.
Most businesses need a combination of long-term marketing and short-term advertising for maximum impact. This is the part of my everyday role at LeadPoint Digital that I love. There’s nothing better than seeing your business beat yesterday while bumping up efforts during key sales seasons.
Marketing and advertising are important investments in your business future. It’s important to find a partner with the same values and goals, and while it might be cliché, you also must trust the process.
If you want to grow slowly over time, a marketing plan with a focus on brand, content, and SEO is important.
If you need to move the needle now, the right advertising plan can get you there. High impact advertising activities may include out of home, search advertising, social media advertising, traditional TV or print advertising, or streaming TV.
Whether you want to “beat yesterday” or just “want it now,” I’d love to chat about your needs and strategy as you plan for the coming year.
Carrie Cousins is the Vice President at LeadPoint Digital in Roanoke. For 15+ years, she has helped businesses tell their stories and get better results online with practical digital marketing strategies. She is also an active leader in AAF, serving on the local and district boards, and is an adjunct professor at Virginia Tech.
